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6 NaCAC CollEge Fair October 24, 2013
PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP
Portland Community College students read in a PCC library at the start of the academic year. A
proposed “Pay It Forward” plan could allow students in the future to pay for their education through
a percentage of their income, rather than through loans.
Since the mid-’80s, college financial aid
has shifted from grants to loans. That has
shuffled the burden of financing college edu-
cation to students, who graduate with some-
times mountains of debt.
‘Promising direction’
Leaders of the Oregon Working Families
Party championed the Pay It Forward idea in
Salem during the 2013 legislative session.
Party members worked with the anti-pover-
ty group Jubilee Oregon and Portland State
University students to promote the Pay it
Forward proposal in the Legislature.
Dembrow joined four other legislators to
co-sponsor HB 3472 that created a pilot pro-
gram focusing on new ways to pay college
tuition. Members of the Higher Education
Coordinating Committee are expected to be-
gin the groundwork for the pilot program in
the next few weeks.
Under HB 3472, the state would set up a
pilot program at one or more colleges or uni-
versities that would accept students who
agree to pay their tuition through income
deductions for the next several years. Out-
lines of the pilot program will be presented
to the 2015 Legislature, which must approve
it before universities could adopt the plan.
In addition to Pay It Forward, the commit-
tee will look at possible tuition freezes for
universities so students aren’t hit with big
increases as they work toward their degrees.
Western Oregon University has had its
Western Tuition Promise for several years
that guarantees tuition wouldn’t increase for
new students who earn degrees at the Mon-
mouth school.
Because more jobs in the future will re-
quire some higher education, in 2011 the Or-
egon Legislature adopted the 40-40-20 goal
for education. Under the goal, by 2025 all Or-
egon adults would have a high school diplo-
ma (or its equivalent), with 40 percent earn-
ing a two-year degree and 40 percent earn-
ing a four-year degree.
That goal could prompt lawmakers to con-
sider more options for ways students pay for
their college education. State Rep. Dembrow
says comprehensive change in the college-
financing system is still years away —maybe
decades away. But the state is “heading in a
very promising direction,” he says.
“It’s really important, and quite gratifying,
that people are beginning to talk about this,”
Dembrow says.
■ From page 5
Professors who know your name and have the
highest degrees in their fields. Myriad approaches
to earning your degree. A spectacular natural
setting for a superb educational experience.
OUTSTANDING
People. Programs. Place.
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