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April 2026

Greetings,

I write this message as I am en route home from an excellent state visit with North Dakota commissioners and leaders. This is the ninth state we have visited over the past few months. We look forward to visiting the rest of our member states in the coming weeks!

As I have said many times, we learn so much from being on the ground with our Commissioners and other state and higher education leaders. This year we have intensified our planning to make these visits as productive and meaningful as possible. We look forward to sharing a summary report this June.

The value MHEC committees and task forces provide is a topic that has been mentioned in almost every visit. It is one of MHEC's top priorities to formalize and evolve these volunteer groups, whose members are subject matter experts who add perspectives and knowledge that benefit our whole region. For example, the Programmatic Investment Committee advanced the concept of Strategic Innovation and Impact Grants that are providing tremendous opportunity for our member states. Our Strategy Committee is meeting quarterly to monitor progress on our strategic plan and surface important new issues that deserve our regional attention. Our Technologies Community is helping us address shared services and AI needs. Other committees are focusing on M-SARA, Midwest Student Exchange Council, policy and research review, and student health. We are deeply grateful to the dozens of volunteers who serve on these committees. Our work has much greater impact and reach because of their contributions.

In this edition of MHEC News, you'll read updates on our research, grants, contracts, and other initiatives. As we continue to support the alignment of higher education and workforce development, we're especially pleased to offer two webinars related to Workforce Pell. Read on to learn more.

Wishing you all a wonderful spring and end of the school year.

With thanks,

Susan G. Heegaard

President

LATEST NEWS

MHEC Awards Michigan Collaborative Grant to Support Scaling of MiWorkforce Pathways 

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact has awarded a Michigan multi-partner collaborative a $250,000 Strategic Impact and Innovation Grant. The grant will bolster the state’s efforts to award credit for prior learning and ensure seamless pathways from work experience to bachelor’s degree completion in applied programs.

“Michigan’s future depends on how well we help connect talent to opportunities,” said Sarah Szurpicki, deputy director of the Office of Higher Education in MiLEAP. “This initiative will help more Michiganders turn what they already know into college credit, helping us reach our 60 by 30 attainment goal, strengthening our state’s talent pipeline, and fueling career growth.”

Susan Heegaard, MHEC President, notes, "This multi-partner proposal has the potential to create a national model for recognizing wherever and however learning occurs, which can have a significant workforce impact."

This is the sixth Strategic Innovation and Impact grant MHEC has awarded since December 2025. Read about all the awards made to date.

College Graduation Rates for Lower-Income Students Trail Higher-Income Peers

The completion gap by income is estimated by comparing graduation rates among federal Pell Grant recipients and non-Pell recipients. In the cohort year of 2017, a dependent student from a family with a household size of four (two parents and two children) and an adjusted gross income of $66,688 or less in current dollars was eligible for a Pell Grant ($85,800 or less in 2026-27). Graduation rates at four-year institutions are defined as the percentage of first-time, full-time, bachelor’s degree-seeking students in the fall 2017 cohort who completed a bachelor’s degree at their first four-year institution within six years (excluding those who transfer to another institution).

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

Source. NCES IPEDS. (2023). Graduation rates. 

MSAS and Resultant Contract Renewals: Enabling Timely, Data-Informed Decisions

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) is pleased to announce the award of a Master Agreement to ERP Analysts, Inc. (ERPA) under MHEC’s Next Generation Higher Education ERP System of Systems initiative. Contract #MHEC 04282024-C004 is effective July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2028. This competitively sourced contract underscores MHEC’s commitment to supporting the entire ERP lifecycle and addressing the operational, technical, and strategic challenges faced by higher education institutions.

The Next Generation ERP System of Systems initiative was developed to modernize core administrative and student systems through modular, interoperable, cloud-ready solutions. This multi-award program supports the ERP lifecycle from early planning and procurement through implementation, optimization, governance, and ongoing improvement. It directly addresses challenges such as aging systems, limited integration, rising compliance demands, accessibility requirements, and the need for data-driven decision-making.

ERPA joins a portfolio of awarded providers offering solutions across this lifecycle, enabling institutions to select providers that align with their unique technology strategies, operating models, and resource capacities.

“ERP modernization is not just a technology project; it’s a transformation in how institutions serve students, manage resources, and adapt to change,” said Nathan Sorensen, MHEC Senior Director of Government Contracts. “The Next Generation ERP awards, including ERPA’s, are designed to equip our higher education institutions with trusted partners who can deliver measurable results across the entire ERP journey.”

Learn more about MHEC's technology contracts.

Progress Update on Stone Arch Sponsored Cell Captive 

To respond to the increased demand for captive insurance options in higher education, MHEC is developing a sponsored cell captive program with the intention of renting cells to higher education institutions at below-market rates. This would allow colleges and universities to ensure a layer of risk and experience the financial and risk management benefits of a captive, without the work and expense of founding and incorporating a captive insurance company on their own.

Captive insurance is an insurance company created and wholly owned by a parent company or group to insure its own risks. Captive insurance can help companies and organizations control their insurance costs by providing customized coverage, filing coverage gaps, improving cash flow, and reducing expense.

MHEC’s captive can help institutions manage trends in insurance, such as:

• Rising premiums 
• Stricter underwriting standards 
• Increase in liability premiums and claims 
• Market consolidation 
• Coverage gaps for high-risk areas like traumatic brain injury

In a sponsored cell captive structure, cells are kept separate from one another and there is no shared risk between cells. Institutions could ensure multiple lines of coverage in their cell if desired, including employee benefits, worker’s compensation, stop-loss, property, casualty, and liability.

We expect Stone Arch’s restructuring to be complete and the sponsored cell captive program to be legally operational in August, allowing us to launch the program this fall.

For more information and questions, please contact Breanne Hegg, vice president of programs, contracts, and communications, at breanneh@mhec.org.

COMMISSIONER APPOINTMENTS

Dennis Headrick, Nebraska
Vice Chair, Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education

STAFF NEWS

Over the past couple of years, MHEC has expanded and strengthened its internship program. We have welcomed several undergraduate students and recent graduates as interns, and they have played a valuable role in supporting our state visits and policy initiatives.

Through MHEC’s internship program, we seek to develop the professional skills and abilities of emerging talent and prepare a new generation to advance postsecondary education.

 
This year, we hired Andrew Larson, a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota. He has been supporting our annual state visits by conducting research on legislative activity and recent news, as well as assisting with post-visit follow-up.

At MHEC, we view internships as a meaningful learning experience, and we prioritize professional development. This past week, Andrew accompanied MHEC staff to meetings at the Minnesota State Capitol, where he observed our work firsthand. As part of our internship program, we also offer mock interviews and resume review sessions.

“I have learned a lot while at MHEC and especially enjoy learning about the current and upcoming work that MHEC is doing to support our member states, higher education institutions, and students," Andrew said.

As we continue to build out our internship program, we plan to hire interns during the academic year. Applications will open this summer for positions beginning in the fall.

PHOTOS FROM MHEC'S RECENT STATE VISITS

Pictured: MHEC Commissioners, state leaders, and MHEC staff during MHEC's state visit to Wisconsin in March.

Pictured: MHEC Commissioners, state leaders, and MHEC staff during MHEC's state visit to Illinois in March.

Pictured: MHEC Commissioners, state leaders, and MHEC staff during MHEC's state visit to North Dakota in April.