At an informational hearing today, Adrienne Mitchell, LCCEA President & OEA Community College Council Vice President, provided invited testimony to the Oregon House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. Mitchell provided information about teaching and learning conditions at community colleges, and advocated for increased funding for community colleges, part-time pay parity, and addressing student needs.

“The community college system is critical to economic and workforce development,” said Mitchell, “providing students who would otherwise have no access to higher education a means to break out of generational poverty. Yet the state continues to disinvest, and community colleges and our students are facing a crisis.”

“Oregon’s future depends on our community colleges, and substantial investment is necessary in order to maintain current service levels without more program and service cuts.”

The full text of Mitchell’s testimony is below.