Welcome to Oregon Tech

General Information

Welcome new and returning students to Oregon Institute of Technology, or Oregon Tech! Below is information that will help you on your educational journey at our university. We’re here to help, so please contact us with any questions you may have so we can make your time at Oregon Tech successful and enjoyable.

Admissions Office

The Oregon Tech Admissions Office is located on the first floor of the College Union on the Klamath Falls campus, and in the Student Services area at the Portland-Metro campus on the first floor. It is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm (9am to 5pm at Portland-Metro) to serve prospective students, applicants and their families, as well as high school guidance counselors, college-transfer advisors and teachers.

If you are interested in seeing the Klamath Falls campus, the Admissions Office visit coordinator can arrange for you to meet with a faculty member and an admissions counselor, tour residence halls and the rest of the campus, sit in on a class and/ or talk with one of our coaches. To set up a campus visit, call (800) 422-2017 or (541) 885-1150. Hearing-impaired persons may call the TTY number: (541) 885-1072. You also can request a campus visit at www.oit.edu or by emailing oit@oit.edu. If you wish to visit one of Oregon Tech’s other campuses, such as the Portland-metro campus, the Admissions Office can provide you with a contact person who can make arrangements for you.

Non-Discrimination Policy

Oregon Tech does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, age, religion, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity in its programs and activities. The following individuals are designated to handle inquiries and complaints regarding this non-discrimination policy: Civil Rights Officer, Title IX Coordinator (sex-based and gender-based discrimination) (541) 885-1108; email: oithr@oit.edu.

Students with Disabilities

Oregon Tech is committed to accommodating the academic and programmatic needs of qualified students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations should contact Disability Services, LRC 229C, as soon as possible in advance of enrollment, to ensure timely provision of services. Questions may be directed to: Disability Services, Oregon Tech, 3201 Campus Dr., Klamath Falls, OR 97601-8801. (541) 851-5227.

Alternate Format

This publication is available in an alternate format for persons with disabilities. Please contact Disability Services at (541) 851-5227.

Accreditation

Oregon Tech is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), 8060 165th Avenue, N.E., Suite 100, Redmond, WA 98052-3981. NWCCU is an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education and/or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation, licensure or approval of individual programs are listed in departmental sections. Copies of accreditation documents are available in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost, Oregon Tech, 3201 Campus Dr., Klamath Falls, OR 97601-8801.

General Catalog Production

The 2024-25 General Catalog was produced by the Registrar’s Office. Information in this catalog was accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice and does not constitute a contract between Oregon Tech and the student or applicant. The general catalog is published annually and available on the web at www.oit.edu.

History at a Glance

Welcome

Welcome to Oregon Tech! You have chosen a university that will challenge you, excite you, and provide many opportunities for you to learn, innovate and grow in a unique polytechnic university environment. Oregon Tech graduates are known for their ability to excel immediately in their careers as well as in graduate and professional schools.

The small class size and hands-on, applied approach to education at Oregon Tech is perfectly tailored to an experiential learning environment that encourages communication, collaboration, and engaging in professional practice. Oregon Tech is focused on providing high value to students, and a high return on investment to our graduates, who excel across many industries and in-demand fields. Faculty members bring their real-world problem-solving experiences into the classroom, creating numerous opportunities for Oregon Tech students to gain professional experience outside the classroom through externships, internships, field work, cooperative programs, and capstone projects.

You have chosen rigor, quality, and relevance by attending Oregon Tech. You are now part of our focus on excellence, innovation, and professional preparation that has served Oregon Tech’s graduates well and has continuously increased our reputation and rankings in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and nationally. Welcome to the Oregon Tech Family – we’re glad you’re here and we very much look forward to helping you achieve your own personal and professional success.

Mission Statement, Vision, Values, and Pillars

Mission Statement

Oregon Institute of Technology (“Oregon Tech”), Oregon’s Polytechnic University, offers innovative, professionally-focused undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of engineering, health, business, technology, and applied arts and sciences. To foster student and graduate success, the university provides a hands-on, project-based learning environment and emphasizes innovation, scholarship, and applied research. With a commitment to diversity and leadership development, Oregon Tech offers statewide educational opportunities and technical expertise to meet current and emerging needs of Oregonians as well as other national and international constituents.

Vision

Oregon Tech will be a student-centered, world-class polytechnic university that inspires students to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Institutional Student Learning Outcomes

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ISLOs), also referred to as Oregon Tech’s Essential Student Learning Outcomes (ESLOs), support Oregon Tech’s institutional mission and are in alignment with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) standards.

The ESLOs reflect the common expectations about the general knowledge, skills, and abilities that all Oregon Tech graduates will acquire by graduation regardless of degree program. They define the Oregon Tech learning experience that lay the foundation upon which each major program builds. The ESLOs may be achieved in many ways depending on the unique curriculum of each degree program, supporting graduates in developing habits of mind and behaviors of professionals and lifelong learners.

Oregon Tech Student Learning Outcomes:

Communication, Teamwork and Ethical Reasoning

Oregon Tech graduates will:

• communicate effectively orally and in writing
• collaborate effectively in teams or groups, working to accomplish group tasks and resolve conflict within groups and teams; and
• recognize decisions requiring ethical judgments, determine potential reasonable courses of action, and select the course of action best supported.

Diverse Perspectives

Oregon Tech graduates will demonstrate:

• an ability to identify and explain diverse perspectives which requires the self-awareness, intellectual flexibility, and broad knowledge that enables perception of the world through the eyes of others. This includes perspective of diverse cultures and personalities, with consideration of varied places, histories, and technologies.
• cultural sensitivity through the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures, along with awareness of differences without promoting hierarchy within those differences
• global awareness through ability to view the world from a global perspective, competently and perceptively navigate the challenges and opportunities of a globalized world, demonstrate willingness to suspend own cultural biases to appreciate multiple global perspectives, and identify and appreciate the relevance of historical, demographic, social, cultural, political, economic, and/or environmental factors to a global issue(s).

Inquiry and Analysis  

Oregon Tech graduates will demonstrate an ability to:

• analyze and explain how they process cognitively toward a goal when the problem solver does not initially know a solution method.
• maintain information literacy, identifying when information is needed and having the ability to locate, evaluate, and use the needed information ethically and effectively. 
• identify and explain critical analysis of the problem/question/issue; recognize stakeholders and contexts; identify and evaluate assumptions; identify and evaluate evidence; formulate personal responses and/or acknowledge other perspectives, and identify and evaluate implications, conclusions, and consequences.
• analyze and explain logical thinking skills through logical extrapolation, reflecting an informed evaluation and ability to place substantial evidence and perspectives in priority order that lead to a conclusion or other outcome.
• appropriately extract, interpret, evaluate, construct, communicate, quantitative literacy and reasoning skills by applying quantitative information and methods to solve problems, evaluate claims, and apply and analyze quantitative data.
• analyze and explain inquiry and analysis skills which consists of posing meaningful questions about situations and systems, gathering and evaluating relevant evidence, and articulating how that the evidence justifies decisions and contributes to students’ understanding of how the world works.  

About Oregon Tech

For 75 years, Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) has focused on changing students’ lives by preparing them to meet the technology, innovation and management needs of industry. Oregon Tech is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and individual programs are also accredited by the appropriate professional organizations. Today, Oregon Tech offers more than 44 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in engineering, technology, health technologies, management, communication and the applied sciences. These include a growing number of bachelor’s degrees and degree-completion programs offered online, and bachelor’s and master’s degree programs that can be entirely completed at Oregon Tech’s Portland-Metro campus in Wilsonville.

With a mission to deliver professionally-focused education throughout the Pacific Northwest and to students from other parts of the country and world, we partner with industry leaders to ensure our programs adapt to ever-changing technologies and workforce demands. Year after year, our graduates garner the highest starting salaries in Oregon and among the highest in the nation.

Our applied approach to teaching, which blends theory and practice, is the main reason our graduates and alumni are so avidly recruited. Oregon Tech students have unique opportunities to apply what they learn in lab-based classes, clinics, externships and workplaces, as well as in clubs and special activities. Oregon Tech’s faculty and staff, who come to Oregon Tech with relevant industry experience, reinforce this practical focus in the classroom. And in every program, a relevant interdisciplinary core underscores major studies, broadening students’ understanding of the world and teaching them to communicate effectively, solve problems, and think for themselves. This student-focused approach to teaching and learning engages students in professional practice throughout their time at Oregon Tech.

One Oregon Tech, Three Primary Campuses, and Program-Specific Sites

Oregon Tech is one institution with multiple locations. Established in 1947, Oregon Tech offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs throughout Oregon and beyond to meet the needs of students seeking a top quality, professionally-focused education.

Oregon Tech’s residential campus is located in Klamath Falls in beautiful Southern Oregon, and is nestled on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains. The 190-acre campus offers spectacular views of Upper Klamath Lake, pine-studded knolls and snow-capped peaks from nearly every building. Klamath Falls, a city of about 22,000 residents (69,000 in Klamath County), is located about 20 miles north of the California border and in the same county that boasts Crater Lake National Park. Known as Oregon’s “City of Sunshine,” Klamath Falls enjoys about 300 days of blue skies each year.

Oregon Tech’s Portland-Metro campus in Wilsonville, located just south of Portland, offers 21 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide an industry-focused, urban university experience in the heart of Oregon’s “Silicon Forest”. The campus offers high-demand degree programs, and is easily accessible to students of all ages and backgrounds, including business professionals, transfer students and new first-year students just out of high school. Oregon Tech provides excellent opportunities for students seeking internships and employment while completing their degrees.

Oregon Tech also offers a growing number of Online programs for working professionals or returning students who are busy and ready to advance their education as quickly and conveniently as possible. Oregon Tech Online allows students to finish certificates, associate, or bachelor’s degrees without leaving home or the office, and without the hassles of travel, childcare or giving up their current job. The primary mission of Oregon Tech Online is to offer convenient programs and courses to both students seeking a degree, and those wishing to skill-up by taking just a course or two.

Oregon Tech also offers a bachelor’s program in dental hygiene in Salem through a partnership with Chemeketa Community College. The classrooms and Dental Hygiene Clinic are located in Chemeketa’s new, state-of-the-art Health & Sciences complex. Before acceptance, the program requires one year of prerequisite (pre-dental hygiene) coursework.

Oregon Tech Seattle offers a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering Technology and a Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology to Boeing employees at sites in the Puget Sound area. Also offered are review classes for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ CMfgT and CMfgE exams and three certificate programs.

Oregon Tech is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Additional accreditations, licensure and approvals of individual programs are listed in the appropriate program sections of this catalog. Copies of accreditation documents are available in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost, Oregon Institute of Technology, 3201 Campus Dr., Klamath Falls, OR 97601-8801.

Oregon Tech Online is an approved institutional participant in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) initiative, which allows for increased access to online courses for many out-of -state students. Oregon Tech Online is authorized by the Washington Student Achievement Council and meets the requirements and minimum educational standards established for degree-granting institutions under the Degree-Granting Institutions Act. This authorization is subject to periodic review and authorizes Oregon Institute of Technology to offer field placement components for specific degree programs. The council may be contacted for a list of currently authorized programs. Authorization by the council does not carry with it an endorsement by the council of the institution or its programs. Any person desiring information about the requirements of the act or the applicability of those requirements to the institution may contact the council at P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430.