Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission
Volunteer panel to advise the state government on higher education policy decisions
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Prior to 2012, multiple state agencies and offices had provided statutory regulation and authorization of colleges and universities in Oregon, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Oregon University System, the State Board of Higher Education, the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, the Oregon Student Assistance Commission, and the Oregon legislature. With the passage of SB 242 in 2011, the legislature created the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) to coordinate between community colleges and state universities, but its role, funding, and staffing remained unclear until the 2013 legislative session.
Two pieces of legislation in 2013, SB 270 and HB 3120, provided an extensive overhaul and reconfiguration of educational committees, commissions, boards, and agencies in Oregon. SB 270 provided for independent boards for universities that had previously been governed by the State Board of Education, and HB 3120 reconfigured the HECC, vesting it with additional state policy and budgetary authority for higher education in Oregon. One observer noted that Oregon postsecondary education had seen "more policy changes in the last few years than it has in the past 50".
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Agency structure
The commission's Office of the Executive Director, Policy, and Communications is in charge of "the central executive role of the agency, as well as communications, legislative affairs, human resources, policy initiatives, and other roles for the integrated agency". That office oversees six other state offices, including two that were renamed: the Office of Student Access and Completion (formerly Oregon Student Access Commission) and the Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (formerly Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development). Other offices reporting to the executive director include the Office of Academic Policy and Authorization, the Office of Postsecondary Finance and Capital, the Office of Workforce Investments, the Office of Research and Data, and the Office of Operations.