This legislative session featured two big decisions about OSU-Cascades. And it looks like the branch campus of Oregon State University won.

One decision was on a bill, House Bill 2888. The bill was the legislative equivalent of picking up an angry nest of hornets and throwing it at the campus.

The bill would have severed the connection between OSU-Cascades and OSU. OSU-Cascades would become its own entity — Central Oregon University.

Students who had paid tuition to attend a branch of OSU would find they weren’t getting what they thought. Faculty and staff would suddenly be shifted to a new institution without any say in the matter. To some students, faculty and staff, that may have not made a big difference. But to others it would have. It just seemed unfair.

And then to make matters worse, the bill aimed to slash the potential of what degrees the campus could ever offer. It would be barred from offering any programs over a master’s degree. A low ceiling would be set for a new university campus in one of the fastest growing regions of the state.

Why are we going on and on about a bill that died? Because this effort to put a check on the future of OSU-Cascades could very well come back.

When there is only so much money to go around for universities and colleges, some people will try to find ways to curb OSU-Cascades. Its enrollment is growing. Other campuses in Oregon have struggled. It’s new. It’s where many students want to go. It further enhances the draw of Central Oregon for employers and families. It creates opportunities for students close to home in a region that was long underserved by a university. It creates jobs. We are going to face fights again, though they will likely be more subtle than the hornets of HB 2888.

In fact, for OSU-Cascades, this session seems to be turning into something of a victory. It’s not finalized yet, but as Gary Warner reported in Friday’s Bulletin, the campus looks set to get $14 million for a new building. It would be for a student success center, sort of a modern version of a student union. It will be a place for tutoring, counseling, a wellness center, a place for students to gather and more. It’s a necessary part of a complete campus. Students even voted to tax themselves to help pay for it. They believe in the need. They believe in the future of the campus. It’s reassuring that this session the Legislature seems to, too.