Ohio Gov. John Kasich hopes a Utah-based nonprofit can turn around his state’s ailing education system, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Kasich recently submitted a budget proposal that called for the state to add a Western Governors University option as a part of the state’s university system.
WGU, which is a nonprofit online school based on Utah, allows people to earn a degree quickly by getting credit before you take a class.
WGU is available in all states. Texas, Utah, California, Washington and Florida have the highest amounts of students, according to WGU’s website. About 2,000 students in Ohio are enrolled in the program.
The WGU proposal has received mixed reviews, specifically from other four-year state schools, the Dispatch reported.
“We don’t understand it,” Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter University Council, told the Dispatch. “Why does this out-of-state institution need to be an in-state institution?”
But Kasich said it’s import for people to earn an education at their own speed and receive credit for topics they already know about.
“The beauty of competency-based education is that you can show what you know over time,” he told the Dispatch. “You can, at your own speed, show your qualifications and be able to earn a credential that puts you in a position of being able to get a really good job.”
WGU graduates are successful outside of the school, a new Gallup poll found at the end of March. Those wgi attended WGU found the jobs they wanted, felt engaged at work and still had an allegiance to their school.
Graduates, for the third year in a row, also succeeded in achieving their post-education dreams, the poll found.
“I just feel better about myself,” said Logan McDaniel, WGU Nevada alumnus, according to Nevada Business. “I feel accomplished, and that is a wonderful feeling. With the degrees that I have earned and plan on earning, I will be well-positioned to take on executive level positions in business and IT.”