Midwest Higher Education Compact outlines cost-savings and regional programs for Minnesota

Susan Heegard, president of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, told the Minnesota House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee on the committee’s March meeting that the compact provides technology contracts and policy research that produce multi-million-dollar savings for Minnesota higher-education institutions and students.

Heegard said the compact, founded in 1991 through the Council of State Governments, represents 12 Midwest states and provides member institutions access to turnkey technology and service contracts and to reciprocity programs for distance education. “That $115,000 … is critical,” Heegard said, referring to the compact’s Minnesota appropriation and noting it is “the lowest of the four compacts.”

The compact’s two main lines of work, Heegard said, are (1) cost‑saving contracts — technology hardware and software agreements, student‑health and insurance programs — and (2) policy initiatives and research, including dual‑enrollment work and open educational resources (OER). Heegard told the committee the compact’s technology and distance‑education efforts together produced an estimated $9.26 million in savings to Minnesota institutions, students and local governments, and that about $2.3 million of those savings stemmed from technology contracts.

Committee members asked for additional data and context. Representative Scott asked how the compact’s enrollment and high‑school‑graduate projections should be compared with undergraduate enrollment trends; Heegard said she would “take that back to our folks.” Several members and Heegard discussed the compact’s role in convening regional meetings and summits, including a FAFSA summit convened after the federal rollout of the FAFSA form, and Heegard said compact staff can provide state‑specific research on governance, funding strategies and related topics on request.

Heegard also described the Midwest Student Exchange Program and other reciprocity tools that historically lowered tuition costs for students from member states, although she said some reciprocity programs have become “less relevant” in places where institutions have eliminated out‑of‑state tuition differentials.

The compact provided a printed slide deck and user lists of technology contracts to the committee and told members the compact’s contracts are turnkey for institutions and local units of government that want to avoid issuing separate requests for proposals.

Committee staff and members thanked Heegard and indicated they would stay in contact to resolve a pending appointment to the Minnesota commission representing the compact.