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

• College of Eastern Idaho
• College of Southern Idaho
• College of Western Idaho
• North Idaho College

Todd Schwarz, College of Southern Idaho, is a member of the Alliance executive committee.

WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP FORUM – 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS

•   Boise State University
• Idaho State Board of Education
• Idaho State University
• Lewis-Clark State College
• University of Idaho

TJ Bliss, Idaho State Board of Education, is a member of 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. Fourteen cohort members from Idaho institutions have participated in the Academy since its inception in 2015.

Todd Schwarz, College of Southern Idaho, will serves as a primary faculty member for the Academy.

NO HOLDING BACK Idaho State University is one of 12 WICHE institutions that participated in a community of practice in which institutions analyzed data and revised policies related to transcript and student holds in 2022-2023.

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.

Idaho participates in the STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT (SARA) through WICHE. This voluntary agreement provides reciprocity for the state authorization of distance education.

WICHE ACADEMY FOR LEADERS IN THE HUMANITIES is a leadership development program for aspiring academic leaders with a background in the humanities. The two-year fellowship consists of campus-based and external mentoring, a three-day in-person seminar, and an extended project. Greg Wilson, College of Western Idaho is participating in the 2023-25 cohort.

WICHE Behavioral Health Program (BHP) works with partner agencies to develop a broad and culturally relevant training program to support the preparation and retention of doctoral-level psychologists through the Idaho Psychology Internship Consortium (ID-PIC). In November 2023, the APA granted the ID-PIC full APA accreditation for three years. They currently have four interns in the program, and plan to expand to five interns in the 2025 training year.

BHP also 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. The RCORP supports one grantee in Idaho: Public Health District No. 1.

In 2023, WICHE completed an analysis of the education and workforce pipeline in engineering and computer science, culminating in recommendations for how the state can approach growing its workforce in these two crucial areas.

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.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS NETWORK Staff from the State Board of Education also participate in regular collaborative calls with colleagues around the region.

In February 2023, WICHE collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to provide a Cybersecurity Leadership Tabletop Exercise for postsecondary senior nontechnical leaders in Idaho. Additionally, WCET- The WICHE Cooperative for Education Technologies is the leader in practice, policy, and advocacy of technology-enhanced learning in higher education. WCET members include Boise State University, College of Eastern Idaho, Idaho State University, Lewis-Clark State College, and University of Idaho.

Thirteen institutions in Idaho are also 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.