Newscap August 2010

Kudos to six WICHE states – Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah – that have joined the Complete College America Alliance of States, a new effort, created in 2009, to boost the country’s college completion rates. Nationally, 21 states have signed on with the alliance – which is receiving support and guidance from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. And those states aren’t just making empty promises. They’re agreeing to do the hard work that will effect a real change in graduation rates, now hovering around 40 percent for the nation’s 25- to 34-year olds and putting the U.S. in 12th place internationally in terms of this metric. Complete College America has spelled out six essential steps for states to take: set state and institutional graduation goals; uniformly measure progress; shift to performance funding; cut time to degree; transform the remediation process; and restructure the way education is delivered.

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

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 Originally enacted in 2008, the CACG provides formula grants to states to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary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

The Western Allliance of Community College Academic Leaders is a new WICHE initiative which will bring academic leaders of community colleges and technical schools and systems together with state governing and coordinating boards associated with two-year institutions to exchange ideas and information, share resources and expertise, and collaborate on regional initiatives. Together, these academic leaders will work to build a stronger future for higher education in the West. During its first official meeting in July, the WACCAL Executive Committee set the following goals.

Strengthen the collective of community colleges and technical schools in the West through the articulation of commonalities and identification of resources that can be leveraged.

Develop partnerships to position community colleges and technical schools as integral providers of the education and training necessary for the continued socioeconomic development of the West.

Provide leadership and set the imperative for the critical assessment of existing academic programs and practices in community colleges.

Catalyze innovation in community colleges and technical schools by identifying emerging issues, creating a vision for a new agenda, and advocating for collective action.

For more information about WACCAL, contact Pat Shea.
 

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

The WICHE Internet Course Exchange (ICE) is offering a rebate on FY 2011 dues to members who reach certain enrollment goals. ICE members can make seats in online courses in which they have extra capacity available to other institutions for an established price. This allows the teaching institution to earn additional revenue, while the enrolling institution expands it online offerings to better meet student demand. Members also have the option to contract for entire sections of existing courses or for new courses, as well as to work together to jointly develop fully online programs. A second promotion allows members to cut their dues in half by bringing another institution with which they will share enrollments this year into membership. If your institution is not already participating in ICE, this is a great time to join—check out our membership page.

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