WICHE highlights student-exchange savings, graduate access and behavioral-health internship expansion for New Mexico

Demi Michelau, president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), told the New Mexico Senate Education Committee that WICHE’s regional student-exchange and professional programs help New Mexico students access degree programs, reduce tuition costs and support workforce development.

The presentation focused on three student-access initiatives WICHE administers across the West: the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) and the Professional Student Exchange Program (PSAP). Michelau said, “We work collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all residents of the West,” and she provided program statistics for the current academic year.

WICHE’s WUE program lets undergraduate students attend participating institutions in other member states at reduced out-of-state rates; Michelau said WUE served more than 49,000 students in academic year 2024–25 and that students across the region saved an estimated $615,000,000 by participating. She said the average WUE undergraduate savings is about $12,500. At the graduate level, WRGP serves roughly 3,000 students across 67 participating colleges and universities and produced an estimated $40,000,000 in savings this academic year, Michelau said; the average graduate‑level savings was reported as approximately $13,961.

Michelau described PSAP, WICHE’s professional student exchange for health careers, as smaller but targeted. She said PSAP served 556 students regionally this academic year with roughly $15,000,000 in total tuition savings. New Mexico students saved more than $2,000,000 through PSAP in 2024–25, she said, noting the state supported 28 dentistry students, three optometry students and 37 veterinary students through the program; 68 New Mexico students in total benefited from PSAP this year, and WICHE reported that about 94 percent of those students return to work in New Mexico after training.

WICHE also described policy and data services it provides to state lawmakers, including a long‑running legislative advisory committee that gathers legislators from member jurisdictions to share best practices. Michelau highlighted WICHE’s K–12 high‑school graduate projections (a data product updated every four years) and WCET, a WICHE unit that focuses on digital learning policy and practice and has been active on artificial‑intelligence issues.

On behavioral health, Michelau announced that the New Mexico Health Care Authority and the New Mexico Psychology Internship Consortium received full accreditation from the American Psychological Association for a psychology internship program that places interns in underserved and rural communities in New Mexico, including Silver City, Shiprock and Las Vegas (NM). Michelau said the internship initiative aims to train and retain behavioral‑health providers in rural New Mexico.

Committee members asked how WICHE calculates program savings and where New Mexico students who participate in PSAP attend professional programs. Michelau said WICHE collects tuition and enrollment data from participating institutions and uses established formulas to estimate savings; she offered to supply more‑detailed breakdowns of destination institutions for New Mexico students on request. Committee members also discussed outreach to counselors and usage of WUE marketing materials to boost awareness of exchange opportunities.

The presentation and subsequent questions lasted roughly 15–20 minutes. Senators on the committee thanked Michelau and WICHE commissioners in attendance and noted interest in WICHE’s data products and internship work for New Mexico.

Ending: WICHE left committee members with data and program contacts for the state’s higher‑education leaders and offered follow‑up materials and presentations on graduate‑pipeline projections, digital learning and behavioral‑health internship capacity.