The more partnerships an institution joins, the more Web sites its courses are listed on, and the more students will be able to find out about those courses. But institutions that have joined both partnerships have learned that, marketing possibilities aside, operating on such a large scale isn't always a benefit. Finding that students at one university have services that other instiutions don't provide makes it difficult to decide what services the collaboration should develop. Still, the appeal of collaborating is strong. Economies of scale among larger groups lower costs.
Institutions can take advantage of creative ideas developed at neighboring institutions.
And colleges can share services and courses, instead of reinventing the wheel. W.G.U. is a virtual institution that offers courses created by about 40 colleges and universities from 22 states reaching as far east as Virginia, plus one institution in Canada and another in Guam. Students enroll in the courses through the Western Governors Web site, collect W.G.U. credits by passing W.G.U. assessment tests, and, finally, earn W.G.U. degrees. About 200 students have enrolled in W.G.U. degree programs so far, although about 150 more students have signed up for individual classes. When first conceived, Western Governors anticipated 500 degree-seeking students by the year 2000.