• Focus : Utah

    Utah joined the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), a 15-state commission working to boost access to and success in higher education for students in the West, in 1951. Utah and WICHE have shared a remarkably productive history. But more importantly the state and its citizens reap essential economic and educational benefits today, saving millions of dollars annually while ensuring the state’s “human capital” is educated and ready to participate in a highly competitive global economy.


    In 2008-09 Utah students and their families saved $3.6 million in tuition by participating in WICHE’s Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), one of three student access programs, plus another $311,000 through the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). Utah also saved money by participating in the Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP), sending its students to three programs, in optometry, podiatry, and veterinary medicine.

     

    Doing the Math: Utah's Return on Investment

    In 2008-09 Utah, its institutions, and its students saved or brought in some $3.9 million through WICHE and spent $120,000 for membership in the commission, yielding a 32-fold return on investment.
     
    In the last 5 years, Utah students’ savings from WUE alone have topped $18 million, with membership dues of just $561,000, yielding a 32-fold return.

     


    How does Utah benefit as a WICHE state?

    WICHE’s programs save Utah money and enhance the use of its educational resources in several critical ways.

     

    > When funding is reduced, access to higher ed can be preserved because students have affordable out-of-state options via WICHE.

     

    > Utah’s public colleges and universities are able to increase enrollment in programs with extra capacity – and bring in much needed educational dollars – by enrolling students from other WICHE states.

     

    > Utah saves money by not having to establish and maintain costly programs in a number of essential or leading-edge areas because its students have access to out-of-state programs.

     

    > Utah vastly increases the resources it has for training its workforce: the majority of its professional students who train through WICHE’s PSEP return to the state to work and live.

    What student programs does WICHE offer?

    Over 850 students from Utah are attending undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in other Western states through WICHE’s student exchange programs this year (Figure 1 breaks down tuition savings). State membership in WICHE is required for students to participate in these programs.
     
     
    Western Undergraduate Exchange. Some 6,600 Utah students have enrolled in out-of-state undergraduate programs through WUE in the last decade.
     
    > In 2008-09 795 Utah students are enrolled through WUE in out-of-state programs, saving $3.6 million by paying the WUE rate of 150 percent of resident tuition in the enrolling institution.
     
    > Some of the top majors of Utah’s WUE students are: nursing, business, biology,  and sociology.
     
    > Utah students saved an average of $4,517 each this year.
     
    Utah also benefits from WUE by receiving students from out of state. Its institutions choose how many out-of-state slots to offer and in which areas, allowing them to make the best use of their resources by accepting students in underenrolled programs. There’s a workforce benefit for the state, too, as students often stay in Utah after graduating. This year Utah received some 715 out-of-state students through WUE.
     
    Professional Student Exchange Program. Utah has sent students to professional programs through PSEP since 1954. It currently supports 33 students in optometry, podiatry, and veterinary medicine. Historically, some 56 percent of PSEP students return to Utah to pursue their professional careers. The state’s institutions received five students from other WICHE states, as well as some $78,000 in support fees through PSEP last year.
     
    Western Regional Graduate Program. Utah’s postgraduates participate in graduate programs through WRGP, which offers access to over 200 high-quality, distinctive programs (“distinctive” meaning that they’re offered at only four or fewer institutions in the WICHE region as well as to a range of healthcare programs) at 39 institutions in 14 WICHE states. Utah sent 31 students to out-of-state institutions in 2008-09, while receiving 39.
     
    Internet Course Exchange (ICE). The University of Utah is a member of WICHE’s newest exchange, ICE, an alliance of member institutions and systems that share policies, procedures, and support systems for sharing distance-delivered courses among two- four-year institutions in the 15-state WICHE region.

    WICHE's Added Value

    Utah gains added value from WICHE's programs in policy, workforce development, technology, mental health, and other areas.

     

    Utah gains added value from WICHE’s programs in policy, workforce development, technology, mental health, and other areas.
     
    Utah has been an active participant in projects to support better-informed decision making at the state level. It was chosen to participate in the WICHE-managed State Scholars Initiative (SSI), a national business/education partnership effort working to increase the number of students who take a rigorous curriculum in high school; its program is funded by a grant of up to $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Last year, Utah sent a team to the National Summit on Rigor and Relevance in Boston, sponsored by SSI.
     
    Utah also worked with the Western Consortium for Accelerated Learning Opportunities, to increase the number of low-income students enrolling and succeeding in Advanced Placement courses and tests, with funding from the federal Advanced Placement Incentive Program.
     
    WICHE’s Lumina-funded project “Getting What You Pay For: Understanding Higher Education Appropriations, Tuition, and Financial Aid” focuses on promoting informed decision making and the alignment of higher education appropriations, tuition, and financial aid policy by state legislators. The project also works to inform news media, especially state house and higher education reporters, and others about these issues in an effort to increase student access and success.
     
    Other WICHE initiatives have been sponsored by the Ford Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, the U.S. Department of Education, and others. In addition, teams of policymakers and educational leaders from Utah participate each year in regional policy forums and meetings hosted by WICHE.

     

    Our goal with both meetings and projects is to assist educational leaders and policymakers by advocating for good public policy in the West. A third way we accomplish this is via our publication series, including Policy Insights and Workforce Briefs, which explore a wide range of significant policy issues. We also publish in-depth works such as Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates by State and Race/Ethnicity and the Regional Fact Book for Higher Education in the West, which includes data and analyses on fiscal, demographic, economic, and social indicators, as well as a state report providing Alaska data on access, affordability, finance, faculty, technology, and workforce issues. These resources can be downloaded at no cost from the WlCHE website.

     

    Utah participates in other WICHE programs as well. Seven Utah organizations and institutions – including the University of Utah and the Utah System of Higher Education – are members of WCET (formerly the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications), an international leader in helping states and institutions use new technologies to improve education. WICHE’s Mental Health Program – a nucleus for researching mental health policy and a provider of technical assistance in such areas as service innovation, system reform, workforce development, program evaluation, and other areas – is another well-used resource.
     
    Westminster College belongs to the Master Property Program, which helps institutions in the West reduce their insurance premiums and improve their coverage. Additionally, the Utah State Board of Regents is a member of the Western Academic Leadership Forum (WALF) – formerly known as the Northwest Academic Forum – whose members address regional higher education issues and engage in cooperative resource sharing.  
     
    WICHE’s Legislative Advisory Committee works to strengthen state policymaking in higher education, engaging legislators in the discussion of higher ed issues and seeking their input on strategies for interstate collaboration.