Donors cover tuition gap for 3,400 students

More than 3,400 OSU students scheduled to receive reduced Oregon Opportunity Grant awards for the spring term will have the shortfall made up entirely, thanks to donations from alumni and friends.

Some 3,370 students had anticipated full awards for the term, and each would have suddenly faced an $80 shortfall. Another 59 part-time students would have seen $40 reductions.

But thanks in part to The Campaign for OSU, which has made scholarships a top priority through a $100-million goal, students will be able to focus on coursework and learning, rather than scrambling to make up the difference between their aid packages and their costs.

Total cost of covering the shortfall: $490,000.

"We're grateful for the generosity of our donors, as the OOG shortfall affects more than 20 percent of our undergraduate students," said Kate Peterson, OSU assistant provost for enrollment management. "Of course, using those funds in this way now means we'll have limited emergency monies going into the next academic year. Still, we felt that it was critical to help these students continue their progress toward degrees, so that our greatest contribution toward a healthy economy — the graduation of highly educated students — is as strong as it must be in these difficult times."

The OOG is a component of the Bridge to Success Program, which covers tuition and fees for all qualified Oregonian undergraduate students. The program also draws from scholarship funds raised as part of The Campaign for OSU.

Bridge to Success was announced last spring, with a goal of serving 1,500 students. More than 3,000 Oregonians — one-fifth of the in-state undergraduate population — have actually received awards this year.

"Given the unexpected economic circumstances of the past six months, the Bridge to Success Program could not have been launched at a more critical time," said Peterson.

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"$100 Million for Students" Scholarship Initiative