A state higher education board reversed course Thursday, approving big tuition hikes at Portland State University and the University of Oregon that it had rejected earlier in the month.
Members of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission said they were convinced the schools would have to make critical cuts without the tuition levels they had proposed.
Absent an increase in state funding, the move means tuition will climb 8.4 percent at PSU and 11.5 percent at UO.
The decision came after about an hour of testimony from university administrators, who defended the need for higher tuition, and students. Many in the latter group described their difficulties in making ends meet.
Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who voted against the increases when the board last met, said she had spent the intervening weeks talking with students and administrators at both schools. She said the services on the chopping block were too vital to risk.
"I still don't like the idea" of the higher costs, Rubio said. "But I have a better picture of the critical services that are at stake here."
Commissioner Ramon Ramirez, who previously voted no but supported for the increases on Thursday, said the board had sent a message with its earlier denial.
"I think this is strong message" that we need it improve the way we engage with the student community, he said.
He also said that administrators need to work with students to persuade the Oregon Legislature to better fund higher education.
In their second time before the board, the two universities sought to address concerns raised earlier, including the idea they hadn't adequately involved students in discussions around the tuition increases.
In a letter to the commission, outgoing PSU President Wim Wiewel said the school had staged a campus-wide town hall about tuition, and that its board of trustees held a special meeting to talk to students in small groups about affordability and other topics.
"In total, I feel that there were meaningful opportunities for engagement by a broad and diverse group of students in this process," Wiewel wrote. "Of course, this process could always be better, and we look forward to discussions with next year's student leaders regarding ways that the process can be improved next year."
In a letter to the commission, UO Board of Trustees Chairman Charles Lillis and President Michael Schill, said the rejection had "thrown UO's budget into tremendous uncertainty that must be resolved in as swift a manner as possible."
"The magnitude of this responsibility and its implications on students and families is not lost on our members," they wrote. "We do not make decisions lightly, and would not have approved this proposal if it were not necessary."
Both schools agreed to reduce their tuition increases if the legislature came through with more higher education funding.
The commission's May 10 rejection of the schools' proposed tuition increases was the first time it had weighed in on the annual tuition increases since it was established in 2011, though it previously approved other cost increases that affected a small subset of students.
Public university leaders have asked for $767.3 million in public support for the upcoming biennium, which is $100 million more than Gov. Kate Brown recommended in the budget plan released Dec. 1. Lawmakers also are grappling with a $1.4 billion budget shortfall.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus