SALEM, Ore. - Oregon has been awarded a $4.1 million federal grant to help community college students afford basic needs and prepare for the workforce.
The Higher Education Coordinating Commission received the four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The money will expand Oregon's capacity to address basic needs insecurity, such as food and housing insecurity, among community college students through 2030.
The project aims to connect students with essential supports, reduce barriers to completion and promote long-term economic mobility. Oregon partners aim to increase services to low-income students at the state's 17 community colleges and improve their completion rates in credentials needed for today's workforce.
The commission was one of only three recipients nationally for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program grant for 2026. The commission's Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development will administer the funds and subcontract with Portland Community College to coordinate the project among the state's two-year public institutions and partners.
"This grant will help us build on successful strategies that are already making a difference in critical basic needs and workforce support," Rodamaker said. "Thanks to the collaboration across institutions, Oregon is working to tackle the serious challenge of basic needs insecurity for students."
She added that when students don't have to worry about how they will pay for rent, food, childcare and other basics while in school, they can focus on the talents and credentials they need to thrive in today's economy. Rodamaker is deputy executive director for the commission's Programs and Policy Division.
According to 2025 survey data from The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, 79% of students across the nation who had stopped out or were considering stopping out cited basic needs insecurity as a driving factor. This includes financial strain, mental health challenges and barriers such as transportation and childcare.
The project will expand critical supports across Oregon's urban, rural and frontier communities, ensuring that students with the greatest needs receive timely, effective and connected services. The work will build on Oregon's network of postsecondary and workforce programs that connect Oregonians with essential supports through Benefit Navigators, industry-aligned credentials and meaningful career opportunities.
"Identifying a student's needs is only the first step," said Adam Mennig, Portland Community College's director of STEP and Pathways to Opportunity. "We also need to make sure they can connect with resources that help them keep moving forward."
He said this partnership brings basic needs support and career pathways closer together, making those connections a more intentional part of the student experience. Portland Community College is proud to help coordinate this statewide effort so more students can stay enrolled, complete their credentials and build greater economic stability for themselves and their families, Mennig said.
The grant supports five key activities. It will increase access to public benefits and reduce basic needs insecurity for community college students by implementing a benefits screening tool at scale across Oregon public institutions. Oregon partners will work to strengthen the system's service infrastructure to best assess student need, connecting activities such as benefit navigators with education and workforce programs and expanding referral pathways across the state.
The grant will strengthen pathways toward workforce-relevant credentials and support artificial intelligence skills to prepare learners for high-demand fields. The grant supports expansion of direct services on community college campuses that reflect local needs. It supports collection and use of data on education and employment outcomes of students who benefit from these programs.
The planned activities supported by this grant bolster numerous Oregon partnerships and initiatives underway to address basic needs and student support. Since 2021, employees called benefit navigators at Oregon's public community colleges and universities have helped students apply for resources that reduce basic needs insecurity. Oregon has formed the statewide Basic Needs Oregon Consortium to support this work.
Oregon legislation passed in 2021 required Oregon's public postsecondary institutions to employ benefit navigators to assist students in accessing public benefit programs. In 2025-26 alone, benefit navigators provided direct support to 30,180 students. The commission administers funding for the program, manages institutional agreements and provides technical assistance and policy guidance.
The grant activities also build on Oregon's initiative in Career Pathways, also coordinated by the commission. By linking basic needs screening directly with wraparound supports and stackable credential opportunities, the career pathways initiative aims to close the gap between identifying needs and ensuring students can complete workforce-aligned programs that lead to economic mobility.