Since 1951, Utah has partnered with and benefited from WICHE through regional collaboration, resource-sharing, sound public policy, and innovation.
Download the factsheet for Utah here.
2022-23 ACADEMIC YEAR
by Utah 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
“WUE has allowed me to attend college without private loans or digging into my savings. Without it, I would have had to put my education on pause. An added plus is that I’m now located much closer to my grandmother and am able to help her out. I am so grateful for WUE.”
– Alina, Washington resident | Software Engineering, Utah Tech University
Improving Lives in Utah
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
- Salt Lake Community College
- Snow College
Clifton Sanders, Salt Lake Community College, serves on the Alliance executive committee.
WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP FORUM – 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS
- University of Utah
- Utah System of Higher Education
- Utah Technical University
- Utah Valley University
David Connelly, Utah Valley University, serves on the Forum executive committee.
WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY is a year-long professional development program for academic leaders aspiring to become chief academic officers in the WICHE region. Three cohort members from Utah institutions have participated in the Academy since its inception in 2015.
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.
Utah 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) 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. Region 8 is comprised of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
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.
WICHE Behavioral Health Program (BHP) administers the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), a multiyear initiative supported by the Health Resources & Services Administration to identify treatment barriers and best practices for preventing and treating substance use disorder. RCORP supports three grantees across five sites in Utah: University of Utah, Southern Utah University, and Intermountain Healthcare, Inc.
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. Brigham Young University, Salt Lake Community College, University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah System of Higher Education, and Western Governors University are WCET members.
Chantae Recasner, Western Governors University, serves on the WCET Steering Committee and is a past winner of WCET’s award honoring emerging leaders.
Additionally, Brigham Young University-Utah, Broadview University, Dixie State University, Eagle Gate College, LDS Business College, Midwives College of Utah, Newmont University, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Salt Lake Community College, Snow College, Southern Utah University, Stevens-Henager College, University of Utah, Utah SARA Private institutions, Utah State University, Utah System of Higher Education, Utah Valley University, Weber State University, Western Governors University, and Westminster College are members of the State Authorization Network (SAN), which helps guide institutions through state regulations around online courses and programs.
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
*indicates Executive Committee member
Patricia Jones
CEO, Women's Leadership Institute
Patricia Jones
CEO, Women's Leadership Institute
Patricia Jones is the CEO of the Women’s Leadership Institute in Utah, an organization focused on elevating the leadership status of women in the state. Prior to this appointment she was the co-founder and former president of Dan Jones Associates for 35 years, a polling company based in Utah that conducts market research, economic analysis and strategy consulting for a variety of well-known national companies and organizations. Jones also served in the Utah legislature for 14 years, serving in leadership positions 12 of those years. She was a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 2000-2006 and was elected to the Utah Senate in 2006-2014, serving eight years there, including serving as the first female leader in either party and in either House. Jones currently is a member of the Utah Board of Regents, the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Chamber, the Intermountain Healthcare Community Care Foundation, and a member of the National Advisory Board of the University of Utah School of Dentistry. Jones has served on the boards of United Way of Salt Lake, Utah Symphony and Opera, St. Mark’s Hospital, Hale Centre Theatre, Columbus Community Center, University of Utah Alumni Association, Coalition for People with Disabilities, This is the Place State Park, Coalition for the Understanding of Substance Abuse Disease, and Zions Bank Women’s Financial Group. She is a communications graduate from the University of Utah.

* Ann Millner
Senator, Utah State Legislature
Ann Millner *
Senator, Utah State Legislature
Ann Millner serves as the state senator for Utah District 18. She serves in senate leadership as the senate majority assistant whip. She serves on several committees including the executive appropriations committee, the legislative management committee, co-chair of the Higher Education Strategic Planning Commission and the appropriations subcommittees for both public and higher education. Additionally, she is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures executive committee. She has sponsored legislation focused on economic development specifically related to business development strategy and workforce preparation, public and higher education, and improving affordable health care. In 2018, she was awarded the Utah Business Legislator of the Year by the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Utah Technology Council Legislator of the Year.
She is a Regents Professor of Health Administration and former president at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Under Millner’s leadership as president from 2002 to 2012, Weber State became a multi-campus institution, experienced a nearly 40 percent increase in enrollment, initiated a major facilities revitalization effort, expanded its network of community partnerships, launched WSU-Davis, emerged as a regional center for economic development, and earned national recognition for its undergraduate research and community-based learning initiatives.
Millner currently serves on the board of trustees for Intermountain Healthcare, the board of directors for Merit Medical and the advisory board for Zions Bank. In addition, she is chair of Ogden United, and a member of the advisory board for the Kem Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, and the Governor’s Taskforce on Educational Excellence.

David Woolstenhulme
Former Commissioner of Higher Education, Utah System of Higher Education
David Woolstenhulme
Former Commissioner of Higher Education, Utah System of Higher Education
Dave R. Woolstenhulme, Ed.D is the former Commissioner of Higher Education on July 1, 2020, after serving as Interim Commissioner of Higher Education since July 2019 for the Utah System of Higher Education. Previously, he served as Vice President of Statewide Campuses for Utah State University (USU), a position he held since 2018. Prior to that, he served as the Utah Commissioner of Technical Education where he was the CEO for the Utah System of Technical Colleges, providing state-level leadership and oversight for the eight technical colleges in Utah. He also served as Executive Vice Provost at USU, as well as the President of Uintah Basin Applied Technology College. Woolstenhulme received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Utah State University and his Doctorate of Education from the University of Wyoming.

Legislative Advisory Committee
Melissa Ballard
Representative, Utah State Legislature
Melissa Ballard
Representative, Utah State Legislature

Keith Grover
Senator, Utah State Legislature
Keith Grover
Senator, Utah State Legislature

Michael McKell
Senator, Utah State Legislature
Michael McKell
Senator, Utah State Legislature

* Ann Millner
Senator, Utah State Legislature
Ann Millner *
Senator, Utah State Legislature
Ann Millner serves as the state senator for Utah District 18. She serves in senate leadership as the senate majority assistant whip. She serves on several committees including the executive appropriations committee, the legislative management committee, co-chair of the Higher Education Strategic Planning Commission and the appropriations subcommittees for both public and higher education. Additionally, she is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures executive committee. She has sponsored legislation focused on economic development specifically related to business development strategy and workforce preparation, public and higher education, and improving affordable health care. In 2018, she was awarded the Utah Business Legislator of the Year by the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Utah Technology Council Legislator of the Year.
She is a Regents Professor of Health Administration and former president at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Under Millner’s leadership as president from 2002 to 2012, Weber State became a multi-campus institution, experienced a nearly 40 percent increase in enrollment, initiated a major facilities revitalization effort, expanded its network of community partnerships, launched WSU-Davis, emerged as a regional center for economic development, and earned national recognition for its undergraduate research and community-based learning initiatives.
Millner currently serves on the board of trustees for Intermountain Healthcare, the board of directors for Merit Medical and the advisory board for Zions Bank. In addition, she is chair of Ogden United, and a member of the advisory board for the Kem Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, and the Governor’s Taskforce on Educational Excellence.
