Higher learning just got more convenient. By exploiting the communications potential of the Net, Western Governors University will offer diplomas to people all over the world, beginning in January. While distance learning is hardly a new concept, WGU is unique in its ambition: it will be the first institution in the US to offer vocational certificates and associate arts degrees – eventually adding bachelor’s and graduate degrees – without a physical campus.
Often, geographic barriers, scheduling conflicts, and overenrollment prevent students from taking the classes necessary for matriculation or career advancement. But WGU’s plan accommodates an individual student’s needs, even if the pupil doesn’t own a home computer. An extensive network of affiliated public libraries and regional sites offers the wired and unwired alike access to digital tools.
WGU’s organization mirrors the communications network that its courses proselytize. This Virtual U. has no teaching staff – instead, 20 established colleges and companies lend the school professorial resources. And, an interactive catalog responds to a pupil’s profile, helping him or her choose the courses that best accommodate scheduling and technological constraints.
In place of what the university derides as "seat-based learning," WGU relies on competency-based evaluation. Instead of midterms or quizzes, the university depends on counselors to determine when a student has achieved proficiency in a subject area.
Western Governors University’s approach won’t replace conventional teaching anytime soon, but it’s part of a trend to give remote students and working stiffs equal access to educational opportunities.
Release: January 1998. Western Governors University: +1 (303) 364 7137.
This article originally appeared in the October issue of Wired magazine.
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