Washington state's partnership with online universities offers quality option

THE proposal currently in the Legislature to partner with Western Governors University to create WGU Washington has led a few critics to question if a low-cost, online university can also be high quality.

WGU is a nonprofit university founded by 19 U.S. governors, including former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry, to expand education access and capacity. The university was not created to replace traditional schools — it is designed to meet the educational needs of working adults (the average student age is 36) who are not able to attend those traditional colleges and universities. The creation of WGU Washington will provide state residents another option for college at no cost to the state.