The Legislative Assembly finds that:

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(1) The current and future need for higher education services in Oregon is too great and too diverse to be met by government-sponsored institutions alone.

(2) From the early 1840s the citizens of Oregon, through private initiative, have created and sustained a variety of independent not-for-profit institutions of higher education, irrevocably organized as public benefit corporations in service to the people of Oregon. For the purposes of ORS § 350.600 to 350.620, ‘independent institutions’ or ‘independent higher education’ refers to such institutions.

(3) These independent institutions:

(a) Conduct teaching, research and public service of high quality, contributing substantially to the preparation of a professional workforce, to the intellectual and cultural quality of life in Oregon and to the individual character of social responsibility so highly prized in this state and nation;

(b) Provide a major share of all post-secondary education in Oregon, at the lowest cost to the taxpayer;

(c) Add meaningful and valued diversity to the array of post-secondary educational opportunities available to Oregonians;

(d) Are accessible to qualified students of all ethnic backgrounds and from all socioeconomic levels;

(e) Annually attract thousands of talented people to Oregon from other regions of the country and the world;

(f) Provide unique local opportunities in higher education that many Oregonians would otherwise leave the state to find;

(g) Attract and sustain voluntary donations of private time, treasure and talent from thousands of citizens in public service toward fulfilling the educational needs of the larger community; and

(h) Constitute a sizable economic enterprise.

(4) The educational capital and services of these independent institutions are essential to meeting the current and future higher educational needs of Oregon’s citizens. [Formerly 352.665]