Online school measures competency, not time

DENVER - Shortly after the launch of the internet, a group of state governors had an idea. They wanted to start a school for working students, for people looking for flexibility and a bargain.

"Our primary market are working adults, who are in the workforce, need the degree," said Bob Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University.

In 1995, 19 governors from the around the western United States, including Colorado's Roy Romer, founded this non-profit, private university. WGU specializes in fields desperate for workers such as teaching, nursing, and technology.

"So, our students leave the university to go into jobs, jobs that are needed,' said Mendenhall.

Phillip Breiding is one of those stories.

He is now a science teacher at Gateway High School in Aurora. After serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, Breiding worked full-time with dreams of getting his degree to become an educator.

"I work the night shift and if I couldn't have gone online, it would've been very, very difficult," said Breiding.

But, Mendenhall says WGU is different than most other programs online or traditional. Students at Western Governors University are measured by competency. They must first master certain skills before moving on, no matter how long it takes.

"We actually measure what a student knows and can do rather than measuring seat time or clock hours or credit hours," said Mendenhall. "It just makes sense to measure learning as opposed to time."

That gave Breiding the flexibility he needed for his schedule while learning the skills needed for his next job.

"That's how they're developing these programs, is from the advice of these people who have been in the business, who have been in education," said Breiding.

WGU classes are solely software-driven. Students do not necessarily interact with teachers every day, but they each have a faculty mentor who monitors their progress each stop of the way. Plus, WGU students have to fulfill projects, portfolios, and performance tasks in real-life situations.

"I was learning a lot," said Breiding. "It's probably harder than any actual university."

But, compared to other universities, even other online programs, WGU offers a cheaper alternative. Right now, tuition stands at less than $6,000 per year. The non-profit organization wants under served students such as low-income families to have a chance.

"Well, it's really nice, it wasn't created to make money," said Breiding. "It was created to educate people."

WGU's formula appears to be working.

"In the last six years, we've gone from 500 students to over 15,000," said Mendenhall. "We're still growing about 40 percent a year."