SHEEO and CUNY|ASAP kickoff inaugural learning community with NYC convening

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New York – Teams from five states came together this week with members of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) | Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) National Replication Collaborative for the launch of a new college completion learning community. 

In early September, SHEEO and CUNY kicked off the new learning community, including five $50,000 state planning grants for Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington, to help states replicate a proven model for student success. The learning community will guide states in creating action plans to close equity gaps and increase college completion rates at their state’s community colleges. 

The convening, held Nov. 2-3, in Manhattan and on the campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College, provided an opportunity for peer networking and collective engagement in initial technical assistance activities to support strategic planning for state-scaled ASAP replication projects.

A fireside chat discussion held Thursday evening set the tone for the convening and the conversations to follow. CUNY Chancellor Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, The State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Dr. John B. King Jr., and Secretary of Higher Education Dr. Brian Bridges with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, joined moderator Dr. John Lane, SHEEO vice president for academic affairs and equity initiatives, to discuss ASAP replication as an equity imperative. 

“CUNY’s successful Accelerated Study in Associate Programs has been replicated by 14 institutions across seven states, a testament to the program’s ability to help students on a nationwide scale boost graduation rates and ultimately increase more students’ economic mobility,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is pleased to work with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and other partners to replicate ASAP across five additional states and beyond, an effort that can be key to addressing the country’s persistent equity gaps in degree attainment rates.”

U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal gave a keynote address in support of completion and student success models like CUNY. Other sessions of the two-day convening focused on coalition building and making the return on investment case, aligning ASAP replication to state higher education priorities, planning for equity-based, state-scaled replication projects, and sustainable budgeting and productive funding models.

“State higher education leaders continue to identify completion as essential to statewide attainment goals, and CUNY ASAP’s strategies to improve completion, particularly among minoritized populations, will contribute to state planning to scale and sustain solutions,” said Dr. John Lane, SHEEO vice president for academic affairs and equity initiatives. “SHEEO is pleased to partner with the Accelerated Study in Associates Program and the states in the ASAP replication learning community to promote policies and practice that support student achievement through improved attainment.” 

The ASAP|ACE model was established by the CUNY system in 2007 and was designed to break down barriers to degree completion, particularly for CUNY’s low-income students. The model’s holistic, comprehensive suite of financial, academic, and personal services has served more than 88,000 CUNY students. The approach has been shown to more than double graduation rates for ASAP students over comparison groups in nearly every evaluation completed on the program. 

The SHEEO and CUNY College Completion Learning Community will continue to meet virtually through 2024 to establish a plan for next steps in initiating systems-scaled ASAP replication projects.For additional information, visit the SHEEO project website at
https://sheeo.org/project/asapcommunity/. To learn more about the CUNY|ASAP National Replication Collaborative, visit www.cuny.edu/asapreplication

SHEEO Communities of Practice: Exploring Multi-State and Multi-Sector Data Projects Call for State Teams

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UPDATE: Deadline extended! States interested in participating should submit a letter of interest by November 27, 2023.

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to announce the next installment of its Communities of Practice project. This multifaceted project promotes the effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides a forum for states to work on solutions to common issues with those systems. This work is funded through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

SHEEO will hold the next in an ongoing series of Communities of Practice convenings on February 7-8, 2024, in Alexandria, VA. The Communities of Practice convenings are a valuable opportunity for states to connect with their peers and reflect in-depth on the capacities, uses, and barriers to their data systems. This two-day meeting will provide an opportunity for state data practitioners, researchers, and policy analysts across P20W sectors to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with engaging in multi-state and multi-sector data projects. The convening will also launch an ongoing network for participants to share best practices and shared experiences and to workshop strategies and solutions with their counterparts in other states.

The Community of Practice will explore:

  • The value, opportunities, and challenges of sharing and using cross-state and cross-sector data.
  • Ways to build better connections between education and workforce data and to support improvedindividual and economic outcomes within and beyond state borders.
  • The necessary technical, legal, and personnel conditions to foster successful multi-state and multi-system data projects and outcomes.
  • Examples of current multi-state and multi-sector data projects focused on employment outcomes,prison to education pathways, veterans’ pathways, credentials of value, and other cross-state andcross-sector priorities.
  • How to cultivate relationships and communicate shared vision and success across states andsectors.

Participants will include teams from up to 15 states, SHEEO staff, BMGF staff, and subject-matter experts. State teams should be comprised of three to four members from K-12, postsecondary, or workforce sectors, with representation from at least two of these sectors, who are responsible for data systems, research, or policy analysis. The BMGF will defray all travel costs related to attending the convening.

States interested in participating should submit a letter of interest by November 20, 2023. Learn more about this Communities of Practice and how to submit a letter of interest here.

New SHEEO brief details national and state impacts of FAFSA Simplification

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The changes mandated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, passed in December 2020, represent a significant overhaul of the federal financial aid process. Through a grant-funded partnership between the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and the National Association of State Student Grant & Aid Programs (NASSGAP), SHEEO used national- and state-level data to explore and assess how FAFSA simplification will affect specific states, sectors, and subpopulations of students, both in regard to Pell Grant eligibility/awards and state grant eligibility/awards, as well as the unintended consequences of the FAFSA Simplification Act. 

The FAFSA Simplification Act includes several positive factors that will expand access to federal financial aid. However, some changes to the federal methodology may shift a student’s eligibility in ways that are not yet known. At the state level, need-based financial aid programs are often directly connected to the federal financial aid process because they rely on data elements from the FAFSA and model their eligibility requirements on Pell eligibility.

SHEEO explored the changes in the Student Aid Index (SAI), the new formula for determining aid, and how it compares to the previous Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula. Crosstabulations were conducted for dependent students and independent students.

The results of this research suggest that at the national level, nearly 220,000 net students would gain Pell eligibility in 2023-24, equivalent to a net increase of over $617 million in Pell Grants. Coupled with the changes in Pell Grant awards for previously eligible students, total Pell Grant awards would be expected to increase by approximately $7.85 billion in 2023-24.

While most students will see expanded eligibility and award levels, some uncertainties remain. Students with more than one family member in college may experience increases in SAI relative to EFC, and corresponding decreases in Pell eligibility and award amounts. These students make up some of the approximately 56,600 students that are anticipated to lose Pell eligibility.

Simplification may also pose challenges for state grant programs. The results of this research at the national level suggest that many students will have lower expected out-of-pocket costs for postsecondary education as indicated by the lower SAI values relative to EFC. Pell Grants may fill a large portion of this additional need, but many students will have unmet financial need that can be fulfilled through state grants or federal loans. 

Read the full FAFSA Simplification brief online at https://sheeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ImpactsofFAFSASimplification.pdf. 

Sean Baser joins SHEEO as senior policy analyst

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomed Sean Baser this week as a new senior policy analyst. In his new role, Baser will provide support on a variety of projects and initiatives, including efforts to improve noncredit postsecondary education opportunities and state authorization, as well as the development and analysis of SHEEO’s membership report and Strong Foundations survey of postsecondary data systems.

Prior to joining SHEEO, Baser served as a graduate research assistant and research associate with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In this role, he provided quantitative and qualitative expertise by collecting and reporting data, conducting advanced statistical analysis, synthesizing academic literature and policy trends, and developing visualizations and dashboards to improve decision-making on a wide range of higher education topics (namely, strategic enrollment management).

Baser’s research interests lie at the nexus of education politics, policy, and governance. His recent work has focused on state authorization, interest groups, dual enrollment, community college governance, state-level changes to tenure policies, and the role of political nonprofits and “dark money” in education.

Baser earned an associate degree in business administration from Tulsa Community College in 2014, dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and management information systems from Oklahoma State University in 2015, and a master’s in education in higher education from the University of Houston in 2016. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia.

Learn more about our team at sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

SHEEO partners with The JED Foundation to launch inaugural Student Mental Health and Wellness Learning Community

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Five states receive grants to focus on whole-student support

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has kicked off a new learning community to help members develop a statewide plan to support student mental health and wellness. Five states will be awarded $25,000 planning grants to design and implement mental health strategies and solutions that fit the unique context of their respective states.

With generous support from Lumina Foundation, SHEEO and The JED Foundation (JED) will partner with higher education leaders in Arizona, Louisiana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas on a 15-month project as they work through the development and implementation of policy recommendations to bolster institutions’ capabilities to promote and support student mental health and wellness effectively. Each state will receive planning grants as well as consultative strategic planning and technical assistance to create a sustainable model within each state’s distinctive environment.

The JED Campus Program is an effective and results-driven approach to improving student emotional and mental health while also lowering suicide risk and substance misuse. JED Campus Program, alongside the JED Equitable Implementation Framework, will be used as an anchoring guide for technical assistance to the SHEEO membership and state policymakers. The comprehensive strategic planning framework will enable participating states to build and strengthen their systems and policies and to collaborate with their institutions on programs and practices to promote emotional health and prevent suicide. 

“Students are facing unique challenges that often contribute to additional academic hardships,” said Rob Anderson, SHEEO president. “We are thrilled to partner with The JED Foundation in forming a new learning community to help our members develop strategies for whole student support.”

The SHEEO-JED Student Mental Health and Wellness Learning Community will provide a forum for states to reflect on what’s working, refine their strategies, and identify areas for cross-state collaboration. It will also help engage new policymakers and stakeholders in efforts to advance student mental health and wellness with special attention to underserved student groups that experience disparities in access to mental health care.

“This learning community will offer the essential support and expert guidance that states need to elevate the significance of student mental health and wellness. The JED Foundation is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with SHEEO in assisting these states with their vital and time-sensitive mental health initiatives,” said Zainab Okolo, senior vice president of policy, advocacy and government relations at The Jed Foundation.

The tools developed by JED use an equitable implementation lens that ensures the needs of marginalized and/or underserved students due to societal and structural inequities are considered and supported with targeted and intentional best practices. Lack of access to good quality mental health care is a significant barrier to educational achievement as it adversely impacts enrollment, re-enrollment, progress, and completion. A primary goal of the learning community will be to mitigate mental health inequities and promote a just design that recognizes historic discrimination and alleviates systemic bias. Specifically, the communities will identify strategies that effectively support students of color and students from low-income circumstances who face systemic inequities and experience pronounced disparities in mental health care access. 

For additional information, visit the project website at sheeo.org/project/student-mental-health/. 

About SHEEO 

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

About JED 

The JED Foundation (JED) is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. JED’s evidence-based, comprehensive public health approach equips teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other, strengthens schools’ mental health and suicide prevention policies, programs and systems, and mobilizes community awareness, understanding, and action. JED is building a future where every high school, college, and community has a comprehensive, fair, and just system that protects emotional health and prevents suicide among teens and young adults. For more information, visit jedfoundation.org. 

SHEEO partners with City University of New York’s ASAP|ACE National Replication Collaborative to launch inaugural College Completion Coalition Learning Community 

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Five states receive grants to join new learning community

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has kicked off a new learning community, including five $50,000 state grants, to help states replicate a proven model for student success. 

SHEEO and the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) | Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) National Replication Collaborative are excited to announce their partnership to form a new learning community that supports replication of the CUNY ASAP|ACE model to increase community college completion rates at scale. With generous support from private funding, SHEEO and CUNY ASAP|ACE will partner with higher ed leaders in Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, Michigan, and Washington as they create action plans to close equity gaps and increase college completion rates at their state’s community colleges. Each state system will receive planning grants as well as consultative strategic planning and technical assistance to create a sustainable model within each state’s unique context as they explore scaled replication for future replication program launches. 

The ASAP|ACE model was established by the CUNY system in 2007 and was designed to break down barriers to degree completion, particularly for CUNY’s low-income students. The model’s holistic, comprehensive suite of financial, academic, and personal services has served more than 88,000 CUNY students. 

The approach has been shown to more than double graduation rates for ASAP students over comparison groups in nearly every evaluation completed on the program. A cost-benefit study conducted by the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education (CBCSE) at Teachers College, Columbia University, found the program cost effective and that it realized a high return to taxpayers. Additionally, a recent analysis conducted by MDRC of the ASAP replications at three Ohio community colleges demonstrated increased earnings of program students by 11%, adding to the evidence base that the model has significant long-term impacts on participating students.  

“The replication collaborative supports our belief that scaling proven student success models across states is possible,” said Rob Anderson, president of SHEEO. “The CUNY ASAP model has already been replicated in several states, and we hope to give our members a chance to join this exciting effort.”

“CUNY has demonstrated that implementing the ASAP model at scale can meaningfully boost system-wide completion rates and produce notable efficiencies,” said Christine Brongniart, university executive director of CUNY ASAP|ACE. “We look forward to sharing what we’ve learned about scaled program implementation with other leaders who are committed to addressing equity gaps and transforming their state system’s completion culture.”

Much has been learned over the last several years about the most effective approaches to increasing attainment and their integral connection to state priorities. The College Completion Coalition Learning Community will provide a forum for states to reflect on what’s working, refine their strategies, and identify areas for cross-state collaboration. It will also help engage new policymakers and stakeholders in efforts to increase college completion and become more familiar with state college completion goals. A key objective of this project is to work with states to address racial equity gaps in attainment rates (with a focus on Black and Latinx students) through strategic scaling of the ASAP model. 

For additional information, visit the project website at https://sheeo.org/project/asapcommunity/. To learn more about the CUNY|ASAP National Replication Collaborative, visit www.cuny.edu/asapreplication.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

About CUNY

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving 275,000 students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year.

Study finds state protection policies need improvement to reduce student harms associated with college closures

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A new State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) report shows that the association between student protection authorization policies and enrollment and completions after college closure is not overwhelmingly positive. 

A Dream Derailed? Investigating the Causal Effects of Student Protection Authorization Policies on Student Outcomes after College Closure is the third and final report from a collaborative research team of SHEEO and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The research seeks to quantify the impacts of college closures on students’ subsequent postsecondary enrollment and completion outcomes and to identify the policy levers states may have to support students who experience a closure. This final report incorporates the state authorization policy context to determine if policy interventions can improve the negative impacts of closures on students. It uses the treatment and control samples developed for the second report and adds a longitudinal dataset capturing state authorization policies related to student protections.

As outlined in the first report, A Dream Derailed? Investigating the Impacts of College Closures on Student Outcomes, more than 100,000 students experienced their institution closing without adequate notice or a teach-out plan from July 2004 to June 2020. As outlined in the second report, A Dream Derailed? Investigating the Causal Effects of College Closure on Student Outcomes, the data show college closures have an overwhelmingly negative impact on students, with students 71.3% less likely to reenroll within one month and 50.1% less likely to earn a credential than students who did not experience a closure. This third report focuses on the post-closure student protection policies that aim to reduce the harms associated with closure: collection of tuition recovery funds, payment of surety bonds, preservation and dissemination of student records, and creation of teach-out plans. As part of consumer protection, many states have enacted a mix of these policies.

Collectively, these four policies can provide students with tuition refunds, completion or transfer opportunities, and access to transcripts, all of which can assist students in recovering from an institutional closure. Among the four policies examined, student records policies tied to closure were the most common form of student protection across all states that had any institutional closures between 2004 and 2020. During this time frame, the largest percentage of states had no tuition recovery policy (79.3%), no surety bond policy (43.9%), no teach-out plan policy (47.3%), or a student records policy tied to closure (45.5%). Additional findings include:

  • Tuition recovery and surety bond policies have no positive correlation with reenrollment within four months after closure.
  • Student records and teach-out plan policies have a strong positive correlation with reenrollment that lessens over time. 
  • Tuition recovery and surety bond polices have no consistent positive effects on credential completion, type of credential completed, or time to completion for students who experienced a closure. 
  • Student records and teach-out plan policies may have some positive effects on the type of credential completed and time to completion, but results are mixed. 
  • The most encouraging results indicate that students are more likely to immediately reenroll in states that have records retention and teach-out policies in place. Both policies are designed to ease the transfer process for students after a closure, and results suggest the presence of both policies is more effective than just one.

“These findings reinforce how disruptive institutional closures are for students and suggest that states should consider stronger consumer protection policies and procedures,” said SHEEO President Rob Anderson. 

As currently designed, surety bond and tuition recovery fund policies do not allow students to receive a refund and utilize a teach-out option. This policy design requires students to make a difficult decision between reenrolling at a teach-out institution or receiving a refund. In this regard, the student protection policies counteract each other (e.g., students can only pursue tuition reimbursement if a teach-out opportunity is not pursued).

Surety bond and tuition recovery fund policies are designed to reimburse students for harm caused by closing institutions and are not designed to help students reenroll let alone advance toward the completion of a credential. Similarly, records retention policies help ensure students have access to transcripts and other records that will help aid the transfer process to another institution. Once students have transferred and their previously earned credits have been accepted, records retention policies do little to promote completion.

State agencies of higher education and institutions can play a key role in helping to minimize the negative impacts on students due to college closures. Several policy implications were outlined in the report, including that states should provide greater oversight of teach-out institutions to ensure that they are financially viable, offer quality educational opportunities, and provide program alignment to prevent students from having to retake courses. While the results that show that the presence of a student records retention and teach-out policies led to a greater likelihood of reenrolling within four months, the other results suggest that the consumer protection policies could be improved to better promote reenrollment within one year to improve the likelihood of completion.

For additional data resources and to access all three reports and an interactive data visualization, visit the project website at  https://sheeo.org/project/college-closures/. 

This series of three publications examining the impacts of college closure on student outcomes is supported by Arnold Ventures.

SHEEO Announces Excellence Awards Recipients

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State higher education agencies and leadership recognized for dedication and innovation

Portland, OR – The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has announced the organization’s 2023 SHEEO Excellence Awards recipients. The awards recognize the leadership, dedication, and innovation of exceptional SHEEOs, agency staff, and agencies at a time when state postsecondary policy is increasingly linked to student success and, in turn, states’ economic and social prosperity.

  • The Exceptional Leader Award recipient is Michael P. Meotti, executive director of the Washington Student Achievement Council.
  • The Exceptional Agency Award recipient is the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
  • The David L. Wright Memorial Award recipient is Tracey Cook, chief fiscal officer, University System of Georgia.

Reflecting on the SHEEO Excellence Awards, Dr. Robert Anderson, president of SHEEO, said: “SHEEO is proud to acknowledge the dedication of all our state higher education executive officers, their agencies, and agency staff members. The hours worked, the ideas generated, and the tenacity demonstrated by these individuals and agencies to help address the needs of students and promote equitable educational outcomes are worthy of praise. We are honored to recognize the winners of this year’s SHEEO Excellence Awards.”

Exceptional Leader Award

The Exceptional Leader Award is presented to a current state higher education executive officer from a member agency who has shown exceptional leadership, a commitment to higher education, a contribution to the greater good, and service to the SHEEO Association within the last year.

This year’s recipient of the Exceptional Leader Award, Michael P. Meotti, is the executive director of the Washington Student Achievement Council. Meotti has extensive experience in higher education policy, finance, and innovation, dedicating his time and expertise in multiple states and for myriad organizations. Meotti became the executive director of WSAC in 2016. In this role, he works with partners across higher education, elected officials, employers, organized labor, and community-based groups to increase student access and success. Meotti previously served as commissioner of higher education in Connecticut and as executive vice president of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education. He has shared his experience and leadership with others, serving two terms on SHEEO’s executive committee, and as commissioner of the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), where he also serves on the executive committee.

Under Meotti’s leadership, Washington developed the Regional Challenge Grant program to build partnerships between state and community leaders to increase postsecondary enrollment and credential completion for students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, English language learners, students with disabilities, and foster and homeless youth. 

Meotti oversaw implementation and expansion of the Washington College Grant (WA Grant), considered a model for need-based state financial aid programs and named the most equity-focused free college program in the country by the Education Trust. Meotti also helped lead efforts to secure a highly competitive federal grant through the Good Jobs Challenge to establish the Washington Jobs Initiative, which aims to support Washington’s robust career-connected learning system, increase diversity and equitable outcomes in the workforce, and connect Washingtonians to good-paying, high-demand jobs.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside Michael Meotti during the past four years to find innovative solutions to increase the number of Washington adults obtaining some type of postsecondary credential to improve their chances for success in a rapidly changing economic environment,” said Jeff Vincent, WSAC chair. “The launch of Washington’s Regional Challenge Grant initiative during the last 12 months is an excellent example of Mike’s leadership in this area. I want to personally congratulate Mike for receiving this well-deserved recognition by his peers.”  

According to Paul Francis, WSAC member and executive director of the State Board for Community & Technical Colleges, “Mike’s accomplishments at the Washington Student Achievement Council include successfully advocating for full funding for the Washington College Grant—one of the most generous state aid programs in the nation. He has also successfully built bridges with K-12, higher education, nonprofit, and community leaders across the state to pilot new regional partnerships to grow college enrollment. And he was a valuable partner in working alongside college and university leaders, the governor’s office, and state agencies to ensure that teaching and learning continued during the COVID-19 pandemic while retaining our focus on health and safety. Congratulations, Mike, on this well-deserved recognition!”

Exceptional Agency Award

The Exceptional Agency Award is presented to a member agency whose innovative actions, policies, or practices advanced student success in their state; which displayed exceptional governance practices; overcame exceptional challenges; or displayed other meritorious attributes within the last year. SHEEO has selected the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as this year’s awardee.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is leading the way in advancing higher education and driving the state’s economic competitiveness. Texas is one of a few states that immediately prioritized federal stimulus funds through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund for higher education. GEER investments in Texas totaled more than $360 million dollars, demonstrating an investment that is critical to Texas’ economic recovery and future competitiveness.

Texas recently unveiled its ambitious strategic plan for higher education, Building a Talent Strong Texas. This comprehensive plan expands on the successes of its previous initiative, 60x30TX, by emphasizing the value of credentials earned and providing greater opportunities for Texans, including working adults, to earn degrees, certificates, and other credentials that lead to meaningful careers. Texas is the first state to condition its postsecondary completion goals on the value of credentials earned, and the plan focuses on three measurable, data-driven goals: 1) attainment of postsecondary credentials; 2) postsecondary credentials of value; and 3) research, development, and innovation. 

Over the past several years, Texas has undergone significant modernization efforts to redesign its data infrastructure so it is modern, flexible, and meets the needs of users. Texas has also built a world-class advising tool to help students access and persist through higher education with technology-enabled college and career planning. The My Texas Future tool makes the planning experience more personal, meaningful, and connects to students’ goals and aspirations—all while rooting their decisions in practical information like real-world earnings and regional job demand. 

During the 88th Texas legislative session, THECB was able to secure a once-in-a-generation commitment to higher education, with legislative investments of more than $5 billion over the next two years. As part of this historic session for higher education, Texas celebrated the signing of House Bill 8 (HB 8) into law, which codified an innovative new model to fund community colleges in Texas. The new model moves to an outcomes-based approach and rewards colleges for awarding degrees, certificates, and other credentials of value.

These outstanding achievements have positioned the THECB as a role model among SHEEO agencies.

“Texas is raising the bar for higher education opportunities, and I am proud we are being recognized with SHEEO’s Exceptional Agency Award,” said Commissioner for Higher Education Dr. Harrison Keller. “Texas is making a strong commitment—in policy and funding—to help more Texans achieve credentials of value so they can contribute to, participate in, and benefit from our world-class economy. I’m proud of the achievements we’ve made over the past several years and look forward to what we will continue to accomplish.”

“The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is honored to have received this special recognition from SHEEO,” said Chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Dr. Fred Farias. “Texas has set out to achieve bold new goals in Building a Talent Strong Texas and in doing so, more Texans will be able to achieve greater economic mobility and prosperity.”

David L. Wright Memorial Award

The David L. Wright Memorial Award is named in honor of the late David Wright, an esteemed colleague and leader in state higher education who served in the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, and the Florida Governing Board. This award recognizes a current SHEEO agency staff member from a member agency who embodies the exceptional commitment, work ethic, and ethical practices of David Wright and made outstanding contributions to their agency. This year’s David L. Wright Memorial Award is presented to Tracey Cook, chief fiscal officer for the University System of Georgia and treasurer to the system’s governing Boarding of Regents. 

Cook brings extensive experience and effective leadership to her position, including over 30 years in higher education. Prior to joining USG, she worked as a senior auditor for KPMG and as controller at Morehouse College in Atlanta. She joined USG’s Atlanta Metropolitan State College before taking a job with the fiscal affairs team in USG’s University System Office. In total, she’s been with USG for 20 years. 

Cook and her team within the Office of Fiscal Affairs make the USG’s mission of knowledge possible. They impact Georgia students by prioritizing the goal to keep the state’s 26 public colleges and universities affordable and obtainable. This includes working with an over $10 billion annual budget to support more than 48,000 faculty and staff and more than 334,000 students across the state. Under her guidance, the system has consistently maintained strong financial ratings while staying focused on student success. The board for the 2023-34 academic year has approved a budget that for the sixth time in eight years includes no tuition increase—a record that makes Georgia the seventh lowest in the nation among its peers for tuition and fees.

Just one example demonstrating Cook’s work ethic is that, despite her own workload to accomplish day-to-day responsibilities, she goes above and beyond to support the chief business officers at all the institutions. Tracey has been instrumental in helping institutional staff navigate the university system. 

Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, shared, “Tracey is always the first to credit her team for any success, but I don’t think anyone is more deserving of this award. Her leadership has kept USG moving forward no matter the challenges, and her humility and positivity have made working with her a pleasure. While her smile and laugh make her fun to work with, she gives 100% and that shows in the success of our institutions and students.”

Learn more about SHEEO Excellence Awards, including past winners at https://sheeo.org/membership/sheeo-awards/. 

SHEEO Membership Report details steady operating budgets and agency staff sizes supported by federal stimulus funding

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An update from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) provides an in-depth look at fiscal year 2022 SHEEO agency staff size, operating budgets, and functions performed. SHEEO represents the executive officers of statewide governing and coordinating/policy boards responsible for overseeing higher education in their state. The SHEEO agency is the public entity tasked with overseeing higher education within its respective state and is led by a state higher education executive officer (SHEEO). Some states have multiple SHEEO agencies that cover different sectors (e.g., technical colleges, community colleges, and universities) or programs (e.g., state department or office), but most states have only one agency. SHEEO has 61 members representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 

The Membership Report uses data collected through survey responses from SHEEO agencies across the country. Responses from FY 2022 include data about the impacts of COVID-19 and information from Northern Marianas College for the first time. The FY 2022 Report uses data collected in the fall and winter of 2022. Fifty-seven SHEEO agencies completed the survey—a response rate of 93%. This report includes the largest response rate since SHEEO first administered the survey in 1966.

Key findings from the latest report include:

  • Variations exist between state funding among coordinating/policy boards and governing boards. Only half of coordinating/policy board budgets came from state funding, compared to nearly 70% for governing boards. On average, coordinating/policy boards have 22% less funding per staff FTE from the state than governing boards.
  • The most common functions among all agency types include academic planning, program approval, and program review functions; communications and government relations for higher education; state-level coordination; institutional oversight; and budgeting and fiscal policy analysis for higher education. SHEEO agencies are still performing many functions with limited staffing and budget support that may not match the breadth of their work.
  • Low levels of representation of people of color exist at the SHEEO level. Forty-one SHEEOs identify as White, six as Black or African American, three as Hispanic or Latino, two as American Indian or Alaska Native, two as Asian or Asian American, and one as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. 
  • The most common senior leadership positions, shared by almost all SHEEO agencies, are financial officer (98%), academic officer (95%), and communications officer (87%). The least common positions across all agencies are equity and diversity officer (40%) and development officer (20%). Among these senior leadership positions, there are disproportionately fewer people of color or those who identify as female in senior positions.
  • Examining the data by agency type, 78% of governing board SHEEOs are male compared to 72% of coordinating/policy board SHEEOs. While the majority of SHEEO agency staff are female, the majority of SHEEO agency senior leadership are male. There were four senior leadership positions that had 50% or more females, such as academic officer (56%), communications officer (61%), research officer (57%), and equity and diversity officer (60%). For males in leadership, the top positions include development officer (58%), financial officer (70%), technology officer (64%), and general counsel (50%).

“The elements of the data included in this report are increasingly important as states continue to pursue their higher education agendas and advocate for adequate support,” said SHEEO President Robert Anderson. “Agencies need to have this information to help evaluate how they can best serve their state populations, while also pursuing new programs and functions. These data ultimately describe the complex and varied nature of SHEEO agencies.”

The Membership Report website features additional resources for analysis, including downloadable agency-level data and dynamic agency profiles for an individualized lens. Learn more at https://sheeo.org/project/sheeo-membership-report/.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

New SHEEO reports examine state policies on tuition, fees, and financial assistance for undocumented students and on COVID-19 effects

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To accompany the main report on SHEEO’s 2022 Tuition, Fees and Financial Assistance survey released last week, SHEEO produced two additional reports from the survey responses. One report details COVID-19 pandemic effects on state tuition, fees, and financial assistance policies, and the other examines policies for undocumented students.

Survey responses show that the pandemic impacted several areas of state policy—most significantly through increased funding to state budgets. States received federal funding that they allocated directly to higher education. Some states used these federal funds to protect existing state financial aid programs and initiatives, while others used funding to pilot new programs. Nearly all states were able to keep their state financial aid programs intact during the pandemic, with 14 states reporting new or expanded state programs as part of their pandemic response. 

“Only two states (Nevada and Oregon) reported a reduction in their state financial aid budgets due to COVID-19,” said Jessica Colorado, SHEEO policy analyst. 

When asked if COVID-19 led to any short-term programs or policies that impacted tuition and fees at institutions, particularly for undergraduate students, 10 states reported changes in both sectors, one state reported changes in the two-year sector, and four states in the four-year sector. A greater number of states (58%) froze or limited tuition during the second year of the pandemic compared to the first (48%).

The survey also included several questions about how state policies treat and affect undocumented students at public institutions in each state. At the federal level, most students born outside of the U.S. are ineligible for federal financial aid. These same students are often also ineligible for state financial aid programs, many of which model their eligibility requirements on those established at the federal level. In addition to their ineligibility for federal and most state financial aid, undocumented students confront a variety of policies regulating eligibility for in-state tuition at state postsecondary institutions. 

“State policies regulating undocumented students’ eligibility for in-state tuition at public two- and four-year institutions and their access to state grant aid vary widely across the U.S.,” said Rachel Burns, SHEEO senior policy analyst. 

State tuition policies for undocumented students are also not consistent across sectors. While states are equally likely to offer in-state tuition to undocumented students in the two- and four-year sectors (26% and 25%, respectively), they are more likely to require undocumented students in the four-year sector to pay out-of-state tuition or to mandate that students meet certain requirements (e.g., as undocumented, non-resident, or international students) for in-state tuition. In contrast, the two-year sector is more likely to have no statewide policy.

In addition to tuition policies, states also develop policies regulating undocumented students’ eligibility for state grant aid. Forty-nine percent of states report that undocumented students are ineligible for state financial aid due to state policies, while 12% block student eligibility based on federal policies. Because state policies vary in how undocumented students are classified (e.g., as undocumented, non-resident, or international students), some undocumented students may be eligible for tuition waivers granted to non-resident or international students.

All three State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies 2022 reports, as well as the survey instrument, the longitudinal dataset, and technical report, can be found online at https://sheeo.org/project/tuition-and-fee-survey/.