WGU graduates urged to grow and gain skills

Former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer told Western Governors University graduates Saturday to be curious, inquire, express themselves, grow and gain the skills and knowledge it takes to compete and do more in today's global job market.

"That's the most exciting use of freedom we all have," Romer told 44 graduates who came from as far as Alaska and New York.

Commencement ceremonies were held at the University of Utah because the Web-based WGU does not rely on buildings to deliver its curriculum to students.

This weekend's graduating class was the largest in WGU's 10-year history, with 243 students from 41 states.

WGU bills itself as the only accredited university in the country that offers online competency-based degree programs.

"This has been a steep hill, sometimes a rocky road," Romer said of WGU's growth since its inception.

Romer, who received an honorary doctorate degree at the ceremony, is one of the founders of WGU. He is now superintendent of the Los Angeles School District, which has about 730,000 students, 80,000 employees and, Romer noted, about 65,000 gang members within district boundaries.

Romer crafted his speech around the theme "life of the mind," which led him to talk about how achievement scores in his school district have made a dramatic improvement.

Those scores have improved, he added, because of raised expectations and a more rigorous curriculum for all students, "intense" training for teachers and better use of data collected from increased diagnostic testing of students.

"I hope that you will constantly use the experience of the mind in a creative and joyous way," Romer told graduates.

WGU is a private, nonprofit university founded in 1997 by 19 governors and is supported by at least 20 corporations and foundations. The school offers bachelor's and master's degrees in information technology, business and education.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com