Western Governors University Gets a New Spinoff, in Texas

August 3, 2011, 3:06 pm

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas signed an order today creating a new online university affiliated with Western Governors University, to be called WGU Texas. The move is the third state spinoff of Western Governors: Indiana created one last year, and Washington chartered one in April.

Texas was among the original founders of Western Governors University, which was created in 1997 by leaders of 19 states. Back then, Texas’s governor was George W. Bush.

The new institution will exist in name only: Students enrolling in WGU Texas will be taught by existing professors from the national Western Governors and will use the same curriculum. WGU gets no new money from Texas as a result of the agreement.

WGU sees the announcement as an important marketing boost, however. “It adds a lot of credibility when the state comes out and says, We endorse this institution. It’s high quality,” says Joan Mitchell, director of public relations for Western Governors University. Since Indiana created its similar spinoff, WGU’s enrollment in the state has increased from 260 to 1,400, says Ms. Mitchell.

Students in Indiana do get one important benefit from WGU Indiana: They can now use state grants to help pay for WGU tuition.
But students in the Lone Star State will not be able to use Texas grants for WGU tuition, says Ms. Mitchell.

Community colleges in Texas also plan to work more closely with WGU from now on. The state’s community college system today announced that they are working on an “articulation agreement” that will make it easier for students to transfer to WGU Texas from a two-year college in the state.

The new spin-off campus will also create a new line of college merchandise. The new institution plans to sell T-shirts, hats, and other gear with the WGU Texas moniker. Neither WGU nor its offshoots have mascots, though. “Not yet,” says Ms. Mitchell.

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http://about.me/jbj Jason B. Jones

My son’s favorite comic book writer, Greg Pak, frequently offers incentives to donate via Twitter. (I.e., “Donate X $$ to charities operating in Haiti, and I’ll send you a signed copy of World War Hulk.”) That’s been an interesting way to bootstrap his interest in giving. (Not just the donation itself! I mean, talking about why Pak might do such a thing, and why it might help spur people to donate.)
http://twitter.com/snoballfort Snoball Fort

Our new company launches soon and we hope to take online donations one step farther. You can see short vid at snoball.co The main idea like these others you showcase is to make it easier and more fun for people to give. We use giving rules to make it a part of everyday, and in small donations so anyone can participate.
ruthieo

Thanks for writing this. I loved this post so much, I bookmarked it! While I was a student, I volunteered much of my time; however, when I started teaching, my devotion shifted from donating time to donating money. My giving is fairly haphazard; my friends are all do-gooders, so I like to donate a modest amount to whatever cause they are promoting on facebook. Hopefully I can reconnect to service through some of the links you posted.

I can’t say enough about running/swimming/walking/biking for a charity. I’m deeply passionate about Camp Okizu, a Northern California camp for families with childhood cancer, so I fundraised (via FirstGiving!) while I was training for a 10k race. I was completely out of shape, and I don’t think I would have had such commitment to running without the extra motivation. After all, if I didn’t complete the race, I would let all of my donors down! It was truly an amazing experience; I raised awareness and money for my favorite place in the world, while pursuing a healthier life. Talk about a win-win-win situation!
11272784

I’m sure that the university officials at the fine institutions in Washington and Texas who need income from distance programs are THRILLED that their Governors have found a way to siphon tuition money into WGU instead of attracting more distance students to their state (non)funded institutions.

Not.
sacroiliac

What, no football team?
awegweiser

Is there no end to the bullsh t that comes from Texas and its Governor(s). The last one worth a damn was Ann Richards.
22118130

If Governor Rick Perry has anything to do with it, you can be sure it is not good for higher education in Texas. He seems to be the sworn enemy of Texas higher education, and has particularly gone after The University of Texas. He seems to believe if you can be as dumb as he is and make it all the way to governor, and possibly even to president, then who needs an education from a superior institution of learning? Being a native Texan and having spent the last 10-1/2 years with him as governor, I cannot get over how some can possibly back him for president. The man is a joke, even among Texans.
dhberger

Actually George W. was a pretty good governor, considering he actually worked to get Democrats and Republicans on the same sheet of music. Since Perry has taken over most people of intellect or actually want to help someone have been a target. This from a lifelong Texan and Republican.
3224243

Mitch Daniels recently approved WGU for Indiana, too. Out of curiosity, I checked them out and their “recruiting” methods are as high pressure as any for-profit out there. If I were a governor, I’d be leery of having my name associated with this University of Phoenix wannabe.
translog

Congratulations for the WGU to move into the online education market. I know the benefits of an estab[ished institutions in a competitive market and hope the strategy will floueish witht new courses and programs for Sustainablity and Green Curriculum for the stakeholders everywhere.This will also be a technology-enabled and supported solution such as Blackberry of RIM..A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discoverers are among them, as comets amongst the stars. (innaeus)

“What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.” ~George Bernard Shaw
major_ray

Yep. There the cigar smoking back room deal making Republican’s go again. Small change for the little people and they think they are doing God’s work. Less money? Wonder what these ”Re-pubs” plan for hard working under paid professors at the other state colleges? Gonna bust their unions? Bring back American jobs from overseas and stop the bull! East coast people are not that stupid. ["Re-pubs" is my answer to their derogatory "democrat party" reference]
educationfrontlines

WGU was established to train teachers online, which makes as much sense as training medical doctors online. Their expansion into other disciplines is even more questionable. The rationale provided by the Indiana governor—that WGU would allow Indiana folks to get a degree when they could not get one from the current state university and tech systems—clearly shows how this will add to the other for-profits’ de-valuing of the U.S. tertiary degree. Already, international observers are anticipating the demise of U.S. quality education due to cheap degrees. Expensive, but “cheap.”

John Richard Schrock
dld310

WGU is NOT a “for-profit institution”. Accredited by NCATE, WGU has been turning out quality teachers for years. The University of Phoenix they are not…and don’t aspire to be. Please don’t lump all online institutions into the same category. Think, and read, before you “speak”.