Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission

Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, Government Organization, 3225 25th Street SE, Salem, OR.

The HECC is a State of Oregon agency and Commission working to improve equitable access to and success in higher education and workforce training for Oregonians statewide.

Join us in celebrating adult education and family literacy next week, September 14-18! The Higher Education Coordinating...
09/10/2026

Join us in celebrating adult education and family literacy next week, September 14-18! The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) is pleased to announce that Governor Kotek has declared the week of September 14-18 Oregon's Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. We encourage others to join us in celebrating the thousands of students who are benefiting from these programs, and the educators who serve them.

The Governor’s proclamation emphasizes that education is essential for the economic, social, and cultural well-being of the State of Oregon, providing residents with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
--Read our press release here:
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORHECC/bulletins/428447f
--Read the proclamation here: https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/community-colleges-workforce-development/Documents/ABS/2026%20Adult%20Education%20and%20Family%20Literacy%20Week.pdf
Oregon’s celebration coincides with the national Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, organized through the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), and with National GED® Day on September 18, 2026.

How to Participate
--Help us share this news about the positive impacts of adult education! Find some key facts below.
--Institutions and programs are encouraged to highlight success stories of students who have benefited from adult basic skills education or literacy education on social media.
--Explore COABE-sponsored resources to recognize adult learners here, including social media content and student stories. https://www.coabe.org/aefl-week
--Explore National GED® Day resources here including success stories to share. https://www.ged.com/nationalgedday.html

Some facts about adult education and family literacy in Oregon:
--At the center of Oregon’s adult education ecosystem is the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title II program, the foundation of the state’s Adult Basic Skills system. Through 15 Oregon community colleges and the Oregon Department of Corrections, Title II funding ensures that thousands of adult learners can access literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, English language acquisition, and workforce preparation each year.
--In 2024–25 alone, more than 13,300 adults participated in Oregon’s Title II program, earning thousands of measurable skill gains and nearly 1,200 high school credentials.
--Since the last biennium, Oregon has seen a 29 percent increase in the number of adults served in Title II programs and a 35 percent increase in median earnings six months after program completion. Nearly 2,200 Title II participants earned a GED® and transitioned to employment or postsecondary education, marking a 25 percent increase over the previous biennium.

Learn more about Oregon’s Adult Basic Skills program here.
https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/community-colleges-workforce-development/pages/adult-basic-skills.aspx

PRESS RELEASE: Oregon to Expand Registered Apprenticeship Pathways in Healthcare, Information Technology, and Manufactur...
08/17/2026

PRESS RELEASE: Oregon to Expand Registered Apprenticeship Pathways in Healthcare, Information Technology, and Manufacturing

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) is pleased to announce that Oregon will invest approximately $1.7 million in federal funding to expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) aimed at strengthening the state’s apprenticeship system and addressing urgent workforce shortages in healthcare, and emerging needs in information technology (IT) and manufacturing. This initiative addresses critical workforce shortages, especially in rural and frontier communities, by increasing access to paid, high-quality training pathways.

To accelerate solutions, Oregon will use the grant funds awarded by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) through the State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula 4 (SAEF4). Learn more about in our full announcement here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORHECC/bulletins/424b111

This spring, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and Oregon's Kitchen Table invited Oregonians to share ...
08/04/2026

This spring, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and Oregon's Kitchen Table invited Oregonians to share what helps create a sense of belonging for learners in college and training programs. Thank you to the 1,100 people who participated! We are grateful for your time, attention, ideas, and experiences.

What’s next.... In coming months, OKT will share a preliminary summary report about what people shared. OKT and partner Izora Arts & Sciences also plan to work with partners to identify the factors that have the greatest potential to influence students’ sense of belonging statewide. Thank you again to all who provided input.

Transfer Update! New Common Course Numbering Approvals The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and public i...
06/25/2026

Transfer Update! New Common Course Numbering Approvals

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and public institutions, through the Transfer Council, are working together to streamline the transfer of credits between Oregon’s 17 community colleges and seven public universities. We are pleased to announce that 12 courses were recently approved for Common Course Numbering in Communications, History, Political Science, and Spanish. With the recent approvals, Oregon now has a total of 62 common lower-division courses that are aligned and approved for Common Course Numbering to help students transfer credits.

Learn more about our work to streamline transfer here:
https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/transfer/Pages/default.aspx

Institutions can find details on these agreements, including effective dates and catalog requirements, on our CCN web page.
https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/transfer/Pages/common-course-numbering.aspx

Students can learn how to take advantage of active agreements under Tools for Transfer here.
https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/transfer/pages/transfer-compass.aspx
Students can easily identify available CCN courses in catalogs because courses that have been aligned as part of CCN have a capital “Z” in the last place in the course number field (e.g., MTH 105Z).

Our June issue of HECC Collaborations is published! Read here about recent initiatives of the Oregon Higher Education Co...
06/24/2026

Our June issue of HECC Collaborations is published! Read here about recent initiatives of the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission as we work to serve Oregonians statewide.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORHECC/bulletins/4185cf9

This summer issue includes a message from Executive Director Ben Cannon, updates on the collaborative process being established for implementation of House Bill 4124 and the system-wide study this bill calls for, Oregon's work to prepare for Workforce Pell, updates on the development of the 2027-29 agency request budget (ARB) recommendations for postsecondary education, good news on financial aid applications across the state, and more.

We are pleased to share that HECC Executive Director Ben Cannon is featured in "Investing with Purpose in Oregon," today...
06/09/2026

We are pleased to share that HECC Executive Director Ben Cannon is featured in "Investing with Purpose in Oregon," today's episode of HCM Strategists' Financing Futures series. In this animated 5-minute video, Executive Director Cannon explains the intentional, strategic priorities built into Oregon's outcomes-based public university funding model, the Student Success and Completion Model (SSCM), first launched in 2015. Director Cannon explains how Oregon has taken intentional steps to align funding with state needs, and to ensure that all students, including traditionally underserved students, have the support to succeed.
Financing Futures is an animated eight-part video series exploring how state postsecondary funding has evolved over the past 15+ years. The series explores the past, present, and future of postsecondary finance, and spotlights states that are leading the way toward lasting change. Intentional funding strategies such as the SSCM support access, retention, and completion, creating a clear pathway to success for all students.
Watch the video and follow the series here: https://hcmstrategists.com/financingfutures
Background: The state invests taxpayer dollars in Oregon’s seven public universities primarily through one fund, the Public University Support Fund (PUSF). After the biennial PUSF investment is made by the Legislature and Governor, the HECC is responsible for distribution of public funds among the seven public universities. The HECC determine payments to each college based on the Student Success Completion Model (SSCM). Executive Director Cannon explains the framework for that model in the video today. You can learn more here: https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/postsecondary-finance-capital/Pages/university-funding-model.aspx
Many thanks to HCM Strategies for featuring Oregon among leading states in this work.

It's not to late to share your input! Oregonians can complete a survey through June 1 on what creates a sense of belongi...
05/30/2026

It's not to late to share your input! Oregonians can complete a survey through June 1 on what creates a sense of belonging in postsecondary programs.

Complete the online survey:

https://www.oregonskitchentable.org/surveys/what-helps-create-sense-belonging-oregon-college-and-training-programs

What Helps Create a Sense of Belonging in Oregon College and Training Programs? The survey is available in English, French, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese, and is open through June 1, 2026.

The HECC is partnering with Oregon's Kitchen Table (OKT)—to hear directly from current, recent, and future students and learners, as well as community members who support learners, about what could help create a sense of belonging in learning settings after high school. This process is intended to generate actionable insights to strengthen inclusivity and belonging across Oregon institutions.

Please feel free to share this opportunity!

In a press release today, we are pleased to release the 2026 Oregon Talent Assessment, a research analysis focused on em...
05/20/2026

In a press release today, we are pleased to release the 2026 Oregon Talent Assessment, a research analysis focused on emerging trends in the economic and workforce landscape in Oregon, which offers recommendations for the state to build a stronger talent pool and workforce development system.

Read our release: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORHECC/bulletins/4178a2b
Read the full assessment: https://www.oregon.gov/workforceboard/data-and-reports/Documents/2026%20Oregon%20Talent%20Assessment.pdf
The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and the Workforce and Talent Development Board (WTBD) contracted with ECOnorthwest to develop this comprehensive analysis for Oregon. The 2026 Talent Assessment provides a framework to help identify priority industries and occupations while highlighting current and anticipated major workforce challenges and opportunities.

This year's assessment shows that demand for workers in key sectors of Oregon’s economy remains strong, even amidst slowing employment growth over the next decade. The researchers argue that a more connected approach is needed in education, training, and economic development to help more Oregonians access and stay in good jobs.

Commissioned every two years since 2018, the 2026 analysis is the fifth Talent Assessment for Oregon. Highlights of the report were presented at the Oregon Talent Summit in Salem on May 19, which brought together hundreds of people from across public policy, education, and workforce development for a day-long conference focused on “Bridging Vision and Action: Forging Oregon’s Path Forward.”

Our latest agency newsletter, HECC Collaborations, focuses on ways we are engaging with partners across the higher educa...
05/19/2026

Our latest agency newsletter, HECC Collaborations, focuses on ways we are engaging with partners across the higher education and workforce landscape as we launch several significant new projects for Oregon. Read the latest newsletter for updates on the collaborative process being established for House Bill 4124 implementation, the agency request budget development process, Southern Oregon University's emergency funding needs, the process for developing a new General Education framework, a statewide outreach effort on how we can foster a sense of belonging for all in higher education, and more.
Read the latest issue: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORHECC/bulletins/417542f

It's a full house at the Oregon Talent Summit! Thanks to everyone who has joined us for this lively in-person Summit foc...
05/19/2026

It's a full house at the Oregon Talent Summit! Thanks to everyone who has joined us for this lively in-person Summit focused on turning workforce and education strategy into action through collaboration, data, and practical solutions. Oregon’s Workforce and Talent Development Board (WTDB) and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) are hosting the Summit today at the Salem Convention Center.

Since 2018, the Oregon Talent Summit has convened leaders to explore implications and consider actions on critical trends, challenges, and solutions in workforce and talent development. A core focus of the Summit is presenting the findings of the 2026 Oregon Talent Assessment by ECOnorthwest – the biannual analysis of Oregon’s workforce that identifies in-demand industries and occupations, evaluates supply-demand alignment, and provides regional and equity insights. In this photo, the crowd is hearing highlights from the 2026 Talent Assessment, which we will share more about soon!

In addition to keynotes, participants are joining breakout tracks focused on critical workforce topics:

--Business Leadership & Economic Development: Aligning Employers, Talent & Growth

--Data to Action: Driving Policy & Outcomes

--Work-Based Learning: Connecting Education & Work Experience

--Youth Workforce Development: Pathways to Opportunity & Career Success

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3225 25th Street SE
Salem, OR
97302

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