This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dale Nelson once operated a 250-head dairy herd in Enterprise, keeping the milk flowing for 20 years before the dairy business soured on him several years ago.
Equipped with a degree in animal science from Brigham Young University, Nelson worked quality control at a meat-packing plant and ran a grocery before getting a job teaching biology at Enterprise High School, where his son taught.
There was a catch. Nelson, then south of 60, had three years to obtain his teaching certificate. Returning to school at Dixie State College or Southern Utah University would entail 100-mile round-trips for lectures with students younger than his own kids. He hardly had the energy for that, but the Internet helped solve his dilemma.
The 64-year-old teacher will be among the 642 students from 48 states receiving degrees today when Western Governors University, Utah's online college, holds its summer commencement at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, where U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson is the keynote speaker.
"Being able to go online saves a lot of time and expense. Overall, it was a very rewarding experience," said Nelson, who grew up on a Utah County dairy farm. His two daughters Charice, 38 and Dotty, 33, are also going through WGU's teacher certification programs.
The idea for a nonprofit online college was hatched at a Western governors conference in 1996 and the school "opened its doors" in a South Salt Lake office tower in 1999. Since then its enrollment has increased more than 25 percent annually, currently at 10,600, according to marketing director Patrick Partridge. So far 3,200 degrees have been awarded under WGU's new model of higher education.
"We try to develop programs that are in demand, particularly for working adults. Online resonates with adult students," Partridge said.
Half the school's 500 employees work off-site. Unlike university professors, WGU's 300 teachers are hired not for their research strengths but for their pedagogical skills.
"Our competency-based model is so different, it is not accurate to use the term 'professor.' Most of the faculty are what we call 'mentors.' Most of the process is guided independent study," Partridge said.
WGU's $5,800 undergraduate tuition is a little more expensive than a University of Utah education, which is heavily subsidized by Utah taxpayers, but substantially less expensive than most private colleges.
"We've done a good job keeping tuition affordable," Partridge said. "The dominant players online are for-profit with higher tuition than ours. We are the only completely online university that's nonprofit."
* 642: Number of students who will receive degrees.
* 48: Number of states that will be represented at graduation.
* $5,800: The cost of undergraduate tuition, which is a little more expensive than a University of Utah education.