State universities see decline in enrollment.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Fewer Oregon residents are enrolling in the state's public universities, renewing concerns that years of spiraling tuition and reduced offerings are hurting the state's efforts to build an educated work force and attract high-paying jobs.

Figures released Thursday by the Oregon University System show that enrollment this fall is flat, rising a scant 0.1 percent during the past year to 81,002. But the number of new resident undergraduates dropped 1.3 percent over last year, marking the second consecutive year that fewer Oregonians began a university education.

"I would say it's a warning," said Bob Kieran, director of institutional research for the OUS. "The number is not so huge it's alarming, but it is an indicator."

The trend is disturbing because jobs in what is being called the "knowledge economy" depend more heavily on workers with a college degree.

Without well-educated workers, Oregon could have a harder time attracting business and industry that provide higher-paying jobs.

"We have reason to believe the students coming out of high school are going to need some post-secondary education to compete in a knowledge-based society," Kieran said.

"We see the need to educate more people for Oregon's future."

The state's seven public universities showed little growth for the second straight year. Enrollment rose 1 percent last year and 0.6 percent in 2004.

In contrast, students flocked to universities in the early part of the decade, raising enrollment by 6.3 percent at its peak in 2001. Enrollment has grown almost 29 percent over the past 10 years, an average of 2.9 percent a year.

Kieran said the trend mirrors one in the early 1990s following the passage of Measure 5, which also triggered big cuts in university support.

That drove up tuition and stalled enrollment just as new high-tech industries were beginning to grow and create a demand for college-educated employees.

As a result, "Oregon simply imported educated workers, leaving Oregonians behind," Kieran said.

"And with the rebound in the state's economy and employment rates, demand for highly skilled employees with higher levels of education is only increasing."

The trend is the same at the University of Oregon, where this fall's enrollment of 20,388 is six students fewer than it was last fall. But the UO has 120 fewer resident undergraduates, a decrease of 3.6 percent.

One reason behind the numbers is a decrease in enrollment at the state's community colleges, which also have battled a loss of state support and big tuition increases. That means fewer students are taking their first two years of classes at a community college and then transferring to a four-year university.

Martha Pitts, the UO's director of enrollment, said the school's drop in resident undergraduates largely is due to a 13 percent decrease in the number of such transfer students.

The university actually has 22 more resident freshmen than last year, but that gain was more than erased by the drop in transfer students, she said.

That trend may be waning, however. Lane Community College saw enrollment increase by 5 percent last year after several years of declines and is hoping for another uptick this year.

But while the number of Oregon undergraduates declined, the number of out-of-state students rose.

Statewide, nonresident freshman enrollment rose 18.4 percent; at the UO, the number is up 3.5 percent.

Higher cost is seen as one reason for the resident enrollment decline. University tuition statewide is up more than 40 percent since 2001, while community colleges have seen an increase of more than 60 percent.

The increases were driven by cuts in state support brought on by a recession that sapped state tax revenue.

Colleges and universities increased tuition to replace some of the lost funding and also had to cut class offerings, making it harder for students to finish their programs on time.

Although higher tuition and fewer classes are obvious explanations for the anemic enrollment report, they aren't the only ones.

Part of it is demographics; at the UO, last spring's graduating class started out as the largest freshman class ever, and the incoming classes aren't as big.

Also, Kieran noted that much of the population growth in Oregon has been driven by increases in Hispanic residents. College-going rates among those families have not been as high as in other groups, challenging universities to improve outreach programs.

Diversity at the universities is increasing. Non-white enrollment rose 2.8 percent and now makes up 14 percent of the student body statewide, with some of the largest increases in Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

At the UO, the number of minority students is up by 120, with more than half of them Hispanic.

International student enrollment also is up, rising 5 percent to 1,207.