Midwestern Higher Education Compact

Name

Midwestern Higher Education Compact

Legal name

Midwestern Higher Education Compact

Website

https://mhec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Member State Dues and Assessments: MHEC is funded through member state dues as a public interstate compact authorized through legislation. Each member state provides statutory funding.
2. Cooperative Contracts Administration: MHEC facilitates cooperative contracts for technology and student health insurance that save member states millions annually. While institutions benefit from cost savings, MHEC's operational funding comes from member state contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) is a public interstate compact that provides cooperative procurement contracts, tuition reciprocity programs, distance education authorization, policy research, and capacity-building initiatives to 11 Midwestern member states and their higher education institutions. Its core offerings include technology and student health insurance contracts, the M-SARA distance education reciprocity agreement, the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP), a captive insurance company (Stone Arch), an interactive educational attainment data dashboard, applied research reports, and grant programs supporting affordability, dual enrollment, and open educational resources.

Product overview

MHEC is a regional higher education compact that offers an array of cooperative contracts, programs, initiatives, and research services—not a unified software product. Its primary offerings include: technology procurement contracts (covering AI & Data Analytics, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Devices, Infrastructure, Printing, Professional Services, and Software categories) that save member institutions millions annually; student health insurance contracts through UnitedHealthcare; M-SARA (Midwest State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) for distance education oversight; MSEP (Midwest Student Exchange Program) for reduced tuition reciprocity; captive insurance via Stone Arch Insurance Company; an interactive data dashboard with nine indicator categories; applied research reports on affordability, pathways, and student success; and initiatives focused on dual enrollment, open educational resources, technology leadership, college affordability, and innovation grants. These services work together to reduce costs, advance student success, and strengthen postsecondary education across twelve Midwestern states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Technology Contracts

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• GallupsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025New partnership with Gallup announced in May 2026 news, though specific details of collaboration were not fully specified in available content.
• National Consortium of Open Educational Resources (NCOER)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020In 2020, the four regional higher ed compacts formed NCOER to share best practices and leverage collective resources for OER adoption. Each compact received an 18-month $250,000 grant from the Hewlett Foundation.
• UnitedHealthcare Student ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013MHEC selected UnitedHealthcare Student Resources as its contracted provider for student health insurance. UHC-SR offers injury and sickness plans for domestic and international students, including emergency medical travel services, vision and dental plans.
• New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNEBHE is one of four regional higher education compacts in the U.S. MHEC's cooperative contracts are also open to institutions within NEBHE's member states, enabling cross-compact collaboration.
• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSREB is one of four regional higher education compacts. MHEC's contracts are available to SREB member institutions, and the organizations collaborate on joint initiatives like Open Educational Resources.
• Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWICHE is one of four regional higher education compacts. MHEC collaborates with WICHE on SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements) and other initiatives. South Dakota participates in SARA through WICHE.
• Midwest Student Exchange Program Council MemberscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe MSEP Council includes representatives from University of Wisconsin System, Vincennes University, and other institutions who guide the Midwest Student Exchange Program tuition reciprocity initiative.
• Complete College America (CCA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMHEC partnered with CCA and Indigo to host the Midwest Workforce Pathways Convening in September 2026, addressing workforce development alignment with postsecondary education.
• IndigosecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Midwest Workforce Pathways Convening alongside Complete College America, focusing on regional workforce alignment with higher education outcomes.
• Baker Tilly Advisory Group, LPsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationContract vendor providing independent ERP advisory, implementation, and optimization services to MHEC member institutions. Contract #MHEC 04282024-C002.
• BerryDunnsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationContract vendor providing ERP-focused technology, data, and transformation advisory services to MHEC member institutions. Contract #MHEC 04282024-C001.
• CampusGuardsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationCybersecurity and compliance consulting firm with deep experience in higher education information security. Contract #MHEC-06042021-CG.
• ConnectionsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationIT products provider offering over 300,000 IT products from major OEMs including computing devices, peripherals, software, and cloud services. Contract #MHEC-12312022.
• Dell TechnologiessecondaryTechnology or IntegrationTechnology vendor providing end user computing, peripherals, device lifecycle management, and professional services. Contract #MHEC-04152022.
• OraclesecondaryTechnology or IntegrationEnterprise technology vendor providing Next Generation Higher Education ERP solutions. Oracle Master Agreement under MHEC-RFP-04182024.
• SAS InstitutesecondaryTechnology or IntegrationData analytics software, expert consulting, and managed cloud services to help institutions make data-driven decisions. Contract #MHEC-07012023.
• HP EnterprisesecondaryTechnology or IntegrationNetwork, wireless, server, and storage equipment provider. Contract #MHEC-12152020 with competitive pricing discounts.
• Lenovo GlobalsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationEverything-as-a-Service provider spanning devices, servers, storage, software, HCI, networking, and related services. Contract #MHEC-09012022.
• Precision Task Group, Inc. (PTG)secondaryTechnology or IntegrationWorkday cloud-based ERP solutions and related professional services provider. Master Agreement MHEC-RFP-04282024-C005.
• PresidiosecondaryTechnology or IntegrationNetwork, wireless, and server/storage equipment provider with initial assessments, strategy, implementation, and managed services. Contract #MHEC-08012021.
• ResultantsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationData and technology services provider supporting student success, operational efficiencies, and informed decision-making. Contract #MHEC-12312023.
• XeroxsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationOffice equipment and services provider with significant discounts on Xerox products for colleges, universities, and governments. Contract #MHEC-05012018.
• Creative CommonssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough partnership with MHEC, Creative Commons offers a 15% discount on the CC Certificate online course to any community member affiliated with the Compact, helping build open licensing expertise.
• Nebraska State Attainment Working GroupsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecipient of Strategic Impact and Innovation Grant to design a unified statewide system aligning learning achievements with workforce needs and connecting employers to skilled jobseekers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB): Regional higher education compact covering 16 Southern states. SREB provides comparable services to MHEC including cooperative contracts, policy research, and workforce initiatives, and is a confirmed MHEC partner on NCOER.
• National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA): National body that oversees SARA across all four regional compacts. NC-SARA's distance education reciprocity framework is the parent of MHEC's M-SARA, and the two organizations are operationally interdependent.
• Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE): Regional higher education compact serving Western U.S. states. WICHE collaborates with MHEC on SARA and other initiatives and is structurally analogous in its interstate compact governance and service portfolio.
• New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE): One of the four regional higher education compacts in the U.S., serving New England states. NEBHE operates with the same interstate compact model as MHEC, including cooperative contracts, tuition reciprocity, and policy research—making it the closest structural peer.

Broad incumbents

• Education Commission of the States (ECS): National interstate compact focused on education policy across all levels (K-12 and higher ed). ECS overlaps with MHEC on policy research and convening state leaders but covers all 50 states rather than a single region.
• American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU): National association representing public state colleges and universities. AASCU overlaps with MHEC's institutional constituents and provides procurement, policy, and professional development services at a national scale.
• State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO): National association of state higher education executive officers and coordinating boards. SHEEO conducts policy research and convenes state leaders with similar functions to MHEC's policy and research portfolio.
• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU): National research, policy, and advocacy organization for public universities. APLU addresses similar policy and research functions as MHEC but operates at a national scale and focuses on research-intensive institutions.

Others

• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU): National advocacy organization for private nonprofit colleges and universities. NAICU shares the MHEC customer base for private nonprofit institutions but is focused on federal advocacy rather than procurement or research services.

Emerging players

• Complete College America (CCA): Nonprofit focused on increasing postsecondary credential completion. CCA is a confirmed MHEC convening partner on workforce pathways and shares overlapping student success and attainment missions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCaitC3sCjzvU
• Facebookfacebook.com/mhec12
• Xx.com/mhec12

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Midwestern Higher Education Compact