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Task force to look at barriers to college By Kevin Opsahl Updated: Jul 19, 2022 09:10 PM A A A legislative task force will hold listening sessions Wednesday and Thursday, at SOU and RCC, to learn about barriers to college for underrepresented students. [Mail Tribune / file photo] A new higher education task force created by the Oregon Legislature wants to get feedback from Rogue Valley residents on policies that lawmakers could craft in the next legislative session to help underrepresented groups of college and university students overcome educational barriers. The Task Force on Student Success for Underrepresented Students in Higher Education will host open public “listening sessions” Wednesday and Thursday at Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community College. “I want to take a moment to really urge people who are concerned about their access to higher education to attend,” said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland. “This task force is the real deal. It’s not just window dressing. We really want to know, as specifically as we can, what keeps people from entering in the first place and what keeps them from graduating if they’ve already entered.” The task force, created under House Bill 2590 last year, has eight House and Senate members. As defined in the legislation, “underrepresented” populations can mean rural residents, low-income families, undocumented people and LGBTQ+. “I know there are highly motivated people in the valley who would love to get into RCC or SOU, but haven’t been able to. Why is that? Money is one obvious answer, but there might be other things,” Golden said. The task force goal is to come up with legislative proposals in areas that include recruitment, admissions, tuition, retention, child care and health care costs, as well as career readiness and student debt. “The lynchpin to the kind of Oregon we want to see is access to education and training that leads to good jobs,” Golden said. “If people don’t have that access, we’re just going to see our problems multiply. … We’re not going to get to where we need to be without removing some of those barriers.” Neil Woolf, SOU vice president of enrollment management and student affairs, believes the listening sessions will provide ample opportunities for students to weigh in, even if it is summer term. “We’re always happy whenever members of the Legislature are able to listen to students, regardless of what time of year it is,” Woolf said. “Our students have responded and we’ll have a good group for them tomorrow. “It allows the legislators to hear straight from the students who are experiencing the barriers to provide their direct voice and experience,” Woolf said. The SOU session is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at Stevenson Union, 1118 Siskiyou Blvd., in Ashland. The RCC session is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at the school’s Table Rock campus, in the Health Professions Building, room 220, 7800 Pacific Ave., White City. No reservations are required for either meeting. Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.