WGU federal investigation

[Motivated2move]

This is concerning. Anyone have additional information?

An audit by the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General, released on September 21, 2017, "concluded that Western Governors University did not comply with the institutional eligibility requirement that limits the percentage of regular students who may enroll in correspondence courses." It found that most courses at the University fell short of the required standards to be considered eligible for Title IV Federal Financial Aid. According to the report, "at least 69 of the 102 courses were not designed to offer regular and substantive interaction with an instructor and, therefore, did not meet the regulatory definition of distance education."[49] The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General recommended that WGU repay the federal government more than $712 million

[jsd]

Yeah we talked about it when it happened. 

Basically it was a recommendation made by the office that carries no obligation for the federal government to act and govt officials haven't signaled any willingness to pursue the OIG's recommendation. wGU has received bipartisan praise at pretty much every level politically, so that report is likely the last you'll hear of all of this.

WGU's response is decent, pointing out that the OIG is using a narrow definition of "faculty" to guage interaction with students, and relying on an outdated law written in a time when online education was unfathomable. Of course they've said it a little clearer than I have...

https://www.wgu.edu/oig-audit-report