Online Learning Update

By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz, AMERICAN-STATESMAN

The private, nonprofit, accredited and mostly online university was established in 1997 by 19 governors, including then-Gov. George W. Bush of Texas. It offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in high-demand fields, such as information technology. Mark Milliron, 44, the Austin-based chancellor of WGU Texas, discussed the university’s competency-based approach to student learning, its growth projections and other matters in a recent interview with the American-Statesman. Here is an edited account. What are your main 
offerings?

We have 50 degree programs in education, health, IT (information technology) and business. We’ll take that degree pathway and break it down into what’s called competency units — basically what a student needs to know and be able to do. Ours is a learning-progression model. After you learn something, you move on to the next thing you have to learn. A student pays one flat rate, about $3,000 every six months. They progress based on the amount of effort and time they put in.

http://www.statesman.com/business/texas-branch-of-western-governors-university-making-mark-2318468.html