Midwestern Higher Education Commission

MHEC BRINGS TOGETHER MIDWESTERN STATES TO DEVELOP AND SUPPORT BEST PRACTICES, COLLABORATION EFFORTS, AND COST-SHARING OPPORTUNITIES. THROUGH THESE EFFORTS IT WORKS TO ENSURE STRONG, EQUITABLE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND OUTCOMES FOR ALL.

PROGRAMS:ADDITIONAL MHEC PROGRAMS ARE INITIATED IN RESPONSE TO IDENTIFIED NEEDS IN ONE OR MORE OF THE MEMBER STATES. BRINGING TOGETHER EXPERTISE FROM ACROSS THE REGION, MHEC IDENTIFIES ACTIVITIES NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE IDENTIFIED NEEDS. THOSE PROBLEMS BEST SOLVED THROUGH ONGOING INTERSTATE COOPERATION ARE THEN DEVELOPED INTO MHEC PROGRAMS. EACH MHEC PROGRAM PROVIDES THE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WITH GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP STRUCTURES TO GUIDE AND MAINTAIN PROGRAMMATIC OUTCOMES.MHECARE HEALTH INSURANCE SOLUTIONS:COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE SOLUTIONS CREATED IN RESPONSE TO BOTH INCREASING COST AND CONCERN FOR STUDENT HEALTH. 25 CAMPUSES OFFERED MHECARE HEALTH INSURANCE SOLUTIONS IN FY 2023.MIDWEST STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM:A MULTI-STATE TUITION RECIPROCITY PROGRAM THAT MAKES ATTENDING OUT-OF-STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES MORE AFFORDABLE FOR NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS.- 5,828 STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE MIDWEST STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM IN 8 OF THE COMPACT STATES (INDIANA, KANSAS, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, AND WISCONSIN) DURING FY23.- MSEP STUDENTS SAVED OVER $44 MILLION IN FY23, BRINGING THE TOTAL PROGRAM SAVINGS TO $891 MILLION SINCE 1994.- ON AVERAGE, STUDENTS IN MSEP TYPICALLY REALIZE SAVING BETWEEN $500 AND $5,000 ANNUALLY.- 1 REPORT WAS PRODUCED AS PART OF A PROGRAM ASSESSMENT.MIDWESTERN STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT:A VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT AMONG STATES THAT ESTABLISHES NATIONWIDE STANDARDS FOR THE OFFERING OF POSTSECONDARY DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES AND PROGRAMS. M-SARA SAVED INSTITUTIONS AN ESTIMATED $36,285,255 IN FY 2023.

RESEARCH:MHEC RESEARCH INFORMS INSTITUTIONAL AND STATE EFFORTS IN IMPROVING POSTSECONDARY POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND OUTCOMES IN SEVERAL WAYS: (A) MAINTAINING A NATIONAL REPOSITORY OF EXPERTISE, KNOWLEDGE AND BEST PRACTICES FOR GUIDING POLICY AND PRACTICE; (B) CONDUCTING APPLIED RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS ON CRITICAL TOPICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION; (C) DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY AND EFFECTIVENESS; AND (D) PROVIDING PUBLIC OUTREACH AND SERVICE TO INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNMENTS. AMONG ITS CORE OUTPUTS, MHEC RESEARCH MAINTAINS AN ONLINE DASHBOARD OF EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND PRODUCES TIMELY BRIEFS, REPORTS, AND TECHNICAL PAPERS IN THE MOST CRITICAL AREAS FOR FACILITATING PROGRESS TOWARDS STATE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT GOALS, INCLUDING COLLEGE READINESS; AFFORDABILITY AND FINANCE; STUDENT SUCCESS; AND PERFORMANCE, VALUE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY AS WELL AS OTHER TOPICS OF IMPORTANCE TO MIDWESTERN STATES. 23 PUBLICATIONS WERE RELEASED IN FY23.

CONVENING:MHEC EMPOWERS THE MEMBER STATES TO CONNECT FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXCHANGING EXPERTISE, SHARING IDEAS AND EXPERIENCES, AND COLLABORATIVELY PURSUING EFFORTS THAT HELP FURTHER HIGHER EDUCATION. THIS CONVENING AND COLLABORATING LEADS TO MANY PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES THAT PRODUCE A VARIETY OF OUTCOMES AND RESULTS RANGING FROM THE DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE ABOUT PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS, TO LEVERAGING THE COLLECTIVE PURCHASING POWER OF THE REGION TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENCIES AND SAVINGS.CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT:MHEC CONTINUED EXPANSION OF THE GRADUATE CREDIT QUEST, A WEB-BASED PLATFORM FOR TEACHERS TO SEARCH FOR GRADUATE COURSE WORK WITHIN THEIR CONTENT AREAS THAT LEAD TO REQUIRED CREDENTIALING FOR TEACHING DUAL OR CONCURRENT CREDIT CLASSES. THE PLATFORM PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT DUAL CREDIT AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR ALL 12 MHEC MEMBER STATES. IT ALSO SERVES AS A REPOSITORY OF RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS, PROFESSIONAL PAPERS, AND MEDIA RELEASES ON THE SUBJECT OF DUAL/CONCURRENT CREDIT. THE PLATFORM WAS ENHANCED IN 2022 WITH SPECIFIC COMMUNICATIONS AND PATHWAY TRACKING CAPACITIES THAT FURTHER ENABLE TEACHERS TO ACCELERATE THEIR EFFORTS TO COMPLY WITH CREDENTIALING REQUIREMENTS. NOW THE PLATFORM ENABLES OVER 28 REGIONAL GRADUATE SCHOOLS TO BUILD AWARENESS AMONG TEACHERS ABOUT ROUGHLY 1,500 UNIQUE COURSE OFFERINGS, WITHIN MULTIPLE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES, AND PROVIDING ACCESS TO SPECIFIC ENROLLMENT PROCESSES, DELIVERY MODALITIES, AND MORE.CAMPUS COORDINATORS FOR DUAL OR CONCURRENT CREDIT TEACHERS CAN NOW COMMUNICATE WITH PARTNERED TEACHERS ABOUT THEIR SPECIFIC PROGRESS TOWARD CREDENTIALING AND TEACHERS CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT SELECTED COURSES WILL COUNT TOWARD CREDENTIALING. THE PLATFORM HOSTS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES FROM 8 OF THE 12 MHEC MEMBER STATES. TEACHER USER COUNTS (OF 187CURRENT USERS) HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW, AND COORDINATOR COUNTS (33) ARE RISING. AS DIRECT OUTREACH TO 28 UNIVERSITY USERS) ARE IMPLEMENTED. FORMAL OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS INCLUDED USER SURVEYS TO BOTH UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS (33) AND TEACHERS (263). SEVERAL INSIGHTS AND USER PERCEPTIONS WERE RECEIVED AND ASSESSED FOR FURTHER ACTION IN 2024.CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT IS A RESEARCH PRIORITY FOR MHEC DURING ITS CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN. IN FY24 MHEC WILL PRODUCE BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR RESEARCH REPORTS PERTAINING TO CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT ISSUES: TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN STATE LEVEL DATA COLLECTION, USE OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN DUAL AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT SETTINGS, AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE 2017 MHEC RESEARCH REPORT SUMMARIZING EXISTING RESEARCH ON OPTIMAL LEVELS OF TEACHER TRAINING AND PREPARATION, AND AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE 2019 RESEARCH REPORT SUMMARIZING HOW STATES AND ACCREDITORS DEFINE THE QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY FOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS TO TEACH CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT COURSES.

CONTRACTS:MHEC CONTRACTS LEVERAGE THE POTENTIAL VOLUME OF THE REGION'S PURCHASING POWER, WHILE SAVING ENTITIES TIME AND MONEY BY SIMPLIFYING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND NEGATING THE NEED TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE SOURCING EVENT. BY OFFERING A TURNKEY SOLUTION WITH THE ABILITY TO TAILOR THE ALREADY NEGOTIATED CONTRACT TO MATCH THE ENTITY'S SPECIFIC NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS, MHEC CONTRACTS SHIFT SOME OF THE NEGOTIATING POWER BACK TO THE PROCURING ENTITIES. IN ADDITION TO CONTRACTS AVAILABLE THROUGH MHECARE STUDENT HEALTH SOLUTIONS, MHEC OFFERS NUMEROUS CONTRACTS IN TECHNOLOGY. THE CONTRACTS ARE A PRODUCT OF A REPRESENTATIVE GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE HIGHER EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY CONDUCTING A COMPETITIVE SOURCING PROCESS THAT LEVERAGES THE POTENTIAL PURCHASING POWER OF THE 12 MHEC MEMBER STATES. TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTS SAVED ENTITIES IN THE MHEC REGION NEARLY $32 MILLION IN FY2023. IN SOME CASES, THE COMPACT'S COST SAVINGS INITIATIVES MAY BE UTILIZED BY CITY, COUNTY, AND STATE GOVERNMENT AS WELL AS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.