Western Governors University

Infobox University
name = Western Governors University


motto = Online. Accelerated. Affordable. Accredited.
established = 1997
type = Private
president = Robert Mendenhall
city = Online
country = USA
undergrad = 7,500+
postgrad = 3,000+
postgrad_label = graduate
faculty and mentors = 200+
campus = Online
free_label = Status
free = Non-profit
website = [http://www.wgu.edu www.wgu.edu]

Western Governors University (WGU) is a non-profit, online university [http://www.sloan-c.org/news/pr/pr071018.asp, http://www.wgu.edu/index.asp, http://www.hrmreport.com/pastissue/article.asp?art=25662&issue=145, http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20070238.htm] . As an online school, WGU has no campus. Instructors are called mentors and live in over thirty states. The administrative offices are located in Salt Lake City, Utah. In June of 2008, WGU hit a milestone with current enrollment passing 10,000 students. [ [http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700232853,00.html Deseret News | WGU hits milestone of 10,000 students ] ]

WGU grants degrees in education, business, information technology, and healthcare professions based on competency. WGU's programs are not based upon required courses, but instead on a student's ability to demonstrate skills and knowledge through various assessments, including exams and assignments.

History and association with governors

The university was founded in 1997 [http://www.clir.org/activities/registration/sympslides2004/garlett.ppt, http://cshe.berkeley.edu/research/ebusiness/casestudies/wgu.htm, http://www2.nea.org/he/head9697/advo9711/inknow.html, http://www.answers.com/topic/western-governors-university, http://www.springerlink.com/content/1v28jd3lv2yufrdx, http://www.governor.state.ut.us/governor/5julupdt.htm, http://chronicle.com/colloquy/99/online/background.htm] by 19 governors, [http://www.westgov.org/wga/press/web-fcc.htm, http://www.wgu.edu/index.asp, http://www.edinformatics.com/online_degrees/teacher_administrator_programs.htm, http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/code/articles/distancedollars.asp, http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS193567+19-Mar-2008+MW20080319, http://www.ncate.org/public/1031_WesternGovernorsU.asp?ch=148, http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_5/margolis/index.html] led by Roy Romer [http://connect.educause.edu/Library/Abstract/AMatterofDegreesColoradoG/40958, http://www.govtech.com/gt/95141, http://www.du.edu/~buffer/julaug96/wesgovu.html] when he was governor of Colorado, Michael O. Leavitt [http://www.govtech.com/gt/95141, http://www.du.edu/~buffer/julaug96/wesgovu.html, http://www.utah.gov/governorwalker/newsrels/1998updates/updates_110798.html, http://www.governor.state.ut.us/governor/25aprupd.htm] when he was governor of Utah, and Jim Geringer when he was governor of Wyoming. As of 2008 Geringer remains directly involved with WGU as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. [ [http://wgu.edu/wgu/bot.asp Board of Trustees ] ]

Chairman:
* Jim Geringer, Governor, Wyoming 1995-2003

Chairman Emeritus:
* Michael O. Leavitt, Governor, Utah 1993-2003

Member Governors include: [http://www.che.state.in.us/meetings/agendas/1998/9802121a.pdf]
* Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
* Governor Janet Napolitano, Arizona
* Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California
* Governor Bill Ritter, Colorado
* Governor Felix Perez Camacho, Guam
* Governor Linda Lingle, Hawaii
* Governor Butch Otter, Idaho
* Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana
* Governor Brian Schweitzer, Montana
* Governor Dave Heineman, Nebraska
* Governor Jim Gibbons, Nevada
* Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico
* Governor John Hoeven, North Dakota
* Governor Brad Henry, Oklahoma
* Governor Ted Kulongoski, Oregon
* Governor Mike Rounds, South Dakota
* Governor Rick Perry, Texas
* Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., Utah
* Governor Christine Gregoire, Washington
* Governor Dave Freudenthal, Wyoming

The ongoing bipartisan support from governors received by WGU is attested to by the those recently active on the board. Janet Napolitano, Democratic governor of Arizona, and Jon Huntsman, Jr., Republican governor of Utah served jointly until 2008 when Bill Ritter, Jr., the Democratic governor of Colorado was seated on the board--replacing Napolitano.

Accreditation

Western Governors University is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, one of the major accrediting commissions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. WGU has the distinction of being the only university to receive regional accreditation from four regional accrediting commissions. WGU is also nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). [ [http://www.detc.org/school_details.php?id=215 Western Governors University School Details - Accredited Institution Search - DETC] ]

In October 2006, the WGU Teachers College became the first exclusively online school to receive accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). [ [http://www.ncate.org/public/1031_WesternGovernorsU.asp?ch=148 NCATE - public - News ] ]

Affordability

In a statement delivered in 2006, WGU's President Robert Mendenhall commented on the school's affordability: "In an era of rapidly rising tuition costs, WGU as private non-profit university has tuition for a 12 month year of just under $5600. This is comparable to tuition for three semesters at many state-subsidized universities where tuition covers less than half the true cost of education. WGU tuition covers the entire cost of the WGU education. Perhaps more importantly from a student perspective, WGU’s competency-based degrees allow well qualified students to complete their education and graduate more quickly, and therefore less expensively, than traditional systems that insists on prerequisites and a certain number of credit hours regardless of the student’s background." [ [http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/3rd-meeting/mendenhall2.pdf Robert Mendenhall - Statement to the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, Third Meeting, February 2-3, 2006 (PDF) ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.wgu.edu Western Governors University Official Site]
* [http://www.wgu.edu/about_WGU/wgu_milestone_6-4-08.asp News Brief - 6/4/08 - WGU has reached another milestone: 10,000 students.]
* [http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=wgu&s=all&id=433387 Details for Western Governors University from The Department of Education]
* [http://www.ncate.org/ NCATE] --WGU was awarded NCATE accreditation. The first online and first competency-based program to earn this accreditation.