Contents by
Section: November 1997
Western Governors University
What is the Western Governors University?The Western Governors
University is a virtual university in the making, backed by the governors of 15
Western states and one territory. The goal, according to its creators: to expand
access to postsecondary education for the widely dispersed citizens of those
states. The governors also expect the effort to reduce the cost of providing
such education and to share those costs among the participating states. The
virtual university, say the governors, will create high-performance standards
that will improve the quality of higher education and shift the focus to the
actual competencies of students -- away from "seat time" measures of
performance.
How will the Western Governors University work?Any student, anywhere,
anytime, will be able to sit in front of a computer or TV screen and tap into
electronically offered courses from any of the participating states, say the
university's founders.By early 1998, the
university plans to begin offering "competency-based degrees and
certificates" and to be able to broker courses for "traditional and
nontraditional educational providers" through an Internet-based smart
catalog/adviser.A "smart
catalog/adviser -- built for the university by IBM -- will describe the course
offerings, assess student skills, and inform students about various options and
course and degree requirements.
What is the role of faculty in the governance of this
virtual university?The wordsprofessor,
instructor, teacher, and researcher appear rarely in the
statements of the Western Governors University.No faculties from either
public or private universities were involved in the creation of this virtual
university.A
governance role for faculty in developing curriculum and academic standards, a
hallmark of the shared governance tradition in our nation's colleges and
universities for over a century, appears nonexistent in the Western Governors
University.
What is NEA doing about the Western Governors University?NEA and the AFT have jointly
recommended that the U.S. Department of Education set guidelines requiring that
the curriculum be developed and monitored by qualified faculty from
participating institutions and that students have access to the learning mater
materials they need, including libraries and laboratories. To prevent fraud, NEA
and AFT are urging that students be enrolled in courses that lead to a degree.
More recommendations are in the works.
The Western Governors University Web page is www.westgov.org/smart/vu/vu.html.
