Commissioners Meet in North Dakota

MHEC Welcomes WICHE Institution to Property Program

The Midwest PERL is Launched
Upcoming Policy Forum: Increasing Access and Retention in Times of Limited Growth
Role of the Regional Higher Education Compact
Telecommunications and Internet Services (TIS) RFP

Commissioners Meet in North Dakota
MHEC’s Executive Committee met on Saturday, June 19 at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn , N.D.  Nine of MHEC’s ten member states were represented at the meeting by their appointed Commissioners. 

Kansas Senate Majority Leader and Commission Chair Lana Oleen said the meeting focused on issues important to all of the Compact states. “The work of the Compact has significant benefit to colleges and universities to reduce costs, reduce tuition and provide public policy options for decision-makers,” stated Oleen.

Commissioners were informed about the success of MHEC’s current programs. MHEC is enthusiastically exploring more avenues to offer cost savings and program support to postsecondary institutions and state governments in the Midwest . In addition, the committee previewed The Midwest PERL that was launched on July 2. This online postsecondary education research library provides a web-based data book for the region in addition to resources searchable by postsecondary issue, sector and institutional type. The Committee approved expanding the Compact’s property insurance program to include institutions in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education region. In addition, the Committee discussed various ideas on student exchange programs including potential discussions with other higher education compacts to address significant increases in college-age enrollments in some states.

The Executive Committee will meet again in Kansas City on November 17, followed by a meeting of the full MHEC Commission on November 18 and 19.


MHEC Welcomes WICHE Institution to Property Program
MHEC is delighted to announce that it has recently partnered with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) to extend the opportunity for the institutions within the WICHE region to participate in MHEC’s Master Property Program (MPP) or the Property & Casualty Program (P&CP). As a result, the University and Community College System of Nevada joined MHEC’s Property Program on July 1. The Nevada System includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Nevada, Reno; Nevada State College at Henderson; Desert Research Institute; Community College of Southern Nevada; Great Basin College; Truckee Meadows Community College and Western Nevada Community College. The Master Property Program now insures over $43 billion in property values at 37 institutions (74 campuses). For more information about either insurance program, contact Program Officer Mary Feilmeyer at 612-626-0070.


The Midwest PERL is Launched
The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) had launched The Midwest PERL (Postsecondary Education Resource Library).  This online tool is designed to meet the data and policy-research needs of MHEC’s various constituents through two complementary databases: 1) an online fact book with state-specific data for MHEC member states; and 2) links to quality policy reports and scholarly articles searchable by postsecondary issue, sector and institutional type. This web-based resource tool was created with the generous support of Lumina Foundation for Education. If you have any suggestions for MHEC such as sources to add, data formatting, or thoughts about the online tool in general, please contact perl@mhec.org or contact Janet Holdsworth , MHEC’s director of policy research, at 612-625-2431.

Upcoming Policy Forum: Increasing Access and Retention in Times of Limited Growth

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) are co-sponsoring a multi-state invitational forum  titled Increasing Access and Retention in Times of Limited Growth to be held August 19-20, in Minneapolis . MHEC and WICHE have each invited four states from their regions to select a team of representatives from various constituencies to attend the forum. The invited states are projected to have low or no growth in their numbers of high school graduates over the next decades. Support for this meeting comes from MHEC and two projects at WICHE, Changing Direction: Aligning Higher Education Financial Aid and Financing Policy, funded by Lumina Foundation for Education, and Strengthening Legislative Engagement , funded by the Ford Foundation. Participants will discuss policy issues and practices related to promoting access and retention in times of enrollment pressures and will consider policy options utilized in several Midwestern and Western states. For more information, please contact Janet Holdsworth , or call 612-625-2431.

Role of the Regional Higher Education Compact
MHEC continues to explore opportunities to inform legislators and other constituents on the impact the regional higher education compact has in its states. Next week staff will attend the Annual Midwestern Legislative Conference (MLC) in Des Moines , Iowa . Kansas Senate Majority Leader and MHEC’s Commission Chair Lana Oleen will lead one of the Monday morning table topic discussions. In addition, Senator Oleen along with President Larry Isaak will also address the attendees on Wednesday morning with highlights about MHEC from the past year. MHEC was created out of the Midwestern Legislative Conference.  Later this month, Senator Oleen and President Isaak will also participate in a session on the “Role of the Regional Higher Education Compact” at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). They will be joined by Executive Director David Longanecker from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and Jim Watts, vice president for state services, at the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).

Telecommunications and Internet Services (TIS) RFP

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) urges schools, colleges and agencies from MHEC’s ten Midwestern states to participate in the new RFP process now being initiated by the ATAlliance/MiCTA for Telecommunications and Internet Services (TIS). The purpose of the bid process, as noted this past spring in MHEC’s newsletter and also in the WCET’s “Article Digest" forum, is to refresh the bid conducted on behalf of the membership and to generate standardized high value, low cost offers for these services to members across all 50 states.

This announcement is to encourage personnel at colleges and universities and state departments of administration in MHEC states to consider participating in this process through completion of a survey and/or as committee volunteers. Note that submitting a survey response or serving on a committee does not commit you to purchasing from any resulting TIS Agreements, as program participation is strictly voluntary. Further information can be found on the web page www.micta.org . (Click on the blue TIS icon in the upper left-hand corner.)

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Ann Grindland , MHEC ATAlliance program director at 612-624-1848.