Changing Our Narrative
By Michael Reel
Significant growth in distance education began in the mid-1990s as the internet became available to millions of students. The first online academic programs went virtual in 1998 with New York University Online, Western Governor’s University and the California Virtual University leading the way.
Reel Urban News recently spoke with Western Governors University Regional Vice President Richard L. Benbow, who spoke passionately about WGU’s many academic and certificate programs that include competency-based education.
“Competency-based education allows folks to leverage their prior learning experience and apply it to the curriculum so they can advance quicker throughout their educational journey,” says Benbow. “The competency-based model is a game-changer.”
Benbow explains how Western Governors University differs from many other online institutions and platforms. “I think what sets Western Governors University apart is number one, we’ve been doing this for 25 years. We’re regionally accredited and we’re nonprofit. I think those are things very unique to us when you compare us to our competitors.”
Benbow represents California, Arizona and Nevada for Western Governors University. The number of adult learners in need of advanced education is stark, says Benbow, with 5.7 million in California and 500,000 in Arizona and Nevada having some college education and no degree.
“Western Governors is designed for that population. I’m here to elevate and promote WGU and the impact that we can have providing educational pathways to these adult learners.”
WGU has responded to the global pandemic with an increase in its enrollment of younger students over the past two years. WGU has also taken a strong stance on inclusion and diversity.
“Seventy percent of our students come from one or more underserved backgrounds,” Benbow points out. “They’re low-income, students of color, first-time college students and rural residents. Again, we were created for the adult learner population, those who are not traditionally served well by the brick and mortar schools.”
In the closing moments of our interview with Richard Benbow, who spoke exclusively with Michael Reel of Reel Urban News, the executive shared his philosophy on the direction of education.
“Education is something that should be an equal right for everyone. The high cost of today’s model is not attainable for some folks. WGU makes education accessible, it makes it affordable and it makes it flexible. WGU absolutely reinvigorates the promise of higher education.”
