Current State Policy

To include independent institutions as players in providing quality, readily available higher education first requires a state to review its existing constitutional issues and governance system of postsecondary education. Each state has unique nuances in how it structures its postsecondary systems. For example, while some states prohibit direct appropriations to independent institutions, they have created other mechanisms which fund students directly.

Six western states -- Alaska, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington -- have commissions for postsecondary education with varying levels of planning and/or coordinating responsibilities for the independent sector.4 More than half of the WICHE states have organized associations representing the independent institutions in those states. While state structures may not readily facilitate a coordinated, state-wide effort to include the independent institutions, many of them have their own organizations which might be easily tapped to facilitate a cooperative effort. This means statewide planning for postsecondary education might be enhanced by working within existing state structures. Once the structural issues are addressed, states should consider articulating a policy statement reflecting the value of utilizing the independent sector.