Eastern Oregon University joins national effort to boost student outcomes

At Eastern Oregon University, the new test was not whether more students would sign up in La Grande, but whether more of them would finish, earn more and stay connected to rural Eastern Oregon after graduation. President Kelly A. Ryan said the framework “aligns closely with what EOU is already doing,” especially around student access, affordability, support, completion, earnings and the broader value a degree can create.

EOU said it was selected as one of 10 universities nationwide for workshops led by the Association of American State Colleges and Universities on the Postsecondary Value Framework. Faculty, staff and university leaders spent a day and a half examining how the framework applied to the campus and what it meant for students, families, employers and rural communities after graduation. The framework itself was developed by the Postsecondary Value Commission, a group of 30 higher-education leaders, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and management from the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

For Union County students, the most immediate shift is in the machinery around them. EOU launched its Mountaineer Success Team Program in fall 2024, building a personalized support network that includes academic advisors, faculty mentors, athletic coaches, belonging advisors and success guides. The university also opened the Mountaineer Information Center in Inlow Hall in September 2024 as a one-stop hub for financial aid, advising referrals, campus navigation, student IDs and access to a campus food pantry. EOU’s TRIO Student Support Services program, open for the 2025-26 year, serves first-generation, rural, low-income, under-resourced and disabled students at no cost.

The university said those efforts were already showing up in the numbers. EOU reported a 2.7% increase in overall enrollment in fall 2024, bringing nearly 100 additional students to campus, while credit hours rose 4.4%. The school said it had 2,800 students on its homepage and described its average annual cost of attendance as about $16,000, the lowest among Oregon’s public universities. EOU also said it awards more than $4 million in scholarships each year, including freshman awards worth up to $12,000 over four years.

The strategy fits the role EOU has tried to claim for itself since it was designated Oregon’s Rural University in 2018. In La Grande and across Union County, the pitch is increasingly practical: lower cost, more hands-on support and a stronger bet that a degree will lead to work, wages and long-term value for eastern Oregon families.