The Oregon Legislature adjourned its 2025 session on June 27, marking the end of a challenging six months underscored by difficult funding decisions and uncertainty at the federal level. While K–12 education, housing, wildfire funding, and transportation dominated the state’s agenda, higher education was largely left on the margins.

Despite the challenging environment, the University of Oregon and its public university partners mounted a unified and visible presence throughout the session, driving conversations around student aid, university funding, campus construction, and the role of public higher education in Oregon’s long-term economic strategy.

Here’s a look at what the session delivered, where it fell short, and what it means for Oregon’s students and communities.

Operating Support

The Public University Support Fund (PUSF) is the primary source of state funding supporting educational and operational expenses at Oregon’s seven public universities.

What we requested: Oregon’s public universities jointly requested a $275 million increase to the PUSF to stabilize operations, limit tuition increases, and support student success. This would have brought the fund to $1.275 billion for the 2025–2027 biennium.

What we received: The legislature only approved a $69 million increase to the PUSF for the 2025–2027 biennium, falling over $40 million short of the minimum public university-calculated state funding level needed to maintain current programs, services, and broader operations. As a result, the state-funded share of university operating budgets continues to shrink, placing more pressure on students and institutions to address the gap.

Oregon continues to fall behind most other states in public university funding, with data from this year’s State Higher Education Finance Report showing that Oregon has fallen to 46th in the nation in per-student state funding for public universities. The newly passed budget will likely only move Oregon further behind.

Student Financial Aid

What we requested: Oregon’s public universities requested investments in state financial aid programs to support students and improve access to higher education. Specifically:

• A $150 million increase to the Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG), the state’s largest need-based student aid program, to expand eligibility and increase aid.
• Continued funding for the Tribal Student Grant Program, which provides eligible members of Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes with financial support to cover the cost of higher education.
• Continued support for Sports Lottery, which provides support for intercollegiate athletics—particularly for non-revenue generating sports and women’s athletics—and graduate student academic scholarships.

What we received: The Legislature approved current service level funding for all three programs (no investment).

Capital Construction

The most significant win for the University of Oregon was $53.25 million in state-paid bonds toward the construction of a new Child Behavioral Health Building on the UO Portland campus. This new building will house the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health and the Prevention Science Institute, helping to expand the state’s capacity to deliver innovative, evidence-based care while preparing a new generation of highly skilled behavioral health professionals. The facility will serve as an innovation hub, advancing research that leads to practical solutions, and training professionals who can deliver care to Oregon’s children and families where it is needed most.

The legislature also approved $120 million in state-paid bonds for Capital Improvement and Renewal (CI&R), split across all seven public universities, to address deferred maintenance and ensure existing buildings can continue to serve students safely and efficiently.

Targeted UO Funding

Lawmakers approved continued state support for other UO-based programs:

• Current service level funding for UO-administered state programs, including the Labor Education Research Center (LERC), Resolution Oregon, and Domestic Violence Clinic.
• $3.4 million for Criminal Defense Clinics at Oregon’s three law schools, where students provide legal services in partnership with public defenders.

Resolutions

The Legislature also passed three UO-affiliated resolutions this session:

• HCR 31 – Honoring the memory of beloved mentor and civil rights leader, Lyllye Parker-Reynolds.
• SCR 20 – Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.
• SCR 22 – Recognizing the UO football team’s historic Big Ten Championship win.

What Was Left Unfunded

Several requests backed by broad coalitions of students, institutions, and community partners did not receive funding:

• Strong Start, which would have supported summer bridge and retention programs for first-year students.
• The Student Basic Needs Package, aimed at expanding access to campus-based food, housing, and textbook support.
• The University Innovation Research Fund (UIRF), a $30 million request to help Oregon universities compete for federal research dollars.
• Workforce packages for Early Childhood Education and Behavioral Health.
• Sustainable, ongoing funding to support the Oregon Hazards Lab (OHAZ) at the UO, which maintains Oregon’s network of wildfire cameras and ShakeAlert earthquake early warning sensors.
• Ongoing funding for the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) at the UO, which connects students with real-world planning and sustainability work in Oregon communities.
• Funding for research programs and a new research ship and dock at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) at the UO, a key coastal research and education center based in Charleston.
• Funding for water-related research and grants at the Climate Solutions Center at the UO.
• Funding for a Campus Consortium initiative to support emergency response, continuity, and recovery initiatives at all postsecondary educational institutions in Oregon.

UO Advocacy by the Numbers

This session, hundreds of students, faculty, alumni, and community members spoke out in support of UO’s legislative priorities:

• UO Day at the Capitol: Nearly 90 UO students, alumni, and faculty traveled to the Oregon State Capitol to meet with nearly two-thirds of Oregon’s Legislative Assembly—close to 60 offices in one day. The event showcased the strength of the UO community, with advocates sharing personal stories about the need for continued investment in financial aid, infrastructure, and student success.
• Lobby Days: Additional lobby days were held for key campus programs, including SCYP, OIMB, and OHAZ. UO Government & Community Relations also helped coordinate a statewide Strong Start lobby day and assisted with student-led events on basic needs and student government priorities.
• Grassroots Engagement: More than 250 UO Advocates sent over 500 messages to legislators, supplementing over 350 pieces of written testimony coordinated by UO Government and Community Relations.
• Budget Road Show: UO played a leadership role in preparing coalition partners for the Joint Ways and Means Roadshow at six stops across the state. Nearly 30 community members delivered testimony in support of increased higher education funding.

What Comes Next

While this session yielded some targeted investments, Oregon’s public universities remain underfunded. Oregon must take a closer look at how the state calculates funding levels for public universities, explore more sustainable long-term funding strategies, and consider what it will truly take to support affordability, access, and a competitive state economy.

UO will continue to work with elected leaders and the broader community to secure the resources it needs to serve students, support the state’s workforce, and meet the challenges ahead.

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