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September 2026

Greetings,

I find this time of year energizing, with the return of students to campus and a briskness in the air! It's also a busy time for MHEC. 

The rollout of the new federal Workforce Pell Grant program began in earnest this summer, and I'm pleased to see that the Midwest is leading! Programs in Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska are the first to be approved for Workforce Pell grant program. Read on for more information about MHEC's work to support states in implementing the new program that seeks to expand faster, more affordable pathways to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand occupations. 

In this edition of MHEC News, we are also pleased to share the news that the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation renewed a $500,000 grant to MHEC to help us support and expand open educational resources (OER) and practices across the region. We are grateful for this funding as it has a significant impact on helping states strengthen OER capacity. 

As the topic of AI continues to dominate headlines and discussions, MHEC's Technologies Community is offering a series of virtual sessions on the practical challenges institutions are facing. This is a terrific opportunity for tech leaders from institutions of all sizes to learn from one another. Look for more details below. 

Our Workforce Pathways convening is scheduled for later this month and will bring together cross-sector state teams from across the MHEC region to examine and strengthen noncredit-to-credit policy and practices. MHEC staff will also be meeting with colleagues at EDUCAUSE, preparing for an exciting annual Commission Meeting in Chicago, and moving into much improved office space next door in our current building (see a photo below of the construction). 

As always, we appreciate hearing from you and encourage you to reach out with your questions and ideas. 

With thanks,

Susan G. Heegaard

President

LATEST NEWS

MHEC Receives $500,000 Hewlett Foundation Grant to Advance Open Education Across the Midwest

This renewed grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will help MHEC continue and expand its work supporting open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) across the Midwest.

By expanding access to high-quality, openly licensed educational materials, OER can reduce costs for students while giving states and institutions greater flexibility to adapt and share resources that support teaching, learning, and student success. 

The grant will help MHEC sustain the strong network of open education leaders that has developed across the Midwest and explore new ways open education can advance affordability, access, workforce readiness, and learner success. 

Supporting States as Workforce Pell Takes Shape

As states prepared for the implementation of Workforce Pell earlier this year, MHEC helped create opportunities for just-in-time learning and collaboration across the Midwest. Through a series of webinars and state roundtables, higher education leaders shared implementation strategies, worked through common questions, and learned from peers across the region. 

Nine states, including Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska, were among the early participants in these conversations, sharing their approaches and experiences as states navigated a rapidly evolving implementation landscape. That early momentum has since translated into important milestones for the region, with Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska at the forefront of Workforce Pell implementation and approved programs emerging in their states.

These conversations are part of MHEC’s strategic work to help states strengthen connections between education and workforce pathways. That work continues later this month, September 23–25, at MHEC’s invitation-only Midwest Workforce Pathways Convening in Rosemont, Illinois. Cross-sector teams from across the region will examine noncredit-to-credit policy and practice, learn from one another, and dedicate time to state-specific action planning around their own policy landscapes, workforce needs, and priorities. The convening is part of a broader engagement that includes advance research and preparation, cross-state collaboration, and continued follow-up support as states put their plans into action. 

For more information, contact Carrie Wandler, Senior Director of Policy Initiatives.

SARA Policy Proposals Advance to Final Vote

Nine SARA Policy Modification Proposals (PMP) received unanimous approval from the Regional Steering Committees of all four regional education compacts: MHEC, NEBHE, SREB, and WICHE. The proposals now advance to the NC-SARA Board of Directors for final consideration during its fall 2026 meeting on October 28.

The approved proposals primarily focus on clarifying existing policies, improving consistency, and refining SARA administrative processes. Key changes would clarify requirements for institutional teach-out plans and institutional data reporting, update the definition of SARA, move the regular PMP cycle to every other year, and clarify the process for considering policy changes under exigent circumstances. Other proposals remove outdated language, make non-substantive edits to the SARA Policy Manual, align reasons for denying initial institutional participation with existing loss-of-eligibility provisions, and expand state renewal options to include provisional status and warning notices. Regional voting results and rationales for proposals that did not receive approval are also available through the SARA Policy Modification Proposal portal.

For more, contact Sara Appel, Director of M-SARA.

Females Outpace Males in Degree Attainment Across the Midwest

The latest update to MHEC’s Interactive Dashboard shows significant gaps in postsecondary degree attainment among 25- to 34-year-olds by sexin the Midwest and nationally. Across Midwest states, 49 percent to 62 percent of female adults had completed an associate degree or higher in 2024, compared with 38 percent to 51 percent of male adults. Attainment gaps were narrower than the national gap of 11 percentage points in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and South Dakota. In addition, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin had degree attainment rates above the national benchmark for both female and male adults.

These attainment rates do not include industry credentials or postsecondary certificates; the underlying source doesn’t collect such data. 

This new update to the dashboard reports attainment by sex at three levels: an associate degree, an associate degree or higher, and a bachelor’s degree or higher. It also shows the percentage of adults who have completed some college coursework or credit but not a degree. Attainment levels are available for female and male adults ages 25 to 34, 25 to 44, and 25 to 64.

Other selected indicators for MHEC states are also available in the State Performance Update reports. Forthcoming MHEC research in partnership with Gallup shows varying levels of interest in different types of post-high school credentials by sex, which can help identify opportunities to build attainment rates for all. (Watch for the report later this fall.)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). American Community Survey one-year estimates: Sex by age by educational attainment for the population 18 years and over.

We invite your nominations for MHEC’s two prestigious honors: the Phillip Sirotkin Award and the Outstanding Service Award. These awards celebrate exceptional contributions to higher education and service to the Compact. 

Nominations are due by Monday, September 28. The MHEC Governance Committee will review the nominations and submit recommendations to the full Commission for a final vote. Recipients will be announced at our Annual Commission Meeting, November 16–18 in Chicago. 

Welcome, Stephanie Wilbur Ash

content and strategy across channels, led the redesign of the college’s magazine, and advised on a variety of communications initiatives. Prior to her work at Gustavus, she was Senior Editor of Special Sections and Sponsored Content at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and its affiliated custom agency, leading projects on higher education, children and families, and health and wellness. Early in her career, she worked in communications for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication and communication studies at the University of Iowa and an MFA in writing from Hamline University. Her four children are all recent Midwestern college grads (one from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa; one from Minnesota State University, Mankato; and two from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota). Reach her here.

Connect with MHEC at EDUCAUSE

MHEC staff will be at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Denver September 29–October 2 and are available to connect with higher education leaders from across the region.

For institutions navigating technology priorities, the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference provides opportunity to connect with MHEC about shared challenges, cooperative contracting resources, and other areas where regional collaboration may be helpful.

Interested? Contact Benjamin Coder, Programs and Contracts Manager.

MHEC Offers AI Learning Community Fall Series

MHEC’s AI Learning Community is moving into a fall series of virtual sessions focused on the practical challenges institutions face as AI becomes part of campus operations.

The initiative grew out of Technologies Community discussions in 2026 and is designed to engage institutions across member states on topics such as responsible use, procurement, data protection, and workforce implications. The series is intended to help institutions learn from one another and strengthen shared understanding of AI implementation across the region.

Interested in joining a session? Contact Benjamin Coder, Programs and Contracts Manager.