The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) has statutory responsibility for developing a five-year statewide master plan for higher education that sets forth system goals, objectives, and strategies and is aligned with meeting the goals of the state. The Legislature has identified in state code eight areas of special emphasis: economic and workforce development, education access and affordability, innovation, student preparation, degree and/or program completion, intra-and inter-system cooperation and collaboration, research, and teaching and learning. This new master plan meets the Commission's statutory obligation for the years 2013 to 2018 and is titled, "Leading the Way: Access. Success. Impact." It sets forth the overarching goals of the state's system of higher education and articulates strategic objectives to be met over its five-year scope. The master plan sets forth how the Commission will work toward the system's goals and provides recommendations for how institutions can help achieve these goals. The role of this master plan is to coordinate the efforts of the various institutions of higher education in the state in a way that recognizes and capitalizes on each institution's unique mission and contributions. Through the compact reporting process, the Commission asks each college and university to set goals consistent with this master plan and the institution's mission and to account for progress toward those goals. This new master plan for higher education renews a broad public agenda for higher education articulated in the previous master plan "Charting the Future," but, consistent with present and future economic needs and specific system challenges, brings to the fore pressing strategic priorities. [To access related reports in ERIC see: "Leading the Way: Access. 2013-18 Master Plan," ED573074; "Leading the Way: Success. 2013-18 Master Plan," ED573072; and "Leading the Way: Impact. 2013-18 Master Plan," ED573080."]