Utah | Highlighting WICHE Higher Education Activity

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

0 TOTAL SAVED

by Utah students through WICHE Student Access Programs

0 SAVED

through WUE

0 SAVED

through WRGP

0 SAVED

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.

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Regional Collaboration

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.

Optimal Behavioral Healthcare

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.

Sound Public Policy

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.

Innovative Solutions

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.