OAR 575-031-0025: Opportunity Grant Amount

(1) The Commission shall calculate awards for all eligible students using a base award amount across all institutional segments. A tuition differential specific to the institutional segment the student is attending shall be added to the base award. Award amounts will be calculated annually based on available funds. (a) The Commission shall differentiate awards based on an analysis of student need, provided that awards shall be the highest for qualified students with the greatest financial need within a specific institutional segment. (b) The Commission staff shall review the award tiers of the base and tuition differential each biennium to ensure that combined with other state and federal need-based aid the purchasing power of the highest need students is equitable and consistent across segments. (c) The cost of tuition for the tuition differential is based on the average standard cost of education defined in OAR 575-030-0005. The tuition differential for each institutional segment is based on the average of the standard tuition costs for all participating institutions within an institutional segment, except all private independent 4-year institutions use the average of the standard costs for public 4-year institutions. (2) If the funding or participation level for the program changes after award amounts are determined for an academic year, the Commission may adjust base award or tuition differential components or both variables. The Commission shall, to the extent possible, reasonably make proportional adjustments of awards between institutional segments the Commission had previously set. (3) In the event Commission staff determine that the Commission is unable to award students based on the calculations described in sections (1) and (2) of this rule, staff shall submit to the Commission one or more proposals for calculating student awards. Upon approval by the Commission, staff shall award students according to the approved calculation. Such approval shall be in effect for the biennium of the academic year the approval first applies, unless subsequently altered by the Commission. (4) The minimum Oregon Opportunity Grant award shall be $100. (5) Within the funds available, an Oregon Opportunity Grant for a student enrolled less than full-time shall be reduced in proportion to the award made to a full-time student enrolled at the same institution. (6) For concurrently enrolled students, the amount of the Oregon Opportunity Grant will be based on the school disbursing funds, unless otherwise approved by the Commission. (7) In the event that the Commission determines that the total funds available for the Oregon Opportunity Grant program are not sufficient to award the full award amount to all qualified students, the Commission may implement strategies to limit student awards while maintaining awarding priorities as defined in OAR 575-031-0060, including: (a) The Commission may prescribe a minimum enrollment level requirement including, but not limited to full-time, except that a student who needs to enroll less than full-time based on an approved disability-related accommodation through their institution of higher education. A student may receive a prorated Oregon Opportunity Grant for less than full-time enrollment in these cases. (b) The Commission may reduce awards across all levels of student need, provided that the Commission maintains the highest award amounts for qualified students with the greatest financial need within a specific institutional segment; (c) The Commission may prescribe a specific date by which a student must apply to the Commission to qualify for a grant and may prescribe an additional date by which the award must be disbursed to the student by an institution; (d) The Commission may make per capita reductions to future student grants if appropriations are determined to be inadequate to the needs of all eligible students whose applications are received by the announced application deadline for a specific academic year. When future disbursements of student grants are reduced, the Commission will provide notification it deems adequate, to college and university financial aid offices and affected students. (e) The Commission may base a recipient’s maximum authorized award each term on the recipient’s fall-term enrollment status if funds are not available to award grants to all qualified students whose applications are received by the announced application deadline for a specific academic year; or (f) The Commission may prioritize awards to qualified students with the greatest financial need or whose circumstances would enhance the promotion of equity guidelines published by the Commission.