BACKGROUND

History/Location: Portland State University is Oregon's urban public university.  Founded in 1946 as Vanport Extension Center of the Oregon State System of Higher Education, it became Portland State College, a separate degree-granting institution, in 1955, and was re-named Portland State University in 1969.  The Carnegie Foundation currently classifies Portland State University as a Doctoral/Research University-Intensive.  The Portland metropolitan area has a population of approximately 2.1 million.

Academic Schools and Colleges, Programs and Degrees: The University comprises the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Urban and Public Affairs, and Engineering and Computer Science; Schools of Business Administration, Fine and Performing Arts, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Social Work, and Extended Studies.  During the 2005-2006 academic year 3,033 bachelor's degrees, 1,453 master's degrees, and 41 doctoral degrees were awarded.  The University offers bachelor's degrees in 71 fields, certificate programs in thirteen areas at the undergraduate level and 27 at the graduate level, master's degrees in 85 fields, and doctoral degrees in eleven fields.  In 2005-2006 doctoral degrees were awarded in Computer Science, Educational Leadership, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Resources, Mathematical Sciences, Social Work, Public Administration and Policy, Systems Science, and Urban Studies.

Faculty:  In 2005-2006 there were 769 budgeted instructional faculty FTE positions (including 79 FTE Graduate Assistants).  The student/faculty ratio was 21:1. More than 67% of full-time instructional faculty were tenured.  Average 2005-2006 AAUP instructional faculty salaries were $76,857 for full professors and $58,760 for all ranks (after 12-month salaries were converted to nine-month equivalents).

Enrollment: Fall 2005 headcount enrollment excluding extension students was 24,015 (16,812 FTE) including 17,866 undergraduate students (12,866 FTE), and 6,149 graduate students (3,946 FTE).  Sixty-one percent (10,851) of undergraduate students and 40% percent (2,438) of graduate students were enrolled full time. Fifty-four percent of undergraduate students and 59% of graduate students were female.  Seven percent of students paid out-of-state tuition.  Twenty percent of undergraduate students and 11% of graduate students were members of protected minority groups.  Overall, 17.7% of PSU students who were citizens or permanent residents of the US were members of protected minority groups (9.2% were Asian, 2.9% African-American, 4.3% Hispanic, and 1.3% Native American).  An additional 5.4% of the student body were international students, representing 97 nations. In addition to the students enumerated above, nearly 20,000 individuals each year enrolled in credit-bearing courses offered through PSU's School of Extended Studies.  Approximately 13% of PSU students lived in campus housing, which was operated by College Housing Northwest, a private non-profit corporation.

Costs:  Annual tuition for full-time (12 credit hours) undergraduate students who were Oregon residents was $4,498 in 2005-2006; non-resident full-time (12 credit hours) undergraduate tuition was $13,929.  Tuition for Oregon resident full-time (9 credit hours) graduate students was $7,332; for full-time (9 credit hours) non-resident graduate students, tuition was $12,003.

Institutional Affiliations: PSU is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.  It is a member of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) and the Association of Urban Universities.  In athletics, PSU is a Division I member of the Big Sky Conference.