117. Creating Pathways To Opportunity at Western Governors University: A Conversation with Scott Pulsipher

The Disruptive Voice

Higher education has long been on an unsustainable trajectory, with rising costs - and subsequent debt passed on to students - hindering the ability of many to get ahead. In this episode of The Disruptive Voice, education author and researcher, Michael Horn, hosts fellow Harvard Business School alumnus Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University (WGU). Among many topics, the two discuss how the accredited, non-profit university is disrupting traditional models of higher education through its online, competency-based model. A long-time friend of Clayton Christensen's, Scott shares how Clay’s frameworks have been instrumental to his thinking and also how Clay's work helped to inform WGU's unique model, even before Scott became President. With a strong focus on serving its students, the majority of whom haven’t been well served or served at all by traditional models of learning, along with an alumni base of over 340,000 graduates, Western Governors University is a prime example of Disruptive Innovation as a powerful force for democratizing access and opportunity.