Oregon Council of Presidents

What Oregon Council of Presidents does

The Council of Presidents (COP) is a non-profit association representing the six public four-year colleges and universities in Washington state: Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, The Evergreen State College, the University of Washington, Washington State University, and Western Washington University. Headquartered in Olympia, WA, with 1–10 employees, COP has operated for more than 50 years as the unified coordinating body for Washington's public baccalaureate sector. Its functional remit spans legislative advocacy, data sharing, joint policy development, and coordination of cross-institutional programs such as the Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program (WAGAP), which now partners with 40 percent of Washington public school districts.

COP's core deliverables are programmatic rather than commercial products. The Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program (WAGAP) provides guaranteed admission pathways to member universities for eligible in-state high school students meeting GPA and CADR course requirements. The Statewide Public Four-Year Dashboard, built jointly with the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC), reports statewide metrics across the public four-year sector. A separate Washington Public Universities portal (wapublicuniversities.org) serves students, families, and counselors. COP maintains a broad partnership network that includes the Gates Foundation, College Success Foundation, OSPI, SBCTC, WSAC, the Washington Roundtable, and Washington STEM, among others.

The organization's revenue model is a recurring subscription/dues structure funded by member-institution contributions from the six universities, supplemented by state legislative appropriations for coordination and advocacy activities. COP does not sell commercial products or services and does not disclose pricing publicly. Its go-to-market is community-led association coordination: working with member institutions, state agencies, foundations, and educational partners to advance higher-education policy, access, and workforce outcomes in Washington state. Permanent executive leadership was installed in July 2023 with the appointment of Ruben Flores as Executive Director.

Name

Oregon Council of Presidents

Legal name

Council of Presidents

Website

https://councilofpresidents.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Council of Presidents is a Washington state non-profit association coordinating the state's six public four-year universities on policy advocacy, data sharing, and admissions programs like WAGAP, headquartered in Olympia, WA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Policy Coordination

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Elected School Boards & Governance Councils (EDADABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Government, Public Policy & Regulatory Congresses (THAHAJAF)

Keywords

• Higher education policy
• Public university advocacy
• Legislative coordination
• Guaranteed admissions program
• Higher education data reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

Olympia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Association Dues and State Funding: The Council of Presidents is funded through member institution dues from the six public four-year universities in Washington state, with additional support from state legislative appropriations for coordination and advocacy activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Council of Presidents is an association that coordinates Washington state's six public four-year universities. It delivers legislative advocacy, policy coordination, data sharing and reporting, and shared admissions programs (most notably the Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program, WAGAP). The organization operates as a non-commercial coordinating body rather than a vendor of products or services.

Product overview

The Council of Presidents is a coordinating association for Washington's six public four-year universities, not a technology product company. It offers programs and services including the Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program (WAGAP) which provides guaranteed admission pathways to member institutions, a statewide data dashboard for reporting metrics, and educational resources through its Washington Public Universities portal. These are programmatic services and reporting tools rather than commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program (WAGAP): A program that supports guaranteed admission to Washington's six public four-year universities for eligible high school students meeting GPA and course requirements.

Products and services

• Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program (WAGAP) The Washington Guaranteed Admissions Program (WAGAP) supports guaranteed admission to Washington's six public four-year universities for eligible high school students who meet specified GPA and CADR course requirements, enabling students to learn of admission before applying. The program is delivered at no direct cost to students or families.
• Statewide Public Four-Year Dashboard The Statewide Public Four-Year Dashboard is a data dashboard providing reporting on statewide metrics for Washington's public four-year institutions. It is used by policymakers, member universities, and the public to review sector performance.
• Washington Public Universities Website The Washington Public Universities website (wapublicuniversities.org) is a dedicated portal showcasing Washington's six public universities and providing resources for prospective students, families, and counselors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Forty percent of Washington public school districts participate in WAGAP partnerships

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered key partner.

• Gates Foundationkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gates Foundation is listed as a key partner, working with the Council of Presidents on issues of postsecondary access, affordability, quality and efficiency in Washington higher education.
• College Success Foundationkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege Success Foundation collaborates with COP on postsecondary access and success initiatives.
• Education Research and Data Centerkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) partners with COP for data collection, analysis, and reporting on higher education outcomes.
• Independent Colleges of Washingtonkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerICW works with COP on joint higher education agendas and policy initiatives.
• Office of the Superintendent of Public Instructionkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerOSPI collaborates with COP on K-12 to higher education transitions and policy alignment.
• State Board for Community and Technical Collegeskey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBCTC works jointly with COP on higher education legislative agendas and policy coordination.
• Washington STEMkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerWashington STEM partners with COP on STEM education initiatives and workforce development.
• Washington Student Achievement Councilkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSAC collaborates with COP on student achievement goals and higher education planning.
• Washington Roundtablekey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Washington Roundtable partners on workforce development and education policy initiatives.
• Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Boardkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerWTB collaborates with COP on workforce education investment and accountability.
• Puget Sound College & Career Networkkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPuget Sound Educational Service District network partners on college and career readiness programs.
• Professional Educator Standards Boardkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPESB works with COP on educator preparation and standards alignment.
• Washington State Board of Educationkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBE collaborates with COP on educational standards and policy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU): NAICU represents private nonprofit colleges and universities on federal policy; it is the private-sector counterpart to COP's public-university coordination role and competes for legislative influence on higher-education funding.
• American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU): AASCU represents state colleges and universities nationally on policy, advocacy, and data — directly overlapping with COP's role for regional comprehensives (CWU, EWU, WWU) but at a national, multi-institution scale.
• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU): APLU is a national membership association of public research and land-grant universities, including UW and WSU members of COP; it overlaps in legislative advocacy and data reporting, but at national scale across many more institutions.
• American Council on Education (ACE): ACE is the major national coordinating body for U.S. higher education institutions, conducting federal-level advocacy and policy research; it complements rather than replaces COP but competes for institutional attention and policy voice.

Direct peers

• State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO): SHEEO coordinates state-level higher education executive officers across U.S. states on policy, data, and accountability — the closest analog to COP's coordinating role, just operating at a multistate scale rather than for a single state.
• Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE): WICHE is a regional higher education coordinating body for the western U.S., comparable in mission (policy coordination, data sharing, student access programs) but serving a multi-state region instead of just Washington.

Regional players

• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB): SREB is a regional interstate compact coordinating higher education policy and data across southern U.S. states — comparable in function to COP but serving a multi-state geography outside the Pacific Northwest.
• Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC): MHEC is a midwestern regional interstate compact for higher education cost savings, policy coordination, and data — functionally analogous to COP and WICHE but for a different U.S. region.
• New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE): NEBHE coordinates higher education policy and programs across New England states — the regional compact counterpart to COP and WICHE operating in the U.S. Northeast.

Others

• Washington Roundtable: Washington Roundtable is a named COP partner working on workforce development and education policy; while not a higher-ed association itself, it is a strategic collaborator with overlapping policy interests in the same Washington policy ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/council-of-presidents

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Oregon Council of Presidents