In contrast, officials in charge of the Southern Regional Education Board decided against creating a new university when they set up the Electronic Campus. Instead, the Electronic Campus became a directory of online courses offered by institutions in the 16 S.R.E.B. member states. Students earn course credits and degrees from those institutions. About 20,000 students took online courses through institutions in the S.R.E.B. partnership during the 1998-99 academic year. Nobody knows for sure.
Students register for courses through individual institutions' sites.
One reason such collaborations have become increasingly acceptable in higher education is that today's students care less than their predecessors did about school spirit and attending one university, says Robert W. Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University. Courses are accredited through the institutions that have created them, but degrees offered in W.G.U.'s name are not. W.G.U. is seeking accreditation, but so far its case is still being reviewed by a special Inter-Regional Accrediting Committee created by the four regional organizations. If so, W.G.U. could receive accreditation in a couple of years, after students actually begin graduating from the institution. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, a Republican who was an early proponent of Western Governors, says he expects its enrollment to climb soon after accreditation is established.