• Focus : Washington

    Washington joined the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), a 15-state commission working to boost access to and success in higher education for students in the West, in 1955. Washington and WICHE have shared a remarkably productive history. But more importantly the state and its citizens reap essential economic and educational benefits today, saving millions of dollars annually while ensuring the state’s “human capital” is educated and ready to participate in a highly competitive global economy.


    In 2009-10 Washington students and their families saved $30 million in tuition by participating in WICHE’s Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), plus another $1 million through the Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP) and Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). Four Washington universities received $2.3 million in tuition revenues in 2008-09 through WICHE’s programs in dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and other disciplines.

     

    Doing the Math: Washington's Return on Investment

    In 2009-10 Washington, its institutions, and its students saved or brought in some $33 million through WICHE and spent $125,000 for membership in the commission, yielding a 264-fold return on investment.
     
    In the last 5 years, Washington students’ savings from WUE alone have topped $122 million, yielding a 210-fold return on the state's investment in WICHE.

     


    How does Washington benefit as a WICHE state?

    WICHE’s programs save Washington money and enhance the use of its educational resources in several critical ways.

     

    > When funding is reduced, access to higher ed can be preserved because students have affordable out-of-state options via WICHE.

     

    > Washington’s public colleges and universities are able to increase enrollment in programs with extra capacity – and bring in much needed educational dollars – by enrolling students from other WICHE states.

     

    > Washington saves money by not having to establish and maintain costly programs in a number of essential or leading-edge areas because its students have access to out-of-state programs.

     

    > Washington vastly increases the resources it has for training its workforce: the majority of its professional students who train through WICHE’s PSEP return to the state to work and live.

    What student programs does WICHE offer?

    Over 3,800 students from Washington are attending undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in other Western states through WICHE’s three student exchange programs this year (Figure 1 breaks down tuition savings, as well as the revenue from incoming students). State membership in WICHE is required for students to participate in these programs.
     
    Western Undergraduate Exchange. Washington students have saved on 26,000 annual tuition bills while enrolled in out-of-state undergraduate programs through WUE in the last decade.
     
    > Washington students saved about $30 million in tuition and fees this year, with an average savings of $8,003, by paying the WUE rate of 150 percent of resident tuition in their enrolling institutions.
     
    > The top majors chosen by Washington’s students are: biology, business, hospitality administration, economics, engineering, and education.
     
    Washington also benefits from WUE by receiving students from out of state – some 890 this year. Its institutions choose how many out-of-state slots to offer and in which areas, allowing them to make the best use of their resources by accepting students in underenrolled programs. There’s a workforce benefit for the state, too, as students often stay in Washington after graduating.
     
    Professional Student Exchange Program. Washington has sent students to professional programs through PSEP since 1960. It currently supports 12 students in optometry and osteopathic medicine, while receiving 104 students and some $2.3 million in support fees from other Western states. Historically, 70 percent of outbound PSEP students have returned to Washington to pursue their professional careers.
     
    Western Regional Graduate Program. Washington’s postgraduates participate in graduate programs through WRGP, which offers access to over 220 high-quality, distinctive programs (“distinctive” meaning that they’re offered at only four or fewer institutions in the WICHE region as well as to a range of healthcare programs) at 45 institutions in all 15 WICHE states. Washington sent 84 students to out-of-state institutions in 2008-09, while receiving 57.
     
    Internet Course Exchange (ICE). WICHE’s newest exchange, ICE, is an alliance of member institutions and systems with a set of policies, procedures, an support systems for sharing distance-delivered courses among two- and four-year institutions in the 15-state WICHE region.

    WICHE's Added Value

    Washington gains added value from WICHE's programs in policy, workforce development, technology, mental health, and other areas.

     

    Washington was selected for technical assistance from the “Escalating Engagement” project: WICHE helped the state map how it could better connect its higher education institutions and policies with workforce development (in keeping with the Higher Education Board’s strategic plan). Washington also sent a delegation to a WICHE meeting on building statewide longitudinal databases that incorporate K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data. Washington was then invited to join three other states in an effort to build a multistate data exchange prototype to help address the weakness of statewide data systems development generally being limited to state boundaries. In addition, WICHE President David Longanecker testified before a joint legislative committee on the connection between higher education and workforce development.

     

    Washington is a member of WICHE’s College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) Network, a network of four Western states in which staff involved in developing, implementing, and maintaining state CACG efforts can share and discuss issues related to the administration of their programs. Through two network meetings and an interactive Website, state leaders share promising practices, lessons learned, common challenges, and the latest research. Seattle will be the site of CACG’s first 2010 meeting.

     

    WICHE provided technical assistance to Washington as part of a project funded by a Ford Foundation grant. The project involved substantial data collection and interviews and culminated in a statewide roundtable meeting. In addition, WICHE President David Longanecker served as a facilitator for HECB’s 2008 master planning retreat and presented on national perspectives on tuition policy last year; while WICHE Director of Policy Research Brian Prescott gave a talk to the NW Gear Up Association at the invitation of the HECB staff. WICHE has also consulted with Washington policymakers on accountability and finance issues.  

     

    WICHE’s Lumina-funded project “Getting What You Pay For: Understanding Higher Education Appropriations, Tuition, and Financial Aid” promoted informed decision making and the alignment of higher education appropriations, tuition, and financial aid policy by state legislators, to improve student access and success. WICHE sent copies of the project’s eight policy briefs to all members of the Washington Legislature. As an extension of this project, in October 2009, WICHE President Longanecker testified to the House Higher Education Committee about accountability and performance in higher education with focus on the baccalaureate level.

     

    Washington is also participating in another Lumina project “Best Practices in Statewide Articulation and Transfer Systems,” which seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how states coordinate their articulation and transfer programs for students who move from two-year to four-year institutions, focusing strategies that increase access to and success in higher education.

     

    The University of Washington and five other Washington institutions are members of WICHE’s WCET (formerly the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications), which provides access to the latest and best e-learning information resources and institutional good practices. The e-learning program of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is an active member in WCET’s eLearning Consortia. The University of Washington’s Catalyst program won the WCET Outstanding Work Award. And WCET’s associate director, Russ Poulin, testified before a legislative committee on online learning trends. In addition, the WICHE Technology and Innovation initiative has worked with the state on pursuing grants from the national Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and other programs.  

     

    WICHE’s Mental Health Program has collaborated with the director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Mental Health Research and Training, Maria Monroe-DeVita, to explore the application of evidence-based practices in rural settings. Mental Health Director Dennis Mohatt was a plenary speaker at the Washington Association of Community Mental Health Programs’ annual conference, discussing rural mental health workforce development.

     

    WICHE has held numerous national and regional meetings in Washington. The 2004 “Changing Direction: Aligning Financing Policies to Increase Access and Success” meeting drew participants from 28 states and Washington, D.C. The 2008 “Escalating Engagement” statewide policy forum, which addressed economic development and higher ed, was held in Seattle and preceded by meetings and focus groups throughout the state.

     

    Washington is also engaged in other WICHE initiatives. The Master Property Program, which helps institutions reduce insurance premiums and improve coverage, saved Seattle Pacific University $37,700 in 2008. The state is active in WICHE’s Western Academic Leadership Forum (WALF), which addresses regional higher education issues and resource sharing: Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, Washington State University, and the University of Washington Educational Outreach are members.

     

    WICHE is led by the 45 members of the WICHE Commission, three from each of state, appointed by the governor. Washington’s commissioners are: Ann Daley, Olympia; Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, Seattle; and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Seattle. Commissioners stay current at biannual WICHE meetings where experts present on some of higher education’s hottest issues, from the impact of stabilization funding to the enhanced role of community colleges. WICHE’s Legislative Advisory Committee works to strengthen state policymaking in Western higher education by engaging legislators in the discussion of higher education issues and seeking their input on strategies for interstate collaboration. Sen. Kohl-Welles, Sen. Derek Kilmer, Gig Harbor, and Rep. Kenney serve on the LAC, which last convened in September in a meeting themed, “A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste: How to Increase Your Return on Investment.”

     

    Our goal with both meetings and projects is to assist educational leaders and policymakers by advocating for good public policy in the West. A third way we accomplish this is via our publication series, including Policy Insights and Workforce Briefs, which explore a wide range of significant policy issues. We also publish in-depth works such as Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates by State and Race/Ethnicity and the Regional Fact Book for Higher Education in the West, which includes data and analyses on fiscal, demographic, economic, and social indicators, as well as a state report providing Alaska data on access, affordability, finance, faculty, technology, and workforce issues. These resources can be downloaded at no cost from the WlCHE website.