Introduction
In chapter 9, Moore and Kearsley discuss administrative issues in management and policy such as planning, staffing, resources, budget, scheduling, quality assessment, and how policy is made. This paper introduces the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and the Western Governors University (WGU) that was started by the Western States Governors Association.
WICHE
"The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education -- WICHE -- promotes and facilitates resource sharing, collaboration, and cooperative planning among western states and their colleges and universities. This includes communicating research information and policy analysis on vital issues in higher education to education and government policymakers. Member and affiliated states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming" (http://www.wiche.edu/). This Commission which is located in Boulder, Colorado supports the educational efforts that promote programs that connect the educational institutions in such a way that students who may not find the program which interests them in their own state. For example, if a student resides in a given state, and the student is interested in a certain career but Idaho does not have an institution that offers education in that field, the Commission provides opportunities for that student in another western state that does have the opportunity at one of their institutions at a reduced rate of tuition. This program promotes opportunities for undergraduate to graduate and professional degrees. In this way, the result of assisting high school graduates to further foster their career interests is turning positive since more than half the high school graduates in the region have gone on to college. In addition, the result of the research that has been done by WICHE has added a framework for policy studies of higher education and financial aid.
WGU
In 1995, the Western Governors Association envisioned a higher education project that was in conjunction with SmartStates. SmartStates was an initiative to bring government, education, and technology together to better serve both the public and private sectors. The WGA had called a meeting in 1996 to discuss a "Virtual University" which has since become the Western Governors University (http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/index.html).
By entering into partnerships with industry, sharing the costs of new technology, so that state agencies are the so-called anchor tenants, the WGA sought to develop a distance education institution among the entire western area so that there would be only one entity instead of each state representing itself. The major goals were to include expanding access through technology, provide formal recognition of acquired competencies, minimize costs, and not to serve as a replacement to the traditional campus. The primary budgetary concern at inception was whether or not the University would be "for-profit" or "non-profit" and how that would fit in with accreditation. They believed it would be better to go as "non-profit" for the time being because the Department of Education recognizes a "non-profit" institution under different requirements than a "for-profit." They also claimed themselves a corporation. There is limited liability towards intellectual property within the corporation.
The intended audience is to be "any student anywhere." The University is not staffed with faculty. It provides academic content from existing institutions, traditional and/or nontraditional, and commercial entities. The scheduling of classes can be provided to a set time on specific day's video conferencing or at unlimited times on the Internet. It can vary depending on the preference of the student. Since the University is not yet functional, it is not possible to look at any classes.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen as to whether this is the future of education. It has barely started. The jury will be out for some time. There will be some unforeseen growing pains and budget problems as well. It seems like a good intention to create a regional distance education facility such as this. This will take some of the pressures off the individual states to start and maintain their own systems. It took three years to create the school so it will take at least that long to see how it goes. It is simply too soon to draw conclusions.
References
Online
Brownlee, Elliot. (1996). Report on Western Governors' Association meeting on "HIGHER EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP." [WWW Document] URL http://moby.ucdavis.edu/distance-ed/WGA.htm
Krutsch, Corey. Western States as members of the SmartStates Task Force are working on a Virtual University termed the WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY. [WWW Document] URL http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~ck293394/proj4.html
National Education Association. (1997) Advocate Online: Western Governors University [WWW Document] URL http://www.nea.org/he/head9697/advo9711/inknow.html
Western Governors Association. (1996). Western Governors' Association Virtual University Initiative. [WWW Document] URL http://wiche.edu/Telecom/projects/vu.htm
Western Governors University. (1998). Western Governors University. [WWW Document] URL http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/index.html
Western Governors University. (1998). Deliverables. [WWW Document] URL http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/about/task3.html
Western Governors University. (1998). Distance Education. [WWW Document] URL http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/academics/dist_learning.html
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. [WWW Document] URL http://www.wiche.edu/
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. WGU Goals. [WWW Document] URL http://www.wiche.edu/elnet/guanajuato/presentations/WGU/sld005.htm
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Distributed Faculty. [WWW Document] URL http://www.wiche.edu/elnet/guanajuato/presentations/WGU/sld009.htm