WICHE brings together senior academic leaders to foster dialogue about issues facing individual institutions through its leadership and professional development networks.

WESTERN ALLIANCE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACADEMIC LEADERS – 2-YEAR INSTITUTIONS

•   Hawai‘i Community College
•   Honolulu Community College
•   Kapi‘olani Community College
•   Kaua‘i Community College
•   Leeward Community College
•   University of Hawai‘i Maui College
•   University of Hawai‘i System
•   Windward Community College

Della Teraoka, University of Hawai‘i System, is a member of the Alliance executive committee.

WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP FORUM – 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS

• University of Hawai‘i System
•  University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
• University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
•  University of Hawai‘i, West O‘ahu

Debora Halbert, University of Hawai‘i System, is a member of the Alliance executive committee.

WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY is a year-long professional development program for academic leaders aspiring to become chief academic officers in the WICHE region. Two cohort members from Hawai‘i institutions have participated in the Academy since its inception in 2015.

Thanks to collaboration with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), one of four U.S. regional higher education compacts, WICHE-region educational institutions, nonprofits, and public education entities can benefit from three programs: MHECtech, which provides competitively bid purchasing contracts for an array of hardware, software, and technology services; MHECare, which provides a student health insurance plan and teletherapy services; and a MHEC Cyber Insurance Program, which offers risk transfer and advisory solutions. Learn more.

Hawai‘i participates in the STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT (SARA) through WICHE. This voluntary agreement provides reciprocity for the state authorization of distance education.

WICHE Behavioral Health Program (BHP) continues to assist the state of Hawai’i in the operation and continuous accreditation of its psychology internship consortium. Three Hawai’i state agencies – the Department of Education, Department of Health, and Department of Public Safety – provide funding to support the WICHE BHP’s ongoing development and operations of the Hawai’i Psychology Internship Program (HI-PIC).

The Hawai’i Department of Education also contracts with the WICHE BHP to provide recruitment and contracting of Clinical Psychologists to ensure all program requirements for supervision and support of staff, students, and program fidelity are maintained for West Hawai’i School Based Behavioral Health (WH-SBBH) program.

The BHP Together With Veterans Program, focused on reducing Veteran suicides, also has one site in Hawai’i,  and has served nearly 2,300 rural veterans.

Knocking at the College Door is the leading U.S. resource for projections of college-ready students. Knocking, which includes a quadrennial publication with additional analysis, is essential for postsecondary policymakers, planning and workforce efforts, and economic development.

WICHE offers curated data and policy resources to support better-informed decision-making:

•  Tuition and Fees in the West includes tuition, fees, and enrollment data about 350+ public institutions in the West.
• Benchmarks: WICHE Region presents information on the West’s progress in improving access to, success in, and financing of higher education.
•   Data on over 35 indicators in WICHE’s Regional Fact Book for Higher Education in the West.

WICHE’S CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS NETWORK Staff from the University of Hawai‘i system office also participate in regular collaborative calls with colleagues around the region.

WCET- The WICHE Cooperative for Education Technologies is the leader in practice, policy, and advocacy of technology-enhanced learning in higher education. WCET members include   Kapi‘olani Community College,  the University of Hawai‘i System, and the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu.

Gloria Niles, University of Hawai’i System, serves on the WCET Steering Committee.

WICHE has convened the OERWest Network, which is part of a nationwide collaborative to scale the development and adoption of free course materials. Open educational resources (OER) have shown promise in improving student outcomes, particularly for poverty-affected students, for whom the high cost of textbooks can be a barrier to postsecondary success.