Since 1951, Montana has partnered with and benefited from WICHE through regional collaboration, resource-sharing, sound public policy, and innovation.
Download the factsheet for Montana here.
2022-23 ACADEMIC YEAR
by Montana students through WICHE Student Access Programs
through WUE
through WRGP
through PSEP
WICHE’s Student Access Programs
WICHE operates three Student Access Programs that together saved nearly 50,000 students $580+ million in 2022-23. Each program supports students at each level of postsecondary education: undergraduate, graduate, and professional healthcare studies.
- Students gain from increased choice and savings.
- Schools gain by optimizing enrollments.
- States and Pacific Island members gain by growing the skills of those they serve and strengthening their workforce.
What Students Are Saying
“As a first-generation college student, PSEP provides the financial stability I need to attend veterinary school. Upon graduation, I
will pursue my dream job in rural veterinary medicine. PSEP significantly lowers my student debt burden, making rural practice feasible. I am eternally thankful to the state of Montana and WICHE for supporting me.”
– Morgan, Montana resident | Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University
Improving Lives Montana
WICHE works collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all residents of the West. By promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy, WICHE strengthens higher education’s contributions to the region’s social, economic, and civic life. Learn more about our mission.
WICHE brings together senior academic leaders to foster dialogue about issues facing individual institutions through its leadership and professional development networks.
WESTERN ALLIANCE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACADEMIC LEADERS – 2-YEAR INSTITUTIONS
- Bitterroot College
- City College at MSU – Billings
- Dawson Community College
- Flathead Valley Community College
- Gallatin College
- Great Falls College MSU
- Helena College UM
- Highlands College of Montana Tech
- Miles Community College
- Missoula College UM
- Montana University System
- MSU Northern
- University of Montana Western
WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP FORUM – 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS
- Montana Technological University
- Montana State University – Bozeman
- Montana State University – Billings
- Montana University System
- University of Montana
WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY is a year-long professional development program for academic leaders aspiring to become chief academic officers in the WICHE region. Twelve cohort members from Montana institutions have participated in the Academy since its inception in 2015.
NO HOLDING BACK Flathead Valley Community College is one of 12 WICHE institutions participating in a community of practice in which institutions are analyzing data and revising policies related to transcript and student holds in 2022-23.
Thanks to collaboration with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), one of four U.S. regional higher education compacts, WICHE-region educational institutions, nonprofits, and public education entities can benefit from three programs: MHECtech, which provides competitively bid purchasing contracts for an array of hardware, software, and technology services; MHECare, which provides a student health insurance plan and teletherapy services; and a MHEC Cyber Insurance Program, which offers risk transfer and advisory solutions. Learn more.
Montana participates in the STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT (SARA) through WICHE. This voluntary agreement provides reciprocity for the state authorization of distance education.
WICHE Behavioral Health Program (BHP) is providing consultation and technical assistance to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Addictive and Mental Disorders Division for its Program for Assertive Community Treatment.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services contracted with WICHE BHP to assess and make recommendations regarding Montana’s implementation of its Mobile Crisis System, including an assessment of individual crisis stabilization facilities, existing mobile crisis
response teams, as well as its crisis system data reporting and technology solutions.
two sites in Montana, one in Kalispell
(Flathead County), and one in Richland County, with nearly
2,000 rural veterans receiving services.
BHP also co-administers the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MP-MHTTC). The MP-MHTTC provides comprehensive training, resources, and technical assistance
to mental health providers and other practitioners in the SAMHSA Region 8. In October 2022, WICHE BHP was awarded a multiyear grant from SAMHSA to establish the Mountain Plains Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center of Excellence (MP ROTAC) The MP ROTAC develops and disseminates resources, training, and technical assistance that focuses on opioid and stimulant misuse in rural areas throughout SAMHSA’s Region 8.
The BHP Together With Veterans Program, focused on reducing Veteran suicides, also has two sites in Montana, one in Kalispell (Flathead County), and one in Richland County, with nearly 2,000 rural veterans receiving services.
Knocking at the College Door is the leading U.S. resource for projections of college-ready students. Knocking, which includes a quadrennial publication with additional analysis, is essential for postsecondary policymakers, planning and workforce efforts, and economic development.
WICHE offers curated data and policy resources to support better-informed decision-making:
- Tuition and Fees in the West includes tuition, fees, and enrollment data about 350+ public institutions in the West.
- Benchmarks: WICHE Region presents information on the West’s progress in improving access to, success in, and financing of higher education.
- Data on over 35 indicators in WICHE’s Regional Fact Book for Higher Education in the West.
WCET- The WICHE Cooperative for Education Technologies is the leader in practice, policy, and advocacy of technology-enhanced learning in higher education. Montana State University – Billings, Montana State University – Bozeman, Montana University System, and the University of Montana are WCET members.
WICHE has convened the OERWest Network, which is part of a nationwide collaborative to scale the development and adoption of free course materials. Open educational resources (OER) have shown promise in improving student outcomes, particularly for poverty-affected students, for whom the high cost of textbooks can be a barrier to postsecondary success.
WICHE Commissioners
Laurie Bishop
Representative, Montana State Legislature
Laurie Bishop
Representative, Montana State Legislature
Laurie Bishop resides in Livingston, MT, where she is representing her community in the Montana State House of Representatives. When not working as a legislator, Laurie is the Director of the Montana Afterschool Alliance. Her previous work has included improving statewide high school graduation rates with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and serving as the executive director of a youth development nonprofit.

* Clayton Christian
Commissioner of Higher Education, Montana University System
Clayton Christian *
Commissioner of Higher Education, Montana University System
For over a decade, Clayton Christian has proudly served the students of Montana. During his tenure on the Board of Regents (5/2006-12/2011) Christian was a champion for common course numbering, tuition freezes, and other system initiatives aimed at increasing student access, success, and affordability. As chair of the Board of Regents, he continued to focus on implementing measures to improve system accountability, transparency, productivity, and increased confidence in higher education. He was and continues to be an advocate for increased opportunities in distance learning, a measure that continues to have a significant impact on a state that encompasses over 147,000 square miles. In 2012, Christian was asked to continue his service to Montana as the Commissioner of Higher Education. Under his leadership and on behalf of the Board of Regents and in partnership with university presidents, he has elevated Montana’s educational system that serves nearly 45,000 students and 9,000 faculty annually at 16 public colleges and universities. As commissioner, Christian has leveraged public and private partnerships to dramatically increase growth in workforce development, implemented innovative state investments which yielded record amounts of university-based research, and implemented performance-based funding with institutional incentives for student retention.

Legislative Advisory Committee
David Bedey
Representative, Montana State Legislature
David Bedey
Representative, Montana State Legislature

Laurie Bishop
Representative, Montana State Legislature
Laurie Bishop
Representative, Montana State Legislature
Laurie Bishop resides in Livingston, MT, where she is representing her community in the Montana State House of Representatives. When not working as a legislator, Laurie is the Director of the Montana Afterschool Alliance. Her previous work has included improving statewide high school graduation rates with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and serving as the executive director of a youth development nonprofit.

Daniel Salomon
Senator, Montana State Legislature
Daniel Salomon
Senator, Montana State Legislature

Paul Tuss
Representative, Montana State Legislature
Paul Tuss
Representative, Montana State Legislature
