OAR 589-002-0100: State Funding Support for Community Colleges

Purpose Statement: (1) It is in the state's interest to support a strong community college system that meets local, regional and state economic and workforce development needs. Oregon's Community College Distribution Model is designed to provide a stable financial foundation to support accessible undergraduate and lower-division education, career technical education, remedial education, workforce training, and other educational services necessary at the local and state level. (2) The Commission through the authority vested in it by ORS 350.075, uses this rule to state clearly and concisely what the statewide interests are for Oregon community colleges and students through the adoption of a policy-driven framework. The overarching policy intent is to support access, stability, and equitable student success for Oregon learners. Equitable student success is measured by the reduction, if not elimination, of achievement gaps in the completion and transfer rates for traditionally underrepresented students identified by race/ethnicity. (3) For clarity, the Community College Support Fund (CCSF) includes general institutional support funding appropriated by the state legislature for the set asides, also known as categorical funding, base payments, and equalized enrollment. There are six set asides including corrections, contracts out of district, distance learning, the strategic fund, student support, and student success. The Community College Distribution Model references the calculations used to determine the base payments and equalized enrollment distributions.