Dear Colleagues:

I recently returned from Minneapolis, where several ECMC Foundation colleagues and I attended the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) Higher Education Policy Conference. For those unfamiliar, SHEEO supports the work of state leaders responsible for administering and advancing postsecondary education and training across the U.S.

Our SHEEO colleagues always assemble a robust agenda, but this year’s line-up was especially strong. The Minneapolis conference broke previous attendance records and it is easy to speculate why. There is general agreement that recent events in U.S. higher education foretell the increased importance of the states in shaping the future of our colleges and universities. Understanding and supporting that state dynamic will be key to building a higher education infrastructure that better serves all students, especially those farthest from opportunity. To this end, our Foundation’s policy team hosted a roundtable conversation during the conference to hear directly from SHEEOs about the opportunities and challenges they face.

From my vantage point, three themes dominated this year’s discussion: 1) What is the best way to convey higher education’s value to the American public? 2) Which tools most accurately predict the probable return on investment for students across different higher education majors and programs? And 3) How can higher education leaders and legislators work more effectively together to demonstrate that postsecondary education and training remains the surest path to economic prosperity for individuals and for the country?

These questions are not new. Higher education leaders and the philanthropic community have been grappling with them for years. But the conversations I heard in Minneapolis reflected a level of policymaking cohesion I have not witnessed in recent memory. My foundation colleagues and I witnessed multiple sessions on aligning credentials and workforce needs, and others showcasing new tools that linked postsecondary education and training with emerging job opportunities. It appeared to me, at least, that higher education state leaders expressed a shared commitment to demonstrate how postsecondary credentials are linked to state, regional and local workforce economies.

What explains this heightened degree of state policy alignment? One reason is the significance of this political moment. Recent federal initiatives affecting student data collection, DEI policies, research funding, and decades-old higher education programs are creating uncertainty and urgency. Moreover, the Budget Reconciliation Bill (P.L. 119-21), with its projected cuts to Medicaid and other programs, may limit states’ fiscal flexibility in support of public colleges and universities. These events serve as a catalyst—welcomed or not—for a reexamination of higher education’s role.

Despite these challenges, I left Minneapolis optimistic. I believe that the emphasis on state higher education policymaking may provide a much-needed consensus across higher education. This renewed federalism transcends partisan divides by emphasizing the needs of our students and their futures. The debates in Minneapolis were spirited, but not divisive. Yes, SHEEOs feel strongly about their points of view, but their collective goals are remarkably similar, even if they differ on solutions to meet them. The Minneapolis discussions bolstered my confidence that we will achieve the shared goals needed to increase college completion rates and improve the social and economic mobility of underrepresented students. Despite partisan fissures that divide us politically, I sincerely believe that common cause can emerge, especially when we earnestly choose to search for it.

ECMC Foundation is deeply engaged in the themes raised in Minneapolis. In the early years of our young foundation, we advanced efforts to create greater understanding of career and technical education and the connection between postsecondary training and work. Today, our grant-making and program-related investments remain focused on helping students farthest from opportunity earn postsecondary credentials that will improve their lives, families, and communities. We continue to invest in data collection and other initiatives to help our partners understand the impact of their projects on students. And we are expanding efforts to support state policy and higher education leaders committed to improving student postsecondary outcomes.

As we look ahead, ECMC Foundation will continue to advance promising state and regional efforts that ensure postsecondary students most in need can earn credentials that open doors to opportunity. Amid this unique moment in American higher education, all of us share a responsibility for reimagining the future of higher education as a system that truly serves every student.

Sincerely,

Jacob Fraire

President

ECMC Foundation