Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed legislation requiring the state Higher Education Coordinating Commission to review public colleges and recommend actions to improve their financial footing. The review will include institutions’ academic programming, research output, student body and educational model, benchmarked against each school’s mission. The commission must deliver a preliminary report by Oct. 1 and a final report by April 1, 2027. Recommendations may include collaboration, restructuring, integration and identifying unnecessary program duplication. Lawmakers tied the move to intensifying competition for Oregon students from out-of-state and online providers, and to concerns that intra-state competition is eroding collaboration. The announcement lands as multiple Oregon campuses face acute budget pressures, including Southern Oregon University’s reported liquidity risks and Lane Community College’s contemplated job and program reductions tied to deficit elimination.