Three other hot-button issues are covered in recent publications by WICHE staffers and associates. One new release relates to how we pay for higher education—specifically, to the success of the nation’s first and, to date, only voucher‐based system for financing higher education statewide: Colorado’s College Opportunity Fund. WICHE’s David Longanecker and Brian Prescott provide a history and analysis of the program in An Evaluation of Colorado’s College Opportunity Fund and Related Policies, a report prepared for the Colorado Department of Higher Education, with support from the Donnell‐Kay Foundation.

With higher education budgets shrinking at a time when enrollments are near their peak, WICHE offers institutions and their students a solid solution to wait lists: the Internet Course Exchange, whose members—including colleges and universities in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming—allow students to seamlessly register for online courses offered by other member institutions. Read more about WICHE ICE in “The Time Is Right for ICE”, a white paper written by Mark Wheeler, dean of extended studies at Boise State University and the new chair of the ICE Executive Committee (the new vice chair is Fred Hurst, Northern Arizona University’s vice president for extended programs and dean of distance learning).

Student mental health is the focus of third piece, authored by Nicole Speer, research and technical assistant in WICHE’s Mental Health Program, along with the program’s director, Dennis Mohatt, and associate director, Mimi McFaul. Their article, “How to Create a First-Aid Program for the Mind”, is available to Chronicle of Higher Education subscribers.

July 2009  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook