Adult-Serving Institutions Set New Benchmark
for Accountability in Higher Education
Ten Colleges and Universities Unveil 'Transparency By Design'
to Better Meet the Needs of America's Adult Students
Western Governors University Participates in Consortium
SALT LAKE CITY -- A consortium of adult-serving educational institutions today launched a groundbreaking initiative to lead
universities and colleges toward greater accountability and transparency.
At a press conference at The National Press Club, the Presidents' Forum unveiled a major new accountability initiative called
Transparency By Design. The initiative provides a comprehensive action plan to elevate the quality of higher education
available to adults. A key focus of the plan is providing program-specific outcomes data that allows students to make informed
decisions about their education investment.
"Adult professionals, who are a mainstay of the American economy, depend on quality higher education to keep pace with
developments in their fields and to advance in their careers," said Michael Offerman, president of Capella University, who
led the working group of the Forum that shaped the initiative. "To meet the education needs of adult students, we as an industry
must provide them with trustworthy and transparent ways to choose among many available options and to gauge the potential of
each one to further their careers and achieve their dreams."
Transparency by Design institutions, which currently number 10 colleges and universities, plan to issue annual Transparency
By Design Reports in the first quarter of each year, starting in 2009. These reports will include comprehensive data for
each course of study, including student demographics, completion rates, costs, student engagement, and knowledge and
skills learned. Most important, Transparency By Design Reports will include outcomes at the program specialization level,
allowing prospective students to assess how well a program will prepare them for their professional pursuits.
Initial participants include Capella University, Charter Oak State College, Excelsior College, Fielding Graduate University,
Franklin University, Kaplan University, Regis University, Rio Salado College, Western Governors University (www.wgu.edu),
and Union Institute & University.
"As a competency-based university, WGU is committed to defining, measuring, and reporting learning outcomes," said
Western Governors University President Dr. Robert Mendenhall. "We welcome the Transparency by Design Initiative as a
major effort to establish public accountability for the performance of institutions of higher education, and we look forward to
reporting the institutional and student outcomes at WGU." Dr. Mendenhall served on the Secretary of Education's Commission
on the Future of Higher Education, from 2005 to 2006.
"In developing Transparency By Design, a critical mass of America's most prominent adult education institutions have joined
forces to develop an ambitious and proactive accountability strategy for other parts of the industry to follow," added Offerman.
The need for greater accountability in higher education was formally recognized in September 2006, when Secretary of
Education Margaret Spellings issued the recommendations of her Commission on the Future of Higher Education. Charles
Miller, chairman of the commission, said that Transparency By Design's focus on results of individual programs is a positive step.
"It will be a major advance if you can get more and more institutions over time to bring accountability down to programs,
because that may be how you would smoke out some of the worst problems in how we utilize money," he said.
To access a webcast of the Transparency By Design launch event, please visit:
www.visualwebcaster.com/TransparencyByDesign-102207
About the Presidents' Forum
The Presidents' Forum was established in 2002 by Excelsior College to provide adult-serving institutions the opportunity to
exchange knowledge and perceptions of current models and tools, to discuss issues of common concern, and to foster
change to benefit adult learners through the formation of new partnerships and learning networks. A strong focus of the
group is educational quality and providing access to data that allows students to make informed decisions about their
education investment. The Forum calls for regionally accredited, adult-serving institutions to post annual reports on items
of importance to prospective students. For more information, visit http://presidentsforum.excelsior.edu.
For more information about the "Transparency by Design" Initiative, contact:
Richard Baker
Powell Tate
202-585-2084
rbaker@powelltate.com
William M. Stewart
Excelsior College
518-464-8773
wstewart@excelsior.edu
For more information about Western Governors University, contact:
Gwen Castaldi
WGU Director of Public Relations
801-290-3600
gcastaldi@wgu.edu
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