Yesterday I caught up with Robert Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University. I was an early board member but hadn’t talked to Bob in a couple years. The progress they are making is really exciting. WGU serves 21,000 students and is growing by more than 30% annually.
Here’s why WGU is cranking: the average time to a bachelor’s degree is 30 months—about twice as fast as a traditional college. Speed to degree results from:
- Willingness to accept transfer credits
- Ability to test out of subjects where students have experience.
- The online instruction allows students to move at their own pace
The teachers college is the largest; business, IT, and health are all growing rapidly.
WGU uses computer-based instruction that allows them to stretch staffing ratios and charge about $5,800 per year.
Indiana just adopted WGU as their 8th university. Gov. Daniels understands that he needs to educate Indiana not protect existing institutions.
Why would you pay $58,000 per year to listen to a string of lousy lectures when you can go to WGU for 1/10 as much and finish twice as fast?
Related articles
- Innovation Sparked By WGU-Indiana Merger (edreformer.com)
- Western Governors University Launches Online Bachelor’s Degree in Sales and Sales Management (eon.businesswire.com)
- Largest Graduating Class Ever for Non-profit Western Governors University (eon.businesswire.com)
- Going Back to College to Complete Your Degree? (eon.businesswire.com)
- Western Governors University Online Nursing School Enrollment Passes 1,000 (eon.businesswire.com)
- Tom Vander Ark: College Squeezing Out the Middle Class (huffingtonpost.com)
- Colleges Losing Their ROI (edreformer.com)
- The World Changed, Colleges Missed It (edreformer.com)
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tom Vander Ark, David S. Doty. David S. Doty said: And it's in UT. RT@tvanderark: WGU serves 21000 students online; growing 30% because its fast, affordable, respected. http://bit.ly/boPQQK […]