PA-584 Intergovernmental Management
Week 3 You Decide

The provision of the United States Constitution that would apply to this case would be considered an Interstate Compact Agreement. An Interstate Compact is defined as “a voluntary arrangement between two or more states that is designed to solve their common problems and that becomes part of the laws of each state” (freedictionary.com). Interstate compacts were first used by the American colonies to settle boundary disputes after the American Revolution with respect to Article I, Section 10, Clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution, which reads “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress … enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State.", (US Constitution). An example of an interstate compact as it relates to higher education is the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE is an agreement founded in 1988 that encourages the sharing of educational resources among states by operating the Western Undergraduate Exchange. The Western Undergraduate Exchange permits 15 Western states to allow non-resident students to enroll in their state colleges at a highly discounted, out-of-state tuition rate.

As for Mr. Raika’s opinion, it is my understanding that James Raika’s proposal to allow for entering into such an agreement will only be in compliance with the contract if congress allows it. However Jame’s proposal is absolutely reasonable and could very well be considered a viable option as his stance is valid however he may face opposition from neighboring states that he is seeking to enter into a contract with. The differentiating factor here would be if they are seeking the agreement solely to help the students further their education or are they more

concerned with the effect that the changes in tuition will have on the revenues gained from students that would essentially be