Competition between education providers is increasing significantly. According to Ted Marchese, "Quite suddenly, in just two or three years, American higher education has come face-to-face with an explosive array of new competitors." (1998) This increased competition is due to an overwhelming demand for more flexible and more accessible learning opportunities. One method of instructional delivery that is serving this purpose is distance education.
The types of competitors vying for a share in the distance education market very greatly. Most traditional colleges and universities are just beginning to provide students with significant distance learning opportunities and recognizing that they no longer can do "what they've always done" and remain profitable (or even solvent.) There are well established distance education institutions that are now facing a wider variety of competitors and trying to provide more credible online educational opportunities. Finally institutions and companies that have traditionally provided certification training for industry and government are now providing higher education opportunities.
Most recently the market is seeing the development of consortia that consist of all types of higher education providers. One of the largest most consorted efforts is the Western Governors University (WGU). The Western Governors Association, which led the creation of the WGU, has spent the last two years coordinating the planning and development efforts for this virtual university. The WGU is to begin offering classes and degree programs this summer.
The intention of the WGU was to create a competitive convenient distance education program by pooling the efforts, resources and products of corporate, private and public education providers. The primary planning role of the Western Governors Association addressed many political, legal and logistical issues.
Politics
Let's face it, the WGU was born a political initiative - not the coordinated efforts of institutions who provide education. The first political problem was "buy-in", how to get the 15 governors to agree to and pay for the development of such a large scale project. Governors from Utah and Colorado managed initial agreement by arguing that there must be a shift to competency based instruction and meeting demand was impossible without cooperation. The agreement didn't last, eventually California left the project and started their own virtual university. None-the-less, the Western Governors Association put forth $100 thousand dollars for development in 1997. They also contracted with the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education and its subsidiary the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications to begin development of the Western Governors University.
Legalities
In 1995, the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), with funding from the U.S. Department of Education had surveyed federal and state policies for allowing interstate distance education programs. The found a wide variety of telecommunication, teacher certification, and accreditation laws that varied from state to state. They also found various approaches to dealing with the in-state versus out-of-state tuition issues. Since physical local and duration have traditionally been the basis for determining tuition rates, distance education presents many problems. Only 6 states had tried to address these issues.
The Western Governors contract with the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education (WICHE) was to simply participate in the activities that WCET had identified as future projects resulting from the survey. These activities include:
Additionally WICHE was asked to contribute to solving some of the logistical issues.
Logistics
In February 1996, the Western Governors Association produced a report named "From Vision To Reality." The audience described in this document included primarily adult post-secondary learners. The report states, "All western governors are feeling the press of increased demand on their state systems of postsecondary education."
Additionally this document outlines the criteria for developing the WGU. First, it must be market oriented, independent of provider control, and focused on the needs of students and employers. Secondly, it must be a high-quality, competency-based accredited degree granting institution. Finally, the WGU would be regional in scope quickly initiated and non-teaching.
The WGU would assist in the evaluation and development of appropriate instructional materials and facilitate the cooperation of institutions, but would not employ, certify, or supervise faculty. This solved the staffing issues that other, more traditional distance education institutions face. One such issues is full-time versus part-time faculty, where balancing quality employees with benefit costs are serious considerations for most institutions. (Moore 1996).
In April of 1996, WICHE and the Western Governors Association began developing an online course catalog, a cycle for course submission and approval, and selection of a competency based learning model.
Conclusion
As the WGU, after thorough planning, enters the competition for academic dollars their first hurdle will be to prove themselves as a provider of a valuable education. Their second and probably largest hurdle will be to negotiate the decision making and continued participation of its participants.
Although, consortia will continue to be created and some of them very successfully, the WGU is doomed to become the Microsoft University. The one flaw in the planning of the WGU was a clear of scope for participants roles and responsibilities. Greed will eventually decrease the value of WGU to traditional institutions and increase the role of commercial industry.
Moore, M. G. and Kearsley, G. (1996) Distance Education: A Systems View, California, United States: Wadsworth, 78-100.
Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (1995) When Distance Education Crosses State Boundaries: Western States' Policies 1995, Publication number 2A260, Colorado, United States: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (1995) Annual Report , Publication Number 2A275, Colorado, United States: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Western Governors Association (1996) From Vision to Reality, Colorado, United States: WGA.
Online
Marchese, Ted. (1998) Not-So-Distant Competitors: How New Providers Are Remaking the Postsecondary Marketplace, May 1998 American Association for Higher Education Bulletin. URL http://www.aahe.org/bulletin/bull_1may98.htm
Shea, Patricia A. (1996), Protocols for Entries to Catalog, Western Virtual University: Enhancing the Marketplace for Instructional Materials URL: http://www.wiche.edu
Western Governors Association (1996), VU News, April, Volume 1, No. 1. URL: http://www.concerto.com/smart/vu/vu.html
WGA Virtual University Design Team, (1996) The Western Governors University: A Proposed Implementation Plan. URL: http://www.unisa.ac.za/webuc/wga/imp.html
Western Governors University (1998) About WGU, URL: http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/about/index.html