College affordability is a significant factor in student access, retention, and completion. Tuition and fee rates are a component of affordability, as is the availability of financial aid programs from federal, state, institutional and private sources, among other factors. Strategically designed approaches to college affordability can better…

In 2013, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) proposed as the state goal that 70 percent of the state's 25- to 44-year-olds (i.e., early and mid-career residents) should have a credential beyond high school. WSAC's Strategic Action Plan (SAP) provides a framework to organize the policy and practice innovation needed to achieve this…

In 2019, the Washington Student Achievement Council adopted a Strategic Framework to better understand how state higher education policy contributes to campus and student success. The framework organizes the policy work into four areas deemed essential to achieve the 70 percent goal: (1) Affordability; (2) Enrollment; (3) Completion; and (4)…

In this brief, the authors aim to equip policymakers and advocates for higher education opportunity and equity with a framework for analyzing and pushing for "equity-driven" free college policy. The purpose is not to challenge the momentum around free college, but to understand how programs can be designed to advance opportunity and…

This issue of "WICHE Insights" reviews the results of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE) annual survey of tuition and fees at public postsecondary institutions in the WICHE region in the context of state higher education finance policy. In light of steady increases in tuition and fees rates, modest growth in…

In 2016, there was an increasingly dramatic divergence between state economies in the West. Most states in the region benefited from an ongoing economic recovery, but states reliant on the energy sector for tax revenues were hit hard by the global decline in oil prices. This resulted in varying budget situations in legislatures across the…

This issue of "Policy Insights" reviews the results of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's annual survey of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the WICHE region and discusses related policy implications. (Data from the survey were published in November 2016.) Overall, tuition and fees in the WICHE…

This issue of "Policy Insights" reviews the results of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE) annual survey of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the WICHE region and discusses related policy implications. Overall, tuition and fees in the WICHE region increased relatively little in 2015-16…

Community colleges and businesses have a shared interest in preparing students and existing workers to be successful in their careers. Community colleges seek to educate and train individuals in their community to have the knowledge and skills for current jobs and long-term career opportunities. Employers seek employees with both job-specific…

This is the forty-third report prepared in Washington providing tuition and fee data for flagship institutions, comprehensive institutions, and community colleges. Tuition and fee rates for academic year 2013-14 were collected by staff from the Connecticut Office of Higher Education, who developed an online tool to collect these data from the 50…

In July 2012, the executive doctoral class of 2013 from the University of Pennsylvania's Higher Education Management Program in the Graduate School of Education conducted a study of higher education in Ireland. The international study, an important component of the executive doctoral program, mirrored and built on research completed by Joni Finney…

The U.S. spends twice as much as the average industrialized country on higher education, but continues to slide relative to other nations in the percentage of young adults with an associate degree or higher. Despite recent reductions in state aid to higher education, state taxpayers continue to be the largest single source of unrestricted funds…

National and regional trends mask important variation among states in the supply of high school graduates. This profile provides brief indicators for Washington related to: current levels of educational attainment, projections of high school graduates into the future, and two common barriers to student access and success--insufficient academic…

The United States faces a period of opportunity for reinvention unlike any other, and the need for dramatic reform extends to higher education. Today, the United States is at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges in meeting expectations and upholding values that have long distinguished the nation. For the benefit of every American,…

State law directs the Higher Education Coordinating Board to recommend state tuition and fee policies to the Governor and Legislature. As part of its analysis, the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board conducted an annual survey of tuition and fee rates at public colleges and universities in all 50 states to determine how Washington…