This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that examines Oregon's statewide promise program. Representatives from Oregon's Higher Education Coordinating Commission and K-12 state and local education agencies worked with the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest to conduct this study of Oregon Promise's reach and impact in its…

Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist…

This Special Report examines four principles for state leaders to consider as they develop or evaluate financial aid redesign reform efforts. The financial aid redesign principles, identified through a Thinkers Meeting that included experts from across the country, fall into four areas: Financial aid programs should be student-centered,…

A governor's State of the State address is an opportunity to outline policy priorities, highlight past accomplishments and reflect on the condition of the state and country. In 2018, 17 governors are serving their last year in office, having reached the end of their term or deciding not to seek re-election. Many of them used their State of the…

Nearly a quarter of all undergraduate students in the U.S. are parents. All parents, especially younger parents and those returning to school after years in the workforce, face a system that was not designed to accommodate their needs as caretakers. The needs of student parents have become even more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has…

This report outlines key data elements related to the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), and Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP) for the 2021-22 academic year and is a core resource for policymakers, institutional leaders, counselors and other stakeholders across the region. This report…

This report outlines key data elements related to the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), and Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP) for the 2020-21 academic year and is a core resource for policymakers, institutional leaders, counselors and other stakeholders across the region. This report…

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 report outlines key data elements related to the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), and Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP) for the 2019-20 academic year across a range of categories. This report contains participation and migration statistics for each of the Western Interstate Commission…

Every adolescent faces challenges as they navigate their teenage years, but for some these challenges imperil their ability to complete their education. While these four students' experiences are dramatically different, they have one thing in common: high school didn't work for them, meaning that each faced long odds of ever attaining a diploma,…

For 65 years, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has been serving the students of the West. The largest of WICHE's three Student Access Programs, the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), helps more than 40,000 Western undergraduates save on nonresident tuition. The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) allows…

The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)--the nation's largest regional tuition-reciprocity program--is celebrating its 30th year of regional exchange in the 2017-18 academic year. The tuition reciprocity agreement allows nonresident students from a WICHE state to enroll in participating two- or four-year public institutions located in another…

With increasingly widespread calls to raise educational attainment levels without substantially growing public investment in higher education, policymakers and others have devoted growing attention to the role of financial aid programs in providing access to, promoting affordability for, and incentivizing success in college. Given relative levels…

Everyone acknowledges the importance of leadership in good schools, but sometimes a leader's influence extends into unexpected areas. Getting admitted to and succeeding in college is certainly the result of hard work on the part of individual students and their families, but for many kids, particularly those from impoverished backgrounds or from…

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education…