President Wohlpart asked Board members and Vice Presidents if they had feedback on this new board committee report format. He asked if the process provides helpful information and if there are additional things that can be done to make board meetings more helpful. Feedback provided by board members and vice presidents: • Trustee Hensler suggested that Board subcommittees review some of the KPI’s in the Strategic Plan. Always tying things back to the strategic plan is key. The new subcommittee process helps areas from becoming siloed. He added that communication within the board has made big strides. • Vice President Klucking added that hearing what other committees are discussing is very helpful. • Trustee Nellams indicated that the communication aspect of the new process is appreciated. • President Wohlpart added that the guidance the board gives him in his evaluation meeting is so helpful for him. It gives him a direction to share with the university. • Vice President Gomez-Vilchis reported that the questions being posed by board members in the committee meetings are so helpful. When you are in the work every day, we can miss things. Having an idea of what the board is looking for and getting their perspective is so helpful. • Trustee Charbonneau appreciates the guidance and involvement and not forcing things through. • Trustee Gillis added that she appreciates President Wohlpart’s leadership in where we are moving. President Wohlpart introduced Brian Jeffries and Neil Strege from Washington Roundtable and summarized the work they do: • The WA Roundtable is made up of senior executives of Washington companies or companies who do business in our state • They have a strong influence on policy issues, working with the Governor and the legislature • This presentation will allow the CWU BOT to provide feedback on a new funding model for higher education in the state • They are meeting with BOTs from across the state, along with administrators from each university • President Wohlpart sits on the Executive Committee of the Incentive Based Funding Initiative and Jason Jones in on the data committee. Washington Roundtable Presentation Neil Strege explained that his focus is on policy development and advocacy work. The Washington Roundtable group started this work last year. For a decade, there has been a 70 percent goal of credential attainment. Currently, we are at 40 percent in Washington state. The Washington Roundtable decided this may be an opportunity to develop a funding model for higher education in our state. A collaborative funding model was developed based on six guiding principles: advances student outcomes, promotes equity, enables transparency, aligns pathways and workforce, honors institutional missions, and supports fiscal sustainability. The current process has shortcomings and is not tied to any planning for our state. This proposed model by itself is not going to fix the problem, but it is a step in the right direction. Brian Jefferies added that the group began by developing goals: • Create a process with employers, postsecondary leaders, and other education and workforce stakeholders to explore higher education funding model redesign in Washington.
4 Board of Trustees Minutes October 16, 2025
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