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October 2026

Greetings,

We are thrilled to announce in this month’s edition of MHEC News the publication of a new MHEC-Gallup report that looks at the value of higher education from the perspective of Midwestern adults who have not yet earned a degree or credential. This is the first-ever regional analysis on the topic, and our goal is to make the data and findings valuable and actionable for higher education leaders in the Midwest. 

We are also pleased to share news about MHEC’s latest recipient of a Strategic Impact and Innovation grant—the Ohio Department of Higher Education—which submitted a terrific proposal to strengthen its innovative Ohio Direct Admission initiative. We’re eager to see how funding can advance this initiative’s progress. 

In the coming few weeks, I look forward to joining my colleagues at the three other higher education compacts to present at the Strada Education Foundation’s board of trustees retreat in Nashville. This is a wonderful opportunity to share the work of and value our compacts provide. John Burczek Dreier, MHEC’s vice president of policy and research, and I also have been invited to attend Lumina Foundation’s state policy retreat this month. 

Finally, in November MHEC hosts its Annual Meeting in Chicago. We look forward to a packed agenda that, in addition to MHEC business meetings, includes guest speakers on interesting topics, an architectural boat tour, and our awards dinner at The Library above Chicago’s historic LaSalle Street. 

With thanks for your continued partnership,

Susan G. Heegaard

President

NEW MHEC-GALLUP REPORT

Report Finds Midwesterners See Significant Value in Higher Education, Face Barriers to Pursuing a Degree

Among the findings: 70 percent of Midwestern adults say earning a two- or four-year college degree is as important or more important than it was 20 years ago. But positive perceptions do not always translate into enrollment and completion. 

Drawing on data from the 2025 Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education Study, this new report examines how Midwestern adults without a college degree view the value, affordability, and accessibility of postsecondary education and offers insights into how these perceptions influence decisions about whether to pursue additional education after high school. It provides policymakers and higher education leaders with additional data to inform strategies for expanding educational opportunity and strengthening connections between postsecondary education and workforce needs.

“The report underscores that Midwestern residents continue to believe in the value of higher education and having a post-high school credential or degree that leads to a well-paying job,” says Susan Heegaard, MHEC President. “Midwest states are already doing important work to address barriers related to postsecondary education and to support broader workforce priorities. This report provides additional insights into affordability, financial aid, and program flexibility that can help states build upon and strengthen postsecondary pathways that lead to a degree or credential.”

LATEST NEWS

MHEC Awards Ohio Department of Higher Education $250,000 Grant to Increase College-Going Rates

The Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) will use the $250,000 Strategic Impact and Innovation grant to strengthen access to and clarity about Ohio Direct Admission, an initiative that allows seniors at participating high schools to learn which colleges and universities have admitted them before they even apply. ODHE will use the grant to develop a cohesive suite of resources, including a user-friendly website, that increase understanding of Ohio Direct Admission and reduce the complexity of the admissions process for students, families, counselors, and school staff.

“Under the leadership of Governor Mike DeWine, we have made it a priority to keep more of our best and brightest students right here in Ohio, the heart of it all,” said ODHE Chancellor Mike Duffey. “Ohio Direct Admission helps us do just that, allowing students who meet a college’s requirements to receive an offer of admission without even having to apply. These are students who have already made the grade and earned admission on the merits, and we want to make the process the absolute easiest and most user-friendly experience it can possibly be.”

Funding will:

• Provide students and families with easy-to-use tools to understand Ohio Direct Admission;

• Support counselors at participating schools with ready-to-use, high-quality communication resources;

• Promote consistent statewide messaging across participating districts; and

• Increase the likelihood that students engage with admission opportunities and continue their education after high school.

Convening to Commitment: Midwest Workforce Pathways

Spurred by the new federal Workforce Pell Grant program and changing workforce and higher ed landscapes, MHEC convened cross-sector teams in 10 Midwest states to strengthen connections between higher education, industry, and government. The goal for the teams was to develop faster, more effective, more affordable paths for learners to access high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations. 

The convening was hosted in partnership with Complete College America (CCA), which facilitated the in-person strategic conversations, and Indigo Wave Consulting, which conducted state landscape analyses in advance of the event. MHEC Commissioners Michael Baumgartner (Nebraska), Samantha Dickey (Missouri), and Emily Goldman (Illinois) participated with their state teams. The Higher Learning Commission presented on accreditation considerations for noncredit-to-credit policy and practice.

College Graduates Less Likely to Be Unemployed Across Midwest

This indicator compares the average unemployment rates among adults by educational attainment. The unemployment rate is the 12-month average percentage of persons aged 25 and older in the civilian labor force who are not employed, available for work (except for temporary illness), and have made specific efforts to find employment. The civilian labor force includes all people in the civilian noninstitutional population who are employed or seeking employment. College certificates are included within the “some college/associate degree” category. 

Selected indicators are also available for MHEC states in the report State Performance Update.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025). Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 25 years and older by educational attainment. Note: The 2025 average unemployment rates exclude October data due to the federal government shutdown.

New Report Shows More Students Used Distance Education in 2025 Than Ever Before

The report, titled Technical Report for Fall 2025 Exclusively Distance Education Enrollment & 2025 Out-of-State Learning Placements, shows that 1.7 million students from SARA member states attended out-of-state SARA-participating institutions exclusively through distance education in Fall 2025—the highest amount ever recorded. This demonstrates the sustained role of distance education in expanding access to higher education across state lines. Notably, enrollment is higher than the peak recorded in 2020, when the COVID pandemic increased both institutional participation and enrollment in distance education.  

You can learn even more about distance learning use among states at NC-SARA's interactive data dashboards.

Building Workforce Pathways 

For more information, contact Carrie Wandler.

From MHEC’s AI Learning Community

In the free virtual session of MHEC’s AI Learning Community, What Is (And Isn’t) AI on Campus on November 3, 12–1 pm CT, participants will build a shared AI vocabulary, explore where AI provides value today, and examine academic and operational uses. Guest speaker Reggie Smith, AI Project Manager at Northcentral Technical College in Wisconsin, will discuss the college’s work to integrate AI across its academic and operational activities. The college has made a commitment to embrace advanced technologies to better equip Wisconsin’s future workforce. This event is open to members of MHEC’s Technologies Community, as well as higher education technology practitioners across the Midwest. 

For more information—on this event or MHEC’s Technologies Community, including how to join—contact Benjamin Coder.

Open Education Network for Senior Leaders

Designed by the Open Education Network (OEN), the free virtual Senior Leaders Open Education Briefing on November 4, 11 am–12:30 pm CT, will help higher education decisionmakers leverage Open Educational Resources (OER) to address institutional priorities, boost student success, and build sustainable campus programs. Participants will connect OER to student affordability, retention, workforce readiness, and AI integration; review national AAC&U data on student metrics and financial savings models; advance understanding of Creative Commons permissions and open pedagogy; and provide access to an interactive strategy tool to transition pilot projects to sustainable programs. 

This briefing is for provosts, presidents, vice presidents, deans, directors, and governing board members, plus OER champions and support teams. Sponsored by MHEC, New England Board of Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Direct questions to open@umn.edu.

Technology Futures Exchange

The cross-state cohort of higher education technology leaders from MHEC member states will share experiences, learn from different contexts, and examine the questions they should be preparing for next. MHEC Technology Futures Exchange at Dell Technologies in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, December 1–3, will engage peers, MHEC, and Dell Technologies experts to examine emerging technology and market developments, assess them against institutional realities, and consider implications for readiness, governance, resilience, investment, and execution. 

By connecting perspectives across institutions and states, MHEC can help surface shared challenges, important differences, and issues that may warrant broader regional attention.

For more information, contact Nathan Sorensen. 

Alysia Johnston

Chair, Kansas Board of Regents

Jennifer Bonds-Raacke

President and CEO, Kansas Board of Regents