WICHE's new Policy Insights report, “Demography as Destiny: Policy Considerations in Enrollment Management,” is an analysis of data from the 8th edition of Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates, released in December, which showed that the population of U.S. high school graduates is entering a period of modest decline and that the pool of future college students is rapidly grow­ing more racially and ethnically diverse. Another Policy Insights paper, “Tuition and Fees in the West, 2012-13,” analyzes the latest data from WICHE’s annual survey, “Tuition and Fees in Public Higher Education in the West”.

A new Western Policy Exchanges, “After the Funding Is Through: CACG Program Sustainability,” provides recommendations for states to consider to ensure that the work they’ve accomplished with federal College Access Challenge Grant funding continues. Look for these three publications on the WICHE Policy pages soon.

“Benchmarks: WICHE Region 2012” presents information on the West’s progress in improving access to, success in, and financing of higher education. The information, including state-by-state data, is updated annually to monitor changes over time.

A new survey of nearly 200 colleges, “What Are States Doing (or not Doing) about State Authorization – Revisited”,  conducted by WCET, UPCEA and Sloan-C, found that a growing number of colleges have obtained the necessary approvals in states in which they serve distance students, but many have a long way to go. What’s more, an increasing number of institutions no longer accept students from some states. “Two-thirds of responding colleges sought authorization in at least one state," according to Russell Poulin, deputy director of WCET – about double the rate seen in a 2011 survey. “But only 15 percent responded that they have all the approvals they need.”

Another new WCET publication, “A Simple Guide to Navigating the MOOC Muddle,” by Luke Dowden and Myk Garn, and part of WCET’s new Talking Points series, is designed to be conversation starter for institutional leaders who are considering whether to develop and offer a MOOC.

April 2013  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook