Dive Brief:
- Western Governors University offers nontraditional students an online option with tutors — but no teachers — and flexible schedules that require competency, whether it was earned through the lessons or not.
- Missouri opened a branch of the school two years ago, offering students a shot at a bachelor’s or master’s degree in information technology, business, teaching, or health, eCampus News reports.
- The nonprofit university system was founded in 1997 by 19 then-governors as an economic development strategy connecting capable workers with jobs.
Dive Insight:
A number of studies have shown online-only programs don’t work for all students. Many more people enroll in these programs than graduate from them. But the schools are never advertised for all students. And self-directed adult learners with existing expertise can find an easy path to a credential from programs that allow them to use their prior knowledge to test out of core coursework. That model breaks away from the traditional university’s focus on intellectual pursuits first, but it is finding traction in a community that sees education as a means to an end, not an end in itself. In a recovering economy, who can blame them?