Critical Decisions Affecting the Development of Western Governors University
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Critical Decisions Affecting the Development of Western Governors University Katrina A. Meyer
ABSTRACT: Interviews conducted with individuals involved in the early development and current operation of the Western Governors University allowed identification of 12 themes concerning early, formative decisions and decision-making processes. These themes were subsequently grouped into 5 categories: (1) politics, (2) organizational models, (3) changing mission, (4) multiple missions, and (5) experiencing innovation. Several factors, including the need to obtain financial support and to operate independently as a degree-granting institution, were influential in the decision to focus on competencybased curricula rather than providing a repository for distance learning courses offered by institutions in the West. KEY WORDS: Western Governors University; online learning; virtual university; institutional development.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing developments in higher education during the last 9 years has been the creation of multistate virtual universities. In 1995, the Western Governors Association (a nonpartisan organization of the governors of 21 Western states) announced the creation of the Western Virtual University in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Mirage Hotel and Casino surrounded by security personnel to guard the governors, plastic palm tree groves, and the hot lights of multiple television cameras. The University, which was subsequently renamed the Western Governors University (WGU), was created to address several concerns about higher education of the governors at that time. These concerns included growing pressure for increased access to higher education across the West from a growing number of high school graduates and adults requiring training. This pressure for access was happening at the same time as state revenues were not growing or were being asked to cover other demands.
Dr. Katrina Meyer is an Associate Professor of Higher and Adult Education at The University of Memphis. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Washington, and her research interests include online learning and virtual universities.
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C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
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INNOVATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION
Background The WGU was then and is now a unique organization. It was forged by the actions and desires of elected officials with a relatively common agenda (although with multiple aims). Unlike many dotcoms that were created in the 1990s to take advantage of the boom in distance learning (Meyer, 2003), WGU is still operating. Understanding the decisions that affected its development will help us understand the organization it has become and inform the decisions of other new organizations and organizational types. Numerous articles and position papers on or about the virtual university phenomena and WGU, in particular, have been published since 1995. As of 2002, The Chronicle of Higher Education had published over 100 articles about WGU or referring to it; over 30 of these articles traced its creation and early development
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