• Focus : Montana

    Montana 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. Montana 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 2009-10 Montana students and their families saved $6 million in tuition by participating in WICHE’s Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), one of three student access programs, plus another $2 million through participating in the Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP), which sends students to programs in seven fields: dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and veterinary medicine. Montana students also saved $252,000 through the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP).

     

    Doing the Math: Montana's Return on Investment

    In 2009-10 Montana, its institutions, and its students saved or brought in some $8.3 million through WICHE and spent $125,000 for membership in the commission, yielding a 66-fold return on investment.
     
    In the last 5 years, Montana students’ savings from WUE alone have topped $28 million, yielding a 48-fold return on the state's investment in WICHE.

     


    How does Montana benefit as a WICHE state?

    WICHE’s programs save Montana 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.

     

    > Montana’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.

     

    > Montana 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.

     

    > Montana 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 1,360 students from Montana are attending undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in other Western states through WICHE’s three 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    . Montana students have saved on over 13,000 annual tuition bills while enrolled in out-of-state undergraduate programs through WUE in the last decade.
     
    > In 2009-10 1,257 Montana students are enrolled through WUE in out-of-state programs, saving over $6 million by paying the WUE rate of 150 percent of resident tuition in the enrolling institution.
     
    > Montana students saved an average of $4,806 each this year.
     
     
    > Top majors chosed by Montana's WUE students are biology, education, nursing, business, marketing, and engineering.
     
    Montana 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 Montana after graduating. This year Montana received 1,754 out-of-state students through WUE.
     
    Professional Student Exchange Program. Montana has sent students to professional programs through PSEP since 1953. It currently supports 82 students in dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and veterinary medicine. Historically, some 60 percent of outbound PSEP students return to their home state to pursue their professional careers.

    Western Regional Graduate Program    . Montana’s postgraduates participate in graduate programs through WRGP, which offers access to over 220 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 45 institutions in all 15 WICHE states. Montana sent 25 students to out-of-state institutions in 2009-10, while receiving 13.
     
    Internet Course Exchange (ICE). Montana participates in WICHE’s newest exchange, ICE. Montana State University, Bozeman, and the Montana University System are members of ICE, an alliance of member institutions and systems with a set of policies, procedures, and support systems for sharing distance-delivered courses among two- and four-year institutions in the 15-state WICHE region.

    WICHE's Added Value

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

     

    Montana has been an active participant in projects to support better-informed decision making at the state level. WICHE initiatives have been sponsored by the Ford Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, the U.S. Department of Education, and others. In addition, WICHE policy experts often visit the state to present or consult on a number of vital issues, including the state's workforce needs and balancing the financial aid portfolio between grants, loans, and scholarships, as well as between merit- versus need-based aid. 
     
    WICHE’s Lumina-funded project “Getting What You Pay For: Understanding Higher Education Appropriations, Tuition, and Financial Aid” promoted 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.
     
    Montana is also participating in another Lumin project, "Best Practices in Statewide Articulation and Transfer Systems," which seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how states coordinate their articulation and transfer programs for students who move from two-year to four-year institutions, focusing strategies that increase access to and success in higher education.
     
    Teams of policymakers and education leaders from Montana participate each year in regional policy forums and meetings hosted by WICHE. One such recent meeting was the Western Summit on Workforce Certification and Higher Education for policymakers in the West, held in response to the national demand for more highly skilled workers in a host of fields, from healthcare to high tech. Participants explored how states might use a workforce certification system – which would allow business and higher education to communicate with a common language about workforce demand and supply – to improve their ability to prepare individuals for productive careers and enhance the health of their economies.

     

    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.

     

    Montana participates in other WICHE programs as well. Montana State University-Billings, Montana State University-Bozeman, and Montana University System are members of WCET, 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.
     
    Additionally,  Montana State University-Billings, Montana State University at Bozeman, the Montana University System, and the University of Montana-Missoula are members of the Western Academic Leadership Form (WALF), whose members address regional higher education issues and engage in cooperative resource sharing.
     
    Another program available to Montana is the Master Property Program, which helps institutions in the West reduce their insurance premiums and improve their coverage.
     
    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.