Oregon Opportunity Grant gets a boost in budget
Increased funding means 6,000 more students will be eligible for the Oregon Opportunity Grant
Jeffrey Sawyer
Issue date: 1/11/08 Section: Headlines
Western's Associate Provost, David McDonald seems to agree that Oregon students aren't getting enough help. "In past years there has not been enough funds for many students who needed help paying for college. This extension of the grant provides a step in the right direction and will provide funds to a greater number of students and a greater amount of money to each individual."
According to McDonald the grant for this school year only covers about 11 percent of a student's college expenses. By his estimates, if a student received the maximum amount of money for a four year school ($3,200) from the OOG and combined that with the federal Pell Grant students would have nearly half of their college expenses covered.
In order to help lower and middle income students to pay for their tuition and other expenses while decreasing the amount of accumulated debt through loans, the Governor and the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) has set up what it calls the Shared Responsibility Model. Under that model the federal government (Pell Grant, tax credits), state government, students' families and the students themselves are each responsible for a portion of the student's education costs.
Under the OOG students are expected to cover a portion of the cost of their education through part-time work, savings, scholarships and loans. It is important to note that the savings a student has for college does not come into consideration when applying for the OOG. Beginning in fall of 2008, the state believes that doubling the maximum grant awards will help to reduce borrowing and employment needs for the student.
Another big change this year related to the grant is that for the first time there is a strong effort being made to market the grant to high school and college students. A television commercial that will be shown statewide starting Monday was filmed here at Western. There are already commercials on the radio promoting the OOG. McDonald believes that with more students applying in the coming years, demand will increase and he sees the state willing to meet that challenge.
McDonald also wanted to remind students that the OSAC provides over $9 million in scholarships separate from the OOG to Oregon students, many of which are not need-based.
Applying for the OOG is as easy as filling out your FAFSA at the beginning of each year. After filling out the FAFSA students are automatically applying for funds from the OOG.•
According to McDonald the grant for this school year only covers about 11 percent of a student's college expenses. By his estimates, if a student received the maximum amount of money for a four year school ($3,200) from the OOG and combined that with the federal Pell Grant students would have nearly half of their college expenses covered.
In order to help lower and middle income students to pay for their tuition and other expenses while decreasing the amount of accumulated debt through loans, the Governor and the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) has set up what it calls the Shared Responsibility Model. Under that model the federal government (Pell Grant, tax credits), state government, students' families and the students themselves are each responsible for a portion of the student's education costs.
Under the OOG students are expected to cover a portion of the cost of their education through part-time work, savings, scholarships and loans. It is important to note that the savings a student has for college does not come into consideration when applying for the OOG. Beginning in fall of 2008, the state believes that doubling the maximum grant awards will help to reduce borrowing and employment needs for the student.
Another big change this year related to the grant is that for the first time there is a strong effort being made to market the grant to high school and college students. A television commercial that will be shown statewide starting Monday was filmed here at Western. There are already commercials on the radio promoting the OOG. McDonald believes that with more students applying in the coming years, demand will increase and he sees the state willing to meet that challenge.
McDonald also wanted to remind students that the OSAC provides over $9 million in scholarships separate from the OOG to Oregon students, many of which are not need-based.
Applying for the OOG is as easy as filling out your FAFSA at the beginning of each year. After filling out the FAFSA students are automatically applying for funds from the OOG.•
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