The Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC), recently announced that more students who attend or plan to attend MHCC are eligible for the 2018-19 Oregon Promise. OSAC has eliminated the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) limit, meaning all eligible applicants will receive the grant. Additionally, OSAC has stated that students who were ineligible for the 2017-18 Oregon Promise due to EFC limits will be considered for the 2018-19 grant.

Eligible first-time applicants for the Oregon Promise must begin their studies at MHCC or another Oregon community college in 2018-19. Students who received the grant in 2017-18, or who were deemed ineligible due to the EFC limit, must have attended an Oregon community college in the fall, winter and spring of 2017-18, and meet other criteria, to receive the grant in fall 2018-19. Students who graduate from high school or complete their GED between March 1 – June 30 must apply for Oregon Promise by June 1 to be eligible.

Now in its second year of awarding, Oregon Promise is a state-funded grant that helps recent high school graduates and GED recipients pay for community college tuition. In 2017-18, due to budgetary constraints, the HECC limited Oregon Promise Grant eligibility to students based on their family contribution capabilities, or EFC. For the upcoming 2018-19 academic year, the HECC is removing this temporary EFC limit and funding all eligible recipients, as was originally designed in the 2015 legislation that established the Oregon Promise program. The HECC is able to make this adjustment based on expenditures during the first year of the 2017-19 biennium, and the most recent projections of expenditures for 2018-19.

“This is amazing news,” said Gerardo Cifuentes, MHCC’s director of enrollment services. “They now have a greater chance of receiving the assistance they need in paying for college, and we are here to assist them with any questions they may have regarding this opportunity.” 

What does this mean for current Oregon Promise applicants?

Students who will start at MHCC in 2018-19 will not be subject to an EFC limit. Students must meet all Oregon Promise eligibility criteria and apply by the deadline. Students who graduate from high school or complete the GED from March 1 – June 30 must apply for Oregon Promise by June 1.

What does this mean for students who were subject to the EFC limit in 2017-18?

In 2017-18, some Oregon Promise applicants with a higher EFC were not awarded the grant due to budgetary constraints. Some of these students will be awarded the Oregon Promise Grant starting in fall 2018-19. Students must meet all of the following criteria:

• Completed all Oregon Promise application requirements by original program deadlines
• Attempted at least 6 credits at an Oregon community college in the fall, winter, and spring of 2017-18
• Filed or will file the 2018-19 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) or the Oregon Student Aid Application (ORSAA) by June 1, 2018
• Have fewer than 90 total college credits attempted before the start of fall 2018

Fill out your FASFA at fafsa.ed.gov

The ORSAA offers an alternative to the FASFA for undocumented Oregon students, including students who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status or Temporary Protected Status (TPS). You can fill out the ORSA at oregonstudentaid.gov/orsaa-filter.aspx

For more information on the Oregon Promise Grant, log on to oregonstudentaid.gov/oregon-promise.aspx