UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE
Chief Academic Officer
Expanding Access to Quality Education
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Western Governors University鈥檚 mission is to ensure everyone has access to a higher education. This means we are continually innovating for the benefit of students and developing educational pathways that provide opportunity, promote lifelong skill development and lead to long-term economic value. 黑料传送门鈥檚 academic organization places students at the center of everything we do.
"黑料传送门 has made a bold commitment to empower every student with a personalized, affordable, and career-advancing postsecondary education. 黑料传送门 is uniquely poised to equip students to thrive in today鈥檚 rapidly evolving workforce.鈥
鈥擟ourtney Hills McBeth听
Chief Academic Officer and Provost
Graduation Is The Goal
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Access without attainment does not deliver on the promise of higher education. To measure whether we're expanding access, we must measure growth in credentials earned.
Source: 2023 Annual Report
Making College Work鈥擣or Everyone
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Providing access to higher education for populations from aspirational communities is the first step toward closing the opportunity gap and ensuring our collective well-being. These populations include students from communities of color, low-income families, rural locations, and/or families in which they are the first to attend college. According to self-reporting at the time of enrollment, 74% of 黑料传送门鈥檚 students come from at least one of these communities.*
*Source: 2023 Annual Report
Recognized for Innovating
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黑料传送门 is recognized year after year as a leader in higher education. Our employees take pride in making a difference by providing value to our students and offering high-quality programs and courses at scale. Working with industry partners, developing a robust competency-based education program, and delivering strategic innovations to bring educational access and economic mobility to more students are just some of the ways we are focused on making a difference. This work earned 黑料传送门 recognition in 2025 as an Opportunity College and University from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation.
黑料传送门 Councils
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Assessment Council
As a competency-based education institution, the core of our practice is to prove competency through assessments, not time spent in a class. To maintain 黑料传送门鈥檚 credential value, we partner with our Assessment Council to advance innovation and integrity in our assessment and evaluation processes.
Current Assessment Council members:
Randy Bennett
Norman O. Frederiksen Chair in Assessment Innovation
ETS
Ph.D., Columbia University
Peter Ewell
Vice President
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
Ph.D., Yale University
Brian Gong
Executive Director
Center for Assessment
Ph.D., Stanford University
Neal Kingston
Distinguished Professor in Educational Psychology,
Director Achievement and Assessment Institute
University of Kansas
Ph.D., Columbia University
Sue Lottridge
Chief Scientist
Natural Applications at Cambium Assessment
Ph.D., James Madison University
Ric Luecht
Professor of Education Research Methodology
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Liberty Munson
Director of Psychometrics
Microsoft
Ph.D., University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Maria Elena Oliveri
Research Associate Professor
Purdue University College of Engineering
Ph.D., University of British Columbia
