Indiana’s Partnership with Western Governors University (WGU)

creative, original
adoptable, replicable
promises impact, influence
inspires, motivates change
paradigm shifting, game changing

Why is it innovative?
In a time of dwindling resources, Indiana Governor foregoes the creation of a costly online public higher education unit, in favor of a partnership with the online provider: Western Governors University.

More Information

From Inside Higher Education, A Marriage Made in Indiana, July 14, 2010:

Rather than sink millions the state doesn’t have into a new institution, or prod its current existing institutions to ramp up their online offerings, perhaps distracting them from their existing missions, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has opted to go another, more unusual route: essentially subcontracting the job out to Western Governors University, a nonprofit institution based in Salt Lake City.

Under the arrangement, announced last month, the state would set up a "private label" version of Western Governors known as WGU Indiana, creating, in essence, what Daniels called "Indiana's eighth state university." In contrast to the millions it would have to spend to truly create a new campus -- even a virtual one like Illinois's failed Global Campus -- Indiana will not directly invest funds to create WGU Indiana. The only significant change the state will make to enable the arrangement is to allow students to use their state-funded financial aid to attend the virtual institution. WGU Indiana's tuition is under $3,000 per six-month term, roughly comparable to most of Indiana's public universities.