Portland State University's (PSU) reputation as an engaged, urban-serving university continues to distinguish it both nationally and locally. Key partnerships with local, public, and private partners provide students, faculty, and staff with remarkable opportunities to contribute to the physical, social, and economic development of the Portland…

The business models under which most public universities in the U.S. operate have become unsustainable. They were put in place when state economies were stronger and there were fewer programs making competing claims on state funds. The current Great Recession has made things worse, but the unsustainability of current business models derives from…

The history of and issues in Oregon's retrenchment in higher education (resulting from voter-imposed taxing restrictions) are chronicled. Changes made at Portland State University are used to illustrate the program review and termination process occurring statewide. The higher education community's response, faculty and staff morale, and…

A proposed plan to form a public corporation of Oregon's public colleges and universities, designed to increase institutional autonomy and loosen state regulatory ties by establishment of an autonomous governing board, has been defeated, due to characterizations of the plan as a threat to state government and the legislature's power to guard…

This report summarizes the findings of four technical studies on public education finance in Oregon. After describing the intent and scope of each of the studies, the report sketches the general conclusions reached on the structure of the public educational system in Oregon, the state's General Fund, and the financing of each sector of Oregon…

The third of four technical reports on Oregon education finance, this report summarizes views of 44 opinion leaders in Oregon (including public officials, business leaders, educators, and journalists) on questions of education goals, quality, cost, and methods of decision-making. Answering questionnaires, the respondents first addressed issues of…

The second in a series of four technical reports, this study surveys public education finance in Oregon by focusing on the appropriations for education out of state revenues, on the role of property tax levies for local government support of schools, and on the funding and expenditures at each level of the state's public education. An outline of…

Higher education has related asynchronously to recent cycles in social movements affecting school reform. Current efforts in Oregon illustrate this pattern in public colleges. Although higher education is not likely to overcome its skepticism of reform dynamics, there is both reason and potential for promising alliances with schools. (Author/MSE)

The first in a series of four technical reports, this study describes the structure of Oregon's educational system, focusing on the state government's role in education, on the components of public education, and on private educational institutions. The overview of the state government's administrative channels highlights the system of elected…

This report presents the framework for a legislatively mandated proficiency-based approach to admissions at Oregon's eight public baccalaureate-granting institutions. The goal of the report is to present a systems-level description of why and how a proficiency-based admissions system should operate. Part 1 considers the implications of the…

Practitioner papers and research papers on higher education planning and budgeting are presented. "Before the Roof Caves In: A Predictive Model for Physical Plant Renewal" by Frederick M. Biedenweg and Robert E. Hutson outlines a systematic approach that was used at Stanford University to predict the associated costs of physical plant…

The report provides an update on racial and ethnic distribution in student enrollment and faculty employment for 1995-96 within the Oregon state system of higher education. A Faculty Diversity Initiative is highlighted, focusing on campus efforts to implement plans to achieve greater faculty diversity with the use of supplemental funds. Of the…