Well, not exactly.

Earlier this month, eight years after the school opened and thanks to an infusion of some $21 million from the federal government, the university handed out its 1,047th degree.

Officials of the online, competency-based university without brick and mortar classrooms call it a success story. What success the school has, critics say, is due to the federal government becoming a chief booster of the university that was started by 19 Western states and headquartered in Utah.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, has been WGU's biggest fan in Congress, steering millions to the school through special budget line items known as earmarks, a way for members of Congress to bypass the regular budget process and funnel money to their states and causes.

"This is a start-up operation that is producing significant economic benefit for the entire Western states," Bennett says.

That's why, he says from his perch on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, he has worked to get money to the school.

Between 2000 and 2006 when WGU saw about $12 million in earmarks, other Utah schools were receiving much less, according to the database of earmarks compiled by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Citizens Against Government Waste, which includes all earmarks dating back to 1995.

The University of Utah got $3.34 million in earmarks and Brigham Young University saw about $900,000. Utah State University received $14.47 million.

That database does not include millions in research grants and other federal money that the U., USU and BYU receive through legislation and department funding and not through earmarks.

In two of the six years Western Governors University has received earmarks, money came not from the education spending bill, but from the Defense Department. In 2004 and 2006 fiscal years, the school got $1 million each from the Defense budget, noted as "operations and maintenance - Air Force."

"That's one of the more egregious Defense pork-barrel earmarks," says David Williams, vice president for policy at Citizens Against Government Waste. "This is near the top of our list."

The school defends the Defense earmarks, saying those serving in the military are perfect candidates for the school because of the ability for troops to log in and take classes all over the world.

Williams disagrees.

"How does he justify shifting this money from our troops to Western Governors University?" Williams asks, referring to Bennett. "If this is a great university and it's worth federal funding, go through the proper steps."

Keith Ashdown, vice president of Washington-based Taxpayers for Common Sense, says the university may have had too ambitious of a plan when it started and earmarks have helped keep it afloat.

"That's why earmarks are always so popular," Ashdown said.

Lobbying for dollars: With 1,047 graduates, the federal subsidy per degree is about $20,230, with most of it coming from earmarks pushed by Bennett.

WGU President Bob Mendenhall argues that it is unfair to compare the amount of money the university received from the federal government and the number of students who have actually graduated. There are now some 5,500 students at the school, he says, compared to a few hundred only years ago, and the growth clip continues to climb.

Besides, he says, the state has put no money into the school and other public universities see a huge investment of state taxpayer funds.

"This should be celebrated as one of the huge success stories," Mendenhall said. "Point to another nonprofit, online university with a growth rate like ours. You just can't find one."

You also can't find one that spends as much on lobbyists.

From 1999 to 2005, the private, nonprofit WGU paid nearly $1.6 million to Dutko Worldwide, a Washington lobby firm that also now represents the state of Utah. That puts it near the top of universities forking out money on lobbying.

In 2005, WGU paid Dutko $315,000, ranking it 32nd in the education sector for lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

In 2003, the Chronicle of Higher Education said WGU was 67th in the nation for spending on lobbyists. The school paid Dutko $203,000 that year, more than Utah State University, Notre Dame and Brown University and hundreds of other schools paid their lobbyists.

Mendenhall, who himself has given $5,500 in campaign contributions to Bennett and his political action committee, says it's necessary to pay lobbyists that much to accomplish the university's goal of creating a new model for higher education.

He says the school has succeeded in changing legislation favorable to online universities, including those that compete with WGU.

"We're spending less than 2 percent of our budget on [lobbying]," he said. And, "We have come a long way in our laws and regulations in allowing for direct measurement" of a student's knowledge.

Additionally, Mendenhall says the university should be applauded for not using any state money.

Behind the scenes: WGU also had an ace in its pocket for at least two years of receiving the Bennett-proffered earmarks: his top campaign fundraiser was on WGU's payroll.

Max Farbman, a Salt Lake City attorney/fundraiser/lobbyist, has been employed by the university since its inception. Farbman served as the chief fundraiser for Leavitt and two subsequent governors. He also has worked on campaigns of Bennett, who calls him an "effective fundraiser."

From 2000 to 2004, Farbman was paid $558,519 as the university's vice president for development, according to the university's tax records.

Additionally, Farbman was a partner in Farbman Hopkins and Associates until the group disbanded earlier this year during a brush up over the firm's lobbying for a low-level radioactive waste company while working for Huntsman.

In a 2004 letter to the University of Utah seeking a lobbying contract, Farbman-Hopkins was identified as the "Utah-based partner" of Dutko Group Cos., WGU's lobbying firm.

But Farbman and Dutko say no partnership actually developed and no money from the Dutko lobbying has gone to Farbman.

Mendenhall dismisses any link between Farbman and the Bennett earmarks. He says Farbman's duties were to raise money from corporations and individuals.

"There was no connection," Mendenhall said. "He raised private money for us. He didn't do Washington."

Bennett initially said he didn't know Farbman was earning money from the university.

"I was unaware that Max was being paid," Bennett said, but a few minutes later acknowledged that, "I knew that Max was doing some work for Western Governors and I assume he was paid. I have no idea how much and I have no idea what work he was doing."

Still, the senator said there was and is no conflict with Farbman, who is now a fundraiser for Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"There were people who raised money for me who also represented the University of Utah," Bennett said. "There were people who raised money for me who had other clients who came before me. That's why we have full disclosure, so that everybody can know what's going on, rather than [have] strict restrictions."

Farbman, too, dismisses any questions about raising money for Bennett and WGU.

"I didn't see it as a conflict," Farbman said. "The work that I did for the university is separate from the work I did for the senator. It's two completely different projects."

tburr@sltrib.com