In recent years the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Education has asked tough questions about the faculty role in competency-based education. Now the inspector general has turned its scrutiny to Western Governors University, the largest and most-established competency-based provider, which has long been a darling of the Obama administration and top department officials.
The fast-growing online university, which enrolled 64,000 students last month, has been providing information to the inspector general in response to the inquiry, which began almost three years ago, said Joan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Western Governors.
In its annual work plan, the inspector general said it would "continue our work to determine whether Western Governors University complied with the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and selected regulations governing institutional eligibility, program eligibility, disbursements and return of Title IV aid."
A spokeswoman for the inspector general said Wednesday that the watchdog agency is auditing the university, and that the audit is ongoing. It's not clear how much risk the inquiry poses to Western Governors, but university officials and advocates for digital forms of education are taking it seriously.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/15/education-departments-inspector-generals-high-stakes-audit-western-governors-u