Completion Strategies in the West

The Project

Credential completion is a foundational component of postsecondary education’s value proposition. The data are clear, in order for students to earn the maximum return on investment from their postsecondary education, they must complete their programs. While institutions naturally play a key role in student success, states are critical partners in efforts to ensure that students complete credentials.

In an effort to better understand both how state context influences policymaking and identify common approaches to student success, WICHE conducted a landscape analysis of state higher education strategic plans. The findings of this analysis, which include a series of WICHE Insights, forthcoming research summaries, and interactive dashboards, highlight the various ways states prioritize, develop, and implement completion strategies. This work was generously funded by ECMC Foundation.

Download the Completion Strategies in the West edition of WICHE Insights to learn more about this 2025 analysis of state higher education strategic plans.

Context of the Landscape Analysis

Each of the states, territories, and freely associated states that make up the WICHE region represent a unique context that shapes how investments in postsecondary student success are made. Although contexts vary, there is a common thread: states are working to improve student completion through thoughtful, evidence-based approaches. WICHE staff analyzed strategic plans from 21 states, territories, and freely associated states in an effort to develop a comprehensive view of key completion strategies in place across the region. These plans included, state-, system-, and institution-level plans that encompass over 400 public institutions that collectively educate over 4 million undergraduate students per year and award over 1 million credentials each year.

Strategies Across the Region

The landscape analysis showed the various ways states, territories, and freely associated states across the West work to improve student completion through thoughtful, evidence-based approaches. Through the document analysis, WICHE identified four overarching approaches across the West: Academic Success; Student Success; Workforce Alignment; and Coordination, Collaboration, and Structures. Each of these overarching approaches are further detailed in a WICHE Insights highlighting the variety of ways that states, territories, and freely associated states are prioritizing and implementing these strategies.

State Completion Profiles

The specific contexts of a state, a territory, and a freely associated state shape how strategic plans are developed and operationalized. The state-by-state completion profiles provide an overview of key higher education metrics, including enrollment and completion, higher education governance, and state-level completion strategies identified in the landscape analysis. Additionally, the profiles include links to all plans included in the landscape analysis.