June 22, 2011
■JJortkinò (Dbserorr
Page 5
Foundation Grows to Give Students Hope
PCC boosts
scholarships as
enrollment surges
in government to help make it easier
for smart and hard working kids to
get to school in the face of rising
costs at colleges, universities and
skill programs,” said Adams at the
inaugural Future Connect scholar­
ship ceremony at City Hall.
According to PCC’s Office of In­
stitutional Effectiveness, 50 percent
of PCC students required financial
assistance to attend college this past
year. For a full-time PCC student, one
year's tuition, fees, books and other
expenses amount to about $4,500. A
two-year degree will total almost
$9,000. Because household budgets
are tight, financial aid applications at
the college have grown by 75 percent
since 2007-08.
“The PCC Foundation awards
hundreds of scholarships every year
to students who may not otherwise
be able to afford an education,” said
PCC District President Preston
Pulliams. “This support has made
an invaluable difference to hundreds
of PCC students and their families.”
For information about the PCC
Foundation, visit edu/foundation.
According to the Bureau of La­
bor Statistics, the unemployment
rate for those with a high school
diploma or less is about 12 percent.
Compared to those who have a
bachelor’s degree, it’s 4.5 percent.
Portland Community College,
known for being an economical
place to start a four-year degree, has
seen its enrollment increase by 32
percent the last two years thanks to
economic instability.
The college has become the des­
tination of choice for people either
getting a start on that bachelor’s
degree, or going back to school to
receive more training. This has trans­
lated into more students utilizing
financial aid and scholarships. This
spring, the PCC Foundation re­
ceived its highest number of com­
pleted applications for its many Norma Jean Germond introduces her scholarship recipient Rebecca Go-Akers (right) to former
scholarships approximately 800, Portland Community College President Jim Van Dyke at the PCC Foundation's scholarship banquet.
which is up from 500 last year.
Within the college there has been
an increased awareness of the foun­
dation due to the surge in students
with financial need. The PCC Foun­
dation awarded$855,000 in scholar­
ships in 2009-10, which was almost
four times the amount dispersed in
2005-06.
“We noticed this year there was
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an increase in faculty involvement,”
said Erin Riley, PCC Foundation
scholarship coordinator. “Faculty
are so aware of students’ financial
plight that they were bringing stu­
dents over to our office to find out
about scholarships and calling to
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get information for students.”
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The interest comes on the heels
of the foundation raising $337,253
this year to match a challenge for the
third consecutive year, which totals
more than $ 1 million in new money
the last three years. In 2008, the
James F. and Marion L. Miller Foun­
dation challenged Oregon’s com­
munity colleges to raise a record
amount of money for scholarships,
with the promise of matching gifts.
The PCC Foundation’s success
and growth has caught the eye of
local dignitaries such as Portland
Mayor Sam Adams.
Adams’ office teamed with PCC
to create the Future Connect Schol­
arship Program which are awarded
to graduating high school seniors
from Multnomah County who are at
risk of not going to college, yet have
high potential to succeed.
Ninety-five percent of the first
Future Connect scholars are first
generation college students. With
E A S Y & F U N T O S H O P • S E N S IB L Y P R IC E D • L O C A L L Y O W N E D & O P E R A T E D
support from the City of Portland
and donations to the PCC Founda­
A R B O R L O D G E • 5 0 3 .4 4 6 6 7 7 .4
4 7 7 7 7
C O N C O R D IA • 5 0 3 .2 8 8 .3 8 3 8
tion, 200 students will receive schol­
arship support and dedicated ad­
In te rs ta te A ve & P o rtla
H a n d B lv d
N E 3 3 rd & K illin g s w o r th
vising to earn a degree at PCC.
“I always wanted to get involved
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NEW S E A S O N S
[M A R K E T
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