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Overview
The Oregon Opportunity Grant was Established in 1971 by Oregon Legislature to assist needy students attending community colleges, OUS institutions, and private independent 4-year institutions in Oregon. Eligibility is based on financial need, determined by family income and household size. The grant is available for the equivalent of up to 12 terms or 8 semesters at full-time enrollment. During the 2007 session, the Shared Responsibility Model was enacted to restructure the need-based Oregon Opportunity Grant to reflect a shared responsibility and partnership among students, their families, the federal government and the state to meet college costs and increase educational attainment statewide. The model involves four steps that will enable all students to cover the cost of college attendance.
The Four Steps of the Shared Responsibility Model
Step 1: Student Share
The defined student contribution spells out the amount every student would contribute to his or her education, based on the decision to attend a community college or four-year public or private college or university in Oregon: $4,750 per year for a community college student; and $7,500 per year for a four-year college/university student (public or independent).
Step 2: Family/Household Share
The family share for both dependent and independent students is determined by an established financial need formula. Families with greater resources are expected to cover the remaining costs, middle-income families are expected to contribute some, and families with very low to no resources are expected to contribute much less, or nothing.
Step 3: Federal Share
The same need formula determines how much aid, if any, the federal government will provide to replace some or all of the family contribution.
Step 4: State Share
The state assists only when there is any remaining need not covered by the other partners.
 Read the full Shared Responsibility Model proposal.
Financial Aid in Crisis
The Opportunity Grant is Oregon's only statewide financial aid grant program and it has faced decreased funding and massive increases in applicants due to the struggling economy. In the first eleven days of 2010, applications for the Opportunity Grant were up over 60 percent. While the program received $97 million from the Legislature for the 2009-11 biennium, almost two-thirds of the dollars will be spent by the end of this academic year. The overspending in the first year is due to an unprecedented increase in demand that overwhelmed financial aid offices across the state. Deadlines set by the commission to cut off awarding turned out to be insufficient as applications came in earlier and in a volume never seen before.
Due to a combination of cuts in state General Fund and lottery revenues and an increase in applicant demand, OSAC set early deadlines for the 2010-11 academic year and set the community college application deadline for January 21, 2010, earlier than both OUS and private nonprofit university deadlines.
Financial Aid Resources
Financial Aid News
Opportunity Grant Update - January 21, 2010
The Oregon Student Assistance Commission passed a package of policy recommendations from the Shared Responsibility Steering Committee intended to address the major funding shortfall in the Oregon Opportunity Grant. The commission approved a reduction in full-time awards for four-year students to $1950 and $1800 for community college students. It also voted to set aside money by sector for the second year of the current biennium. The proportion community colleges, the private non-profit and public four year sectors would each receive will be based on the average proportion of the grant each got in the last three years. For community colleges, that will mean 48% of the total remaining dollars.
2009-10 Opportunity Grant - December 1, 2009
The Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) has implemented a December 15 deadline for schools to disburse money under the Oregon Opportunity Grant. The increased demand for the grant exceeded the program’s budget, which required the Commission to reduce awards by $120 for students enrolled full time at 2- and 4-year Oregon colleges and $60 for students enrolled at least half time. The award reduction affects second semester and spring quarter students who applied by the August 15 deadline and received fall term awards before the December 15 disbursement deadline date. This reduction will affect up to 38,000 Oregon college students. Read more here.
Pell Grant News - November 2009
Good news! Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which contains $15.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $500. [Click here for more information on the stimulus package.]
Financial Aid Applications Increase - October 8, 2009
Data released by the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) last week show that the largest growth in the applications for student financial aid has come from community college students. Based on both current data and projections, OSAC estimates that financial aid applications from community college students are up about 13 percent.
E-Board to Hear Request for Additional Financial Aid Funds - September 25, 2009
The Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) will ask the Emergency Board of the Oregon State Legislature to appropriate an additional $4 million to the Oregon Opportunity Grant when the Board convenes Sept. 25 and 26. [Read more here.]
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Salem, OR 97301