This spring Congress approved the renewal and expansion of the College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) program as part of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Originally enacted in 2008, the CACG provides formula grants to states to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The new law extends the program through 2014, increases annual funding from $66 million to $150 million, and boosts the minimum annual grant award to states from $330,000 to $1.5 million. WICHE will continue to assist state partners with program implementation, evaluation, and technical assistance through the CACG Consortium and Network, as it did during the first two years of the program. Wyoming has joined Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota, and Washington in the CACG Consortium.

The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education and University of Southern California’s Center for Urban Education (CUE) have formed a partnership to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented students obtaining college degrees and credentials in the West. This project, Educational Equity and Postsecondary Student Success: A CUE and WICHE Partnership for Policy Research and Analysis, will provide partnering WICHE states and their institutions with data-driven models and benchmarks to measure and better plan for student success, particularly for underrepresented populations. With funding from the Ford Foundation, WICHE and CUE will use cost-effective, sustainable strategies to make educational equity a priority for states involved in the project. The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) is the first system in the WICHE region to sign on: CUE and WICHE will work closely with the NSHE’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council and system leadership to help them address the challenge of inequity in educational outcomes.

For the last three years, WICHE, through a project called Non-traditional No More: Policy Solutions for Adult Learners, has worked closely with Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, and South Dakota to identify and serve adults who are close to having enough credits to obtain a degree but have not yet returned to college. North Dakota is joining forces with WICHE to engage in this work and will host a meeting this fall as part of the project.
 

August 2010  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook