Englebardt is developing a course to be offered entirely online, but she says earning a degree that way is too much. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, one of the prime backers of the governors' university, encourages the feedback. But it will, says Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who with Colorado Gov. Roy Romer announced plans last fall for a Western Governors University. More pressing concerns, he says, are regulations, bureaucracy and fear. The university's debut in late 1997 will be modest, offering an electronic catalog to help people find online courses at existing institutions.
Degree programs come later.
But there'll never be a campus. Students who want academic or financial aid counseling could go online, call toll-free or visit a learning center in participating states. Accrediting bodies, which are regional and usually deal with state issues, will have to make changes when geographic boundaries disappear. As courses go online and software is developed, copyright issues will emerge. The issue raises questions among academics, especially if industry would help define terms, an idea the governors are considering.