The Education Department’s Office of Inspector General wants the agency to claw back $713 million in loans and grants from Western Governors University, claiming that the limited role of faculty in courses makes the online university ineligible for federal student aid.
The recommendation in an audit released Thursday could threaten the future of competency-based education, a burgeoning field that believes students should learn at their own pace and move along as they have mastered the material. Western Governors has been at the forefront of the movement and widely praised by Democrats and Republicans for creating an innovative model. With 83,000 students, the nonprofit university has raised its profile with commercials featuring an owl touting it as a flexible solution for busy adults.
Read more at The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/09/21/education-inspector-general-wants-to-pull-student-aid-from-a-popular-online-university/