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SALT LAKE CITY — There's a growing demand for a more flexible college education, one that would make it easier for adults to finish or get a degree by building on existing knowledge and expertise.
In a program set forth by Western Governors University, students are tested on what they already know, and the degree requirements then adapt to their needs. It's a teaching method they call competency-based education.
"Adults coming to higher education know different things coming in, and we each learn at different rates," said Bob Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University. "So, competency based education allows you to demonstrate what you already know and spend your time learning what you don't know."
Mendenhall said they've determined the competencies students need to have before they graduate. People getting their degrees don't have to spend a day in class if they're already familiar with what the professors would teach.
"When they can demonstrate they have mastered all of the competencies (needed), they graduate independent of how long they have spent in class," Mendenhall said.
The online school offers about 50 degrees online in four different fields; information technology, nursing, business and education. The average amount of time it takes for their students to get a degree is three years, but some people finish in drastically less time than that. "We have individuals who have gotten a four year degree in six months because they had all of the competencies when they came in," Mendenhall said.
The program has had immense success and enrollment has grown 30 percent every year for the past 10 years. Other programs similar to what Western Governors University offers are popping up across the country.
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker began pushing for a flexible degree program in 2012. The program would use a competency based education system similar to Western Governors University.
"This new model for delivering higher education will help us close the skills gap at an affordable price to get Wisconsin working again," Walker said in a news release. "As states across the country work to improve access and affordability in higher education, I am proud to support this exciting and innovative University of Wisconsin solution."
The program was recently instated at the University of Wisconsin and it's been well received. Walker even said he hopes to use the program himself, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"I think it is one more way to get your degree. I don't see it as replacing things," Walker said.
