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Skip to main navigation Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Staff Log-in -- -- Browse Initiatives WICHE Region Newsroom Resources About Us Search form Search Sharing resources and ideas across the West Research that illuminates policy solutions Fostering interstate collaboration Convening higher education thought-leaders Seeding tomorrow's workforce in high-demand fields Helping students gain affordable degrees Streamlining interstate general education transfer WICHE and its 16 member states and territories work collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all citizens of the West. By promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy, WICHE strengthens higher education's contributions to the region's social, economic, and civic life. Students or Parents Policymakers or Researchers Educators, Faculty Members, or Administrators Healthcare or Behavioral Health Stakeholders Business or Community Leaders WICHE Publications WICHE Behavioral Health Program Annual Report Fiscal Year 2019 Mar. 2020 Student Access Programs: By the Numbers 2019-20 Mar. 2020 FY 2019 WICHE Annual Report Jan. 2020 NewsCap | December 2019 Dec. 2019 WICHE Publications 2017 - 2015 WICHE Publications Archive 2014 - -- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources WICHE is closely monitoring the outbreak of “SARS-CoV-2,” and the disease it causes, which has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”). To inform and facilitate your response to a rapidly changing situation, WICHE has compiled the following set of resources , which will be updated as new information becomes available. page  as new information becomes available.-- WICHE 2019 Annual Report This WICHE Annual Report is a thorough recap of our work in FY 2019 (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019), with detailed information on our projects, policy work, student access programs, behavioral health initiatives, and financial information. Check out the full report WICHE, WCET part of efforts to develop national network to support scaling, adoption of OER Boulder, CO – College and university leaders are working across state lines to reduce barriers faced by students and to empower faculty with access to a wide range of instructional materials. WICHE and its sister regional higher education compact organizations ( MHEC , NEBHE , SREB ) and WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) are exploring the development of a national network to support scaling and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). WICHE elects new officers for 2019-20 Camille Preus, of Oregon, named chair; Susan Anderson, of Alaska, named vice chair; Ray Holmberg, of North Dakota, to serve as immediate past chair -- Camille Preus WICHE Chair Susan Anderson WICHE Vice Chair Ray Holmberg Immediate Past WICHE Chair -- Camille Preus, executive director of the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA), has been elected as the 2020 chair of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) at WICHE’s biannual commission meeting, held in Denver on Nov. 7-8, 2019. Preus most recently served as the WICHE Commission vice chair. She replaces the outgoing chair, North Dakota State Senator Ray Holmberg, who will serve as immediate past chair. Susan Anderson, president and CEO of The CIRI Foundation and a WICHE commissioner representing the state of Alaska, was elected vice chair. The chair, vice chair, and immediate past chair serve as officers of the WICHE Commission. Jessica Rowland Williams named director of Every Learner Everywhere Jessica Rowland Williams New Director of Every Learner Everywhere BOULDER, Colo. – Jessica Rowland Williams has been named director of Every Learner Everywhere (Every Learner), a network of 12 partners strengthening digital learning in postsecondary institutions. WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) serves as the intermediary for Every Learner Everywhere. “Every Learner Everywhere’s focus on using digital and adaptive learning technologies to improve collegiate outcomes for underserved students is a very important mission in today’s world,” said Russ Poulin, WICHE’s vice president of technology-enhanced education and executive director of WCET. “I’m confident Jessica Williams will be a great leader who will bring our Network partners together to achieve these goals.” A Tale of Two Pities: Revisited A dozen years ago, David Longanecker wrote an article in Change , “A Tale of Two Pities,” that described the colliding perspectives of two communities—those who provide higher education and those who create and sustain the policy environment in which it functions. Each of these communities is committed to ensuring that Americans have broad access to high-quality postsecondary education. But each often perceives the other’s views and actions as antithetical to its own, thereby undercutting progress toward their shared goal. This article, with two knowledgeable and experienced coauthors, reviews the evolution of the “two pities” dynamic presented 12 years ago and describes the current situation. Unfortunately, not much has changed. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Joins Groundbreaking College Transfer Network BOULDER, Colo. – The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) becomes the first institution in Illinois to join the Interstate Passport Network (IPN), a nationwide network of two- and four-year colleges and universities that allows students to transfer lower-division general education credits as a block to any IPN member institution. With TCSPP’s membership, the network consists of 32 institutions across 14 states. Student savings surpass $417 million through WICHE Student Access Programs in 2018-19 America’s largest interstate higher education tuition-savings programs set records in 2018-19 for students enrolled and dollars saved. More than $417.7 million was saved by 42,579 students on three programs managed by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) across its 16 member states and territories. -- WICHE Workplan FY 2020 The WICHE Workplan outlines the diverse set of activities, projects, and initiatives prioritized by the WICHE Commission for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, all of which are intended to advance WICHE’s mission. The WICHE Commission has identified five key focus areas to guide the work of the organization: Finance & Affordability; Access & Success; Workforce & Society; Technology & Innovation and Accountability. Download the complete WICHE Workplan here. WICHE Media Mentions Fargo-Moorhead area could see double-digit growth for black, Hispanic college students West Fargo Pioneer | Sunday, August 18, 2019 FARGO — Some colleges and universities in the Fargo-Moorhead area are becoming more diverse, and if high school projections hold up, the region could see double-digit growth for minorities in the coming years. “Surprisingly, I think the misnomer of a lack of diversity in Fargo-Moorhead, I don’t think that is true anymore,” said Karl Stumo, Concordia's vice president of enrollment and marketing. “We have a real richness of diversity here." Stumo uses data from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, a nonprofit that tracks high school graduation rates and predicts how many students will be in the market for college. Nationwide, the white population for high school graduates is set to drop to 51% by the 2031-32 school year, compared to 58% in 2012-13, WICHE said. The non-white population likely will rise 7 percentage points to 49% in the same time period, the nonprofit said. ASU joins groundbreaking College Transfer Network The Monta Vista Journal | Thursday, July 18, 2019 ALAMOSA — Adams State University becomes the first institution in Colorado to join the Interstate Passport Network (IPN), a nationwide network of two- and four-year colleges and universities that allows students to transfer lower division general education credi...