Oregon Legislative Policy and Research Office: Cost Drivers in Oregon Public University Tuition and Fees

• In Event: Financial Aid

Abstract

The Oregon Legislative Policy and Research Office (LPRO) is a nonpartisan research office within the Oregon state legislature. The education committees in the Oregon legislature requested a report from LPRO on the financial trends of Oregon public universities over the last 20 years with a focus on potential cost drivers for student tuition and fees.  

Data from the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) were collected from 2003 to 2023 from multiple IPEDS data collections to provide the legislature with the financial trends of public universities over the last 20 years.  Along with showing the general trends in university revenues, expenditures, student financial aid, and the combined cost of postsecondary education, the report also performed statistical analyses to determine which, if any, variables were increasing the costs to students to attend Oregon public universities.  

The analyses determined that the main cost drivers for public postsecondary education in Oregon over the last 20 years were inflation, instruction costs, living/housing expenses, institutional support costs, and a decrease in state appropriations.  Inflation has increased the overall costs of all goods and services by 65 percent from 2003 to 2023.  Instruction costs have increased 26 percent above inflation in that same period. 100 percent of instruction costs are covered by student tuition and fees.  Estimated living/housing costs have increased 30.8 percent above inflation for students during these years. Students bear 100 percent of these increased costs through student loans or employment.  Institutional support (administrative) costs have increased 138 percent above inflation over this time period.  The data show that state appropriations historically covered institutional support costs, but due to this increase, more of these institutional support costs have been shifted to students through tuition and fees.  Lastly, state appropriations experienced a decline of 50 percent per student during the 2008 financial collapse. State appropriations were then increased starting in 2014 but have not fully recovered to pre-financial collapse levels experiencing an overall decrease in per student state appropriations of 3 percent from 2003 to 2023. Student tuition and fees have increased to cover this overall decrease in state appropriations.  

Combining the costs of postsecondary education shows that costs for students have increased by 65 percentage points due to inflation, 9 percentage points due to instruction costs above inflation, 20 percentage points for living/housing expenses above inflation, 4 percentage points due to increased institutional support costs above inflation, and 1 percentage point due to reduced state appropriations.  Costs that the state covered historically show that the state costs for institutional support have increased 6 percentage points above inflation. Academic support costs have increased 4 percentage points above inflation. Lastly, student services costs have increased by 3 percentage points above inflation to the state. 

Author

• Jesse Helligso, Oregon State Legislature: Legislative Policy Research Office
  Presenting Author