Stopping Oregon's Brain Drain

A couple of days ago the Associated Press reported on a shocking statistic: the number of Oregon high school graduates staying in Oregon for college or university has dropped to a 10-year low.

Fewer Oregon high school graduates are attending Oregon's public universities, and women are leaving men behind in the quest for a college degree, according to a survey by the Oregon University System.

The survey shows that the portion of state high school grads enrolling in state public universities is the lowest since 1997. The trend comes amid budget cuts that boosted undergraduate tuition by almost 72 percent in the same period.

The number of graduates attending out-of-state schools rose slightly for the first time since 1999.

I believe that we should push our students to achieve all they can achieve. If this means attending a Harvard, Princeton or another elite institution, we should encourage them and provide them with the educational background to make it to the school of their choice.

At the same time, we need to continue to make Oregon's community colleges and universities a viable choice for Oregon's graduating high school seniors. With tuition skyrocketing in recent years, the incentive to stay in state is noticeably decreasing. The consequences of this could be disastrous: a brain drain that leaves Oregon without the workers companies are looking for in the 21st century.

Instead of continually cutting funding for higher education, whether it is in real or nominal terms, we need to look for ways to stabilize funding for our education system -- K-12, community colleges and universities. With sufficient funding, we can ensure that our brightest young minds are encouraged to stay in Oregon, not only for college but for decades to come, and keep our state thriving both now and in the future.