Correction: In Monday's article, "Western Governors University sees its enrollment boom," the article did not completely explore the school's funding. While school leaders say the school is currently tuition self-sufficient, WGU has received about $21 million in federal funds for its first eight years of operation. It now receives less than 4 percent of its total revenues from federal funding.

Joel Ellington's parents both left school at young ages: his father stopped in third grade and his mother in seventh.

His parents needed to start working young, and after they had 10 children, their offspring appeared destined to follow the same path.

Joel, however, graduated from high school, then went on to become the first member of his family to pursue a college degree.

He earned two associate's degrees and joined the National Guard. In 2000, he enrolled at Missouri Western, where he eventually earned a bachelor's degree in education and began teaching.

Now, after graduating form Western Governors University, the 47-year-old holds a master's degree in education.

The Pleasant Grove father of four and full-time Army National Reserve member is one of 1,580 students who graduated from the Salt Lake City-based online university this month.

In June 2003, just 40 students graduated from WGU, which then-Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt founded along with 18 other governors as a way of educating people from rural areas.

Initially, the states each gave $100,000 to start the school, but the school has not received state funding since. Tuition pays for nearly everything, and the school receives private donations and grants.

Enrollment has increased from 950 in June 2003 to 7,300 this year.

That's good news to Bob Mendenhall, president of the nonprofit school.

"This university was created to deliver education in a cost-effective and effective way," he said, adding it is accomplishing that goal.

Nearly 75 percent of the student body is from one of four underserved populations: minorities, low-income, rural or first-generation college students, he said.

The university offers four areas of study: teaching, business, information technology and health professions. The average student age is 37, and most students work full time and go to school. Average tuition is about $2,790 per six-month semester.

WGU instruction is competency-based, meaning students must pass tests and turn in projects to earn a degree instead of complete a set number of class hours. That's been ideal for Ellington, who joined the National Guard while he earned his master's degree. His course work focused on project management and curriculum development, and that training helped him land a job.

"That education has been instrumental. I recently applied for a military job I never would have gotten otherwise," he said.

Bess Stephens, vice president of corporate philanthropy and education and global director of the Hewlett-Packard Co. Foundation, is a trustee of the school and received an honorary degree at this month's graduation.

"Students can work school into the flexibility of their schedules. They aren't limited by time and place but their own willingness to commit and meet the requirements," she said. "That appeals to us as a company to do work anytime, anyplace, anywhere and have the tools to enter the work force."

Employees at HP are offered courses at WGU in order to improve their work skills and knowledge in their fields, she said. The school initially came under heavy criticism by many in the academic world who worried that competen- cy-based, online education may result in underqualified graduates. But the school has since become the only university to be accredited by four regional accreditation teams and earn an accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educa- tion.

Recent graduate Matthew Wallace, 45, said his degree probably helped him get a job working as a Web engineer for Digital Universe, a compendium much like Wikipedia, but monitored by experts in various fields.

Wallace submitted his WGU capstone project demonstrating his work with a new form of HTML to Digital Universe, and was later hired.

"The linkage is not absolute nor crystal clear, but it is my belief that the degree work that I was doing helped me get my job," he said.

WGU maintains close ties with major corporations, allowing them to help shape curriculum to help make students more marketable, Mendenhall said. Its board of advisers consists of nearly 25 corporations ranging from technology companies to real estate firms.

While students must be self-motivated, each student is assigned a mentor in his or her field of study, something that was an "invaluable asset" for Ellington.

"There were times I'd need daily phone calls and my mentor was there. We'd call every single day," he said. "Even on a campus you can't get that kind of support."

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* SHEENA MCFARLAND can be contacted at smcfarland@sltrib.com or 801-257-8619.