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--> --> Enrollment at Cascade campus questioned BEND (AP) - A state analysis of enrollment at Oregon State University's Cascade Campus shows about half as many students are taking classes there as school officials reported in October. Based on reports due the fourth week of classes, there were 136 full-time students at the Bend campus - 98 fewer than reported shortly after the branch opened. Enrollment is far short of the 250-student target set by the State Board of Higher Education, which oversees Oregon's public universities. The confusion comes as some state officials are questioning whether to continue the branch at all in the face of a $720 million shortfall in the state budget. Low enrollment would not help OSU as it fights further budget cuts. Oregon University System analyst Bob Kieran, who compiled the latest report, said the discrepancy stems from misunderstandings about which students the campus can count as its own. Eight universities offer classes at the branch, and Cascade Campus relies heavily on Central Oregon Community College for students and some faculty. OSU included in its enrollment report roughly 70 COCC students who have been accepted to the branch but are not yet taking classes. The university system, which ties funding to enrollment, will not count those students until they actually take classes through Cascade Campus. OSU administrators say they decided to include the COCC students because the branch provides some services for them. "Entering freshman at COCC can be considered a Cascades Campus student in terms of services - we provide advising, handle their financial aid, health services - even though they don't provide dollars from the state," said Linda Johnson, associate provost for community relations and administration. The remaining 28 students were miscounted due to accounting glitches or because they dropped classes at the branch after they were counted. Adding to the confusion, about 85 other students from five partner universities who take classes at the branch were not counted as Cascade Campus students in the state report, because OSU has not finalized legal memorandums of understanding with those schools. Those students were counted as part of the enrollment at the home campuses, not the branch. The branch has some time to sort out the discrepancies because for the first few years state funding will come in set amounts, starting with $7.2 million for 2001-03. OUS Chancellor Joe Cox said the branch will not be judged by its first four weeks of enrollment. "We've known that this was not going to be an overnight, 100-percent success. It will take some time," he said. "I'm actually encouraged by the numbers in the first two quarters. We knew the cost-per-student would be high until they can build a base. It has be given a chance to grow to do that." Still, with the gloomy outlook for the state budget, the higher education board members have opted to cut $1.8 million, or 25 percent from the branch's $7.2 million budget for 2001-2003 rather than shut down the campus. OSU officials said the campus, open for just 19 weeks, is being scrutinized more carefully than other campuses. "We've got all this heightened interest in the details, but we're hampered by the fact that we don't have a unified way to produce them," Johnson said. On the Net: Oregon University System: http://www.ous.edu/ Oregon State University's Cascade Campus: http://www.cosu.orst.edu/ Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing