PathwayOregon 2021 Report
“As someone who benefitted personally from scholarships, the PathwayOregon program is especially meaningful to me. PathwayOregon not only opens doors for students, it provides holistic academic support. I am grateful to all of the generous donors who continue to help our students experience the rewards of earning a college education.”
—Michael H. Schill, President of the University of Oregon and Professor of Law
Fellow Ducks, I cannot express how critical the PathwayOregon program was for some of our students this past year, more so than ever before. With the COVID-19 pandemic crippling the world, we faced a lot of uncertainty this year. For many, jobs were lost, rent was difficult to pay, and the prospects of attending or continuing to attend college became questionable. However, PathwayOregon helped take away some of that uncertainty for some of our brightest, lower-income Oregonians. In fall 2020, nearly 2,400 students were part of the PathwayOregon program. Despite learning remotely this year, our Pathway students showed resilience, attending and achieving in their classes during this new reality. While the full coverage of tuition and fees helped alleviate the financial burden for many, the continued personal, individualized advising also brought a human element to their experience away from school. To date, more than 7,200 students have been PathwayOregon recipients, with almost $50 million distributed since the program’s inception in 2008. As the state’s flagship university, we have a responsibility for making high-quality education accessible to all of our state’s students. PathwayOregon accomplishes that for our brightest, Pelleligible students who would otherwise find the financial costs of higher education too much to overcome. All in thanks to the generous contributions of our donors, the stress of that financial burden is greatly eased, and our talented students can focus on exploring their creativity, making the next scientific breakthrough, or leading the charge on correcting today’s social issues. While the world’s focus right now is on defeating this pandemic—and I know we will—the need from low-income Oregonians who desire higher education will still continue on. We must not lose sight of that, or we risk defeating ourselves as being great stewards of education to all the communities across our state. With the contributions from our donors from across the years and new ones in the future, you continue to strengthen the PathwayOregon program, helping us attract the best and brightest around Oregon and giving us the opportunity to find new ways to help our students be successful. The support you are giving is making dreams come true and the future of Oregon even brighter. With gratitude,
Roger J. Thompson Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management University of Oregon Alumni Association Lifetime Member
Student Profile PATHWAYOREGON NEW FRESHMAN STUDENTS
7,200
GENEROUS GIFT FROM CONNIE, BS ’84, AND STEVE BALLMER
MORE THAN
PROGRAM RESTRUCTURED
900
STUDENTS SERVED SINCE PROGRAM’S INCEPTION
523
542
FALL 2013
FALL 2014
844 712
706 646
FALL 2015
FALL 2016
FALL 2017
619
FALL 2018
FALL 2019
581
FALL 2020
PATHWAYOREGON AWARDS TO FRESHMAN STUDENTS 2,250,000
1,750,000 1,500,000 1,250,000 1,000,000
PROGRAM RESTRUCTURED
2,000,000
$1,146,945
$1,239,417
750,000 500,000
GENEROUS GIFT FROM CONNIE, BS ’84, AND STEVE BALLMER
$2,560,353 2,500,000
$2,325,007
$2,238,377
$2,213,194 $1,894,919 $1,508,799
250,000 0 FALL 2013
FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS
FALL 2014
FALL 2015
FALL 2016
FALL 2017
FALL 2018
FALL 2019
FALL 2020
STUDENTS FROM RURAL COUNTIES 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0%
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF PATHWAYOREGON STUDENTS BY COUNTY COLUMBIA
CLATSOP
HOOD RIVER MULTNOMAH UMATILLA
WASHINGTON TILLAMOOK
SHERMAN
UNION
CLACKAMAS
YAMHILL
GILLIAM
WASCO POLK
WALLOWA
MORROW
MARION WHEELER
BAKER
JEFFERSON
LINCOLN
LINN
GRANT
BENTON CROOK DESCHUTES
LANE
50 OR MORE 10 TO 49 0 TO 9 COOS
DOUGLAS
LAKE
HARNEY
MALHEUR
CURRY JOSEPHINE
JACKSON
KLAMATH
PATHWAYOREGON STUDENTS BY SCHOOL OR COLLEGE
PATHWAYOREGON STUDENTS BY RACE–ETHNICITY WHITE
HISPANIC O R LATINO ASIAN
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: HUMANITIES
49% 25%
10%
TWO OR MORE RACES
149 615 COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: SOCIAL SCIENCES 417 LUNDQUIST COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 310 COLLEGE OF DESIGN 167 COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 146 COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: NATURAL SCIENCES
9%
4% RACE AND E THNICITY UNKNOWN 1% BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN
AMERICAN INDIAN OR ALASKAN NATIVE
<1% NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER <1%
SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION
256 SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DANCE 61 EXPLORING 272
“The PathwayOregon staff members helped me navigate requirements, set up my class schedule, and check all the boxes I needed to. It’s a support system I can rely on.” —ANGEL ESCOCIA-NUÑEZ MAJOR: FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES
Student Retention PathwayOregon freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have consistently persisted at rates on par with their higher-income peers.
FRESHMAN RETENTION RATES 89%
90% 87%
86%
88% 87%
87%
89%
88%
87%
87%
87%
87%
86%
88% 87%
85%
85%
80%
75%
70%
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
RETAINED TO SECOND YEAR
Minding the Gap PathwayOregon is a promise that tuition and fees will be covered for four years, as long as students remain eligible and meet academic requirements. However, the amount the UO provides varies according to each student’s needs, enabling us to leverage state and federal funds.
2020–21 TOTAL TUITION AND FEES: $13,857 Example 1: Expected family contribution of $0
$3,600 $2,862
Example 2: Expected family contribution of $2,500
$3,600
Example 3: Expected family contribution of $5,000
$3,795
$12,562
$7,395 $6,462 $1,295
FEDERAL GRANT
STATE GRANT
UO GRANT
Expected family contribution is determined by the federal government when students apply for financial aid. It is calculated with a formula that uses income, assets, benefits, and family size.
Graduation Rates The four-year graduation rates of
Just one year later, the first cohort of
PathwayOregon students greatly exceed
Pathway students entered the UO—a cohort
historical rates for low-income Oregonians.
that graduated at a rate of 43 percent.
In 2007, the year before the Pathway
Now, 12 years after the inception of the
program was launched, the average four-
Pathway program, an incredible 59 percent
year graduation rate for Federal Pell Grant
of Pathway students that entered the UO in
recipients attending the UO was 31 percent,
2016 graduated last year.
slightly better than the rate at other Oregon public universities.
FOUR-YEAR GRADUATION RATES 61%
61% 56%
56%
56%
57%
63% 59%
53% 47%
50%
2011 GRADUATED BY 2015
50%
2012 GRADUATED BY 2016
2013 GRADUATED BY 2017
2014 GRADUATED BY 2018
2015 GRADUATED BY 2019
2016 GRADUATED BY 2020
“Being part of the PathwayOregon community comes with a really wonderful support system. Both my family and I benefit from the scholarship, so we can focus on our lives and not worry about financially burdening ourselves. Knowing how the expenses of books and housing can add up, having the entirety of my tuition covered feels like weight being lifted off my shoulders.” —DARINA MIROEDOVA MAJOR: ART AND TECHNOLOGY MINORS: MEDIA STUDIES, MUSIC TECHNOLOGY An equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. ©2021 University of Oregon SSEM0521