As a newcomer to the state's higher education scene, WGU Indiana has been working hard to get its name out.
The online program has a high-profile endorser in Gov. Mitch Daniels, who signed an executive order last year to establish the first statewide branch of Western Governors University, which is based in Salt Lake City.
Daniels has appeared in the institution's advertising, which promotes WGU Indiana as a way for those with many life responsibilities to earn college credit at their own pace.
"The real focus is on helping adult learners, people with some college but who didn't get a degree make themselves more marketable," Chancellor Allison Barber said.
WGU Indiana offers more than 50 bachelor's and master's degrees. Main areas of emphasis are business, industrial technology, education and health professions.
Barber, who visited Evansville last week, said WGU Indiana has about 1,000 students enrolled, including 42 in the Evansville area.
WGU Indiana is part of a collaborative effort "to help Hoosiers get degrees," Barber said. "We're not looking to remove students from universities. We're looking at people who might not be able to get to universities."
Tuition to WGU Indiana is about $6,000 per year, and financial aid is available. The nonprofit institution uses a competency-based grading system. It has monthly terms rather than semesters, an arrangement aimed at giving students more scheduling flexibility.
Ivy Tech Community College Chancellor Daniel Schenk said WGU Indiana presents an alternative for a student who already has earned an associate degree but is looking to finish a four-year program.
University of Southern Indiana President Linda Bennett said that if online-only efforts such as WGU Indiana "can make it more possible for more individuals to compete a degree, it would move Indiana forward."
However, Bennett also said she's not sure if the premise behind WGU Indiana — that adult learners are thirsting for online-only offerings — is bearing out. She pointed to increased interest in "hybrid" courses — which offer a combination of online and in-person instruction — among college students older than 25 years of age.
USI and Ivy Tech both offer such courses.
"Part of education is relational, building into a sense of community," she said.
Referring to WGU Indiana's promotional effort featuring Daniels, Bennett said: "Most institutions in the state also would welcome the governor providing commercials for them."
Barber said a part of WGU Indiana's mission is to provide person-to-person support for its students through a mentor initiative.
The institution hopes to recruit many students in rural areas of the state, where universities are not easily accessible, she said.
Western Governors University was founded in 1997 by a group of governors that included the late Frank O'Bannon of Indiana. The institution has regional and national accreditations. WGU Indiana was created in June.