Western Governors University was founded in 1997 to expand access to affordable higher education and to offer instruction grounded in the requirements of the job market. WGU President and HBS alum Scott Pulsipher tells Bill about the school’s innovative online model, which delivers a proficiency-based curriculum to working adults and members of underserved groups. With over 115,000 full-time students, WGU plans to reach an even wider audience. Is this a model for the future?

Expanding access and conveying competencies: How Western Governors University is rethinking higher education

Artificial intelligence. Robotics. The Gig Economy. Globalization. The world is changing at a dizzying pace in ways that will have a profound effect on the economy, jobs and the flow of talent. How will firms cope with the changes ahead and what steps do they need to take today? Each episode features faculty from the world’s leading business school interviewing CEOs, technologists and experts on the bleeding edge discussing how to survive and thrive by managing the future of work.

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WGU President Scott Pulsipher returns to the podcast for an update on the online institution’s mission to extend the reach of skill-oriented instruction. The HBS grad argues that the focus on competency rather than credit hours democratizes college access and economic opportunity. 

Western Governors University:  Pursuing the network effects of competency based education

 Managing the Future of Work co-chair Joe Fuller joins  Colorado State University's  Jocelyn Hittle to discuss his work on the Managing the Future of Work project and the Harvard Project on Workforce and to consider broader workforce trends. 

Guest Appearance: Joe Fuller on CSU's Spur of the Moment

 As the digital economy pushes companies to prioritize continuous learning,  HR strategies need to emphasize customization, flexibility, and support for diverse work-life needs.  

IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux on AI and the culture of skills building

AI's potential is tempered by the need for reliability and consistency in financial intelligence. How is Morningstar adopting the technology, upskilling its 10,000-strong global workforce, and competing for talent? Also, factoring sustainability and workforce strategy in ratings and risk analysis.

Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor: How AI can raise the investment IQ

Chief Caregiver Officer, Kelly Hancock, on filling key roles when talent is scarce; fostering careers in increasingly stressful occupations; how to make skills-based hiring work; the benefits of diversity; and how AI is altering jobs and HR.

Expanding access and conveying competencies: How Western Governors University is rethinking higher education

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