OIA Funds WICHE Membership Fees for Insular Areas (Revised)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announced a payment of $174,900 in Technical Assistance Program (TAP) fiscal year 2022 grant funding to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) for membership fees for the benefit of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. 

 “We are especially pleased that this funding helps provide opportunities for capacity development and higher education,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa. “We encourage administrators and teachers in the insular areas to notify students of the new opportunities across institutes of higher education, especially as students from the Insular Areas are underrepresented across institutes of higher education in the United States.” 

Membership in WICHE provides opportunities for students from the insular areas to participate in ongoing initiatives related to higher education, workforce development, and behavioral health. Under this new collaboration, qualified students from the territories and the freely associated states may apply for reduced tuition (up to 150% of the enrolling institution’s in-state tuition, instead of out-of-state tuition) at some 170 participating colleges and universities across the Western region of the United States.

 The Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, @InsularAffairs, and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Follow and “like” OIA on Facebook and subscribe to the OIA YouTube Channel. 

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