Pricing + Generosity Policy

PUGSpdx believes that lifelong learning is a human need and a human right. Our core commitment is that everyone should be able to learn without having to go into debt. We balance that with honoring the labor + knowledge of those who teach us.

Economic equity, profit-sharing, and community are our fundamental values: 

• Tuition is tied to the median Portland wage. The Portland median wage is $32 an hour or $64,000 a year. So we charge up to $32 per class hour, often less than that. If you see a PUGS course at a higher price than that, it's because of extra costs.

• We allow anyone to attend at the wage they earn. Again, we believe that everyone has the right to learn, no matter how much money you make. We also believe that economically diverse classrooms are better classrooms.

• We profit with instructors, not from them. Our instructors deserve to be compensated for their expertise and commitment to teach. We pay our instructors 50% of profits. We want to make money with them, not from them. Profit-sharing is the fairest and most equitable way to run a business.

To make this policy simpler, we've implemented tiered pricing:

• If you make $30 per hour or more, we ask that you pay Tier A pricing, our standard pricing.

• If you make $16 to $30 per hour, we ask that you pay Tier B pricing, which is typically around 25% less than standard pricing.

• If you make $15 per hour or less, we ask that you pay Tier C pricing, which is typically around 50% less than standard pricing.

We do not have a scholarship system in place at this time. If you are interested in sponsoring a course or term, please reach out at team@pugspdx.com.