Scott Pulsipher

Scott Pulsipher serves as President of Western Governors University, leading all academic and organizational functions.

Scott Pulsipher has served as president of Western Governors University (WGU), the nation’s premier nonprofit competency-based university, since April 2016, leading all academic, operational, and organizational functions. He cultivates a student-centric environment by using technology and data to improve three key measures: completion, return for graduates, and equity in both access and attainment.

Scott has been named by EdTech Digest as one of the Top 100 Influencers in EdTech, and also serves on multiple higher education and technology boards, including as board member at the American Council on Education and Jobs for the Future, as well as chairman of the board for Presidents Forum.

Prior to joining WGU, Scott led several technology-based, customer-focused businesses, including Amazon, Sterling Commerce, and two successful startups that traverse retail, supply chain, banking, payments, and manufacturing sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Areas of Expertise:

Leadership, Tech Education, EdTech, Disruptive Innovation, Higher Education Access, Higher Education Innovation, E-Commerce, Product Management, Strategy, Public Speaking. Named one of EdTech Digest's Top 100 Influencers in EdTech.

Education:

Harvard Business School: MBA, Business Administration 1999
Activities and Societies: Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital / Principal Investment Clubs.

Brigham Young University: B.S., Management (Finance Emphasis) 1994
Magna Cum Laude, Phi Kappa Phi national honor society. Significant course work in finance, economics, marketing, information systems, statistics, and organizational behavior.

Affiliations:

American Council on Education (ACE)

Member, Board of Directors

Presidents Forum

Member, Board of Directors

Jobs for the Future

Member, Board of Directors

Handshake

Member, Impact Advisory Board

Salt Lake Chamber

Member, Board of Governors

Languages:

Polish

Areas of Expertise:

Education:

Harvard Business School: MBA, Business Administration 1999
Activities and Societies: Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital / Principal Investment Clubs.

Affiliations:

American Council on Education (ACE)

Member, Board of Directors

Presidents Forum

Member, Board of Directors

Jobs for the Future

Member, Board of Directors

Handshake

Member, Impact Advisory Board

Salt Lake Chamber

Member, Board of Governors

Languages:

Polish

In the Media

Featured

College Enrollment Declines Again Though Online Schools, HBCUs See Increases

College enrollment dropped for the third consecutive school year after the start of the pandemic, dashing universities’ hopes that a post-Covid rebound was at hand.

Colleges and universities shouldn’t wait for a federal mandate to deliver better value

The U.S. higher education system is at an indisputable breaking point, and its future hinges on what the government and postsecondary institutions do next.

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.

Other Media

Leading from the Front: President Scott Pulsipher
Ed on the Edge, Jan. 10, 2024

Creating Pathways To Opportunity at Western Governors University: A Conversation with Scott Pulsipher
Disruptive Voice, Oct. 31, 2023

Serving Working Learners - A Conversation with Scott Pulsipher, President at WGU
The Rant, Oct. 31, 2023

Online backlash: Bad policy holds students back
WorkingNation, March 21, 2023

President Pulsipher is a regular contributor to Forbes.

Colleges need a deliberate online strategy to better serve first-generation students
Higher Ed Dive, Feb. 5, 2024

Combatting Declining Faith in Higher Education Requires Prioritizing Economic Outcomes
RealClear Education, Dec. 21, 2023

Our Chance to Break from Convention
Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 1, 2023

5 Questions for Higher Ed to be Mindful of in 2024
The Evolllution, Nov. 24, 2023

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Higher Education, Part 1
Trusteeship Magazine, Jan. 29, 2024

What competency based education means for colleges
US News & World Report, Nov. 15, 2023

3 Keys to Making Microcredentials Valid for Learners, Schools, and Employers
Campus Technology, May 22, 2023

How can online college be poth "promising" and "predatory?"
Inside Higher Ed, April 13, 2023

Challenging ‘Bad’ Online Policies and Attitudes
Inside Higher Ed, March 9, 2023

WGU Articles

Country continues to wait for student debt forgiveness decision by President Biden

ABC 15, June 2, 2022 Pulsipher is encouraging the White House to do more than just cancel debt, as he believes it will just mean that in 5 or 10 years another round of cancellations will be called for.

The Edge: This Online Giant Is Just Getting Started The Chronicle of Higher Education

May 25, 2022 “It’s not just about being an institution of higher education,” [President Pulsipher] said, but “the catalyst for that tidal effect of change” needed to reach tens of millions of Americans who could benefit from more-affordable, more-relevant, and more-flexible educational options.

The Gates Foundation, Nov. 16, 2021 One institution that has focused on value from the time it was created is Western Governors University (WGU), which was designed with providing education that had “a path to opportunity,” says WGU’s president, Scott D. Pulsipher.

The Hechinger Report, Aug. 9, 2021 Whether higher education leaders are on their way to the largest conference focused on innovation or staying at their home schools, they must prepare themselves for a new reality: Nearly two-thirds of students who responded to recent polling said higher education is not worth the cost.

Work Shift, Aug. 11, 2021 WGU president Scott Pulsipher talks about policies that can help expand access for working learners and whether CBE might finally have its moment.

Education Dive, Nov. 30, 2020 The forum asserts that the pandemic's impact on students heightens the need for colleges to develop policies that serve diverse learners.

EdSurge, Nov. 19, 2020 Should it really be a diploma that points the way to opportunity, or the skills that diploma (supposedly) signifies? What if people could get those skills without going to college?

The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 12, 2020 For millions of Americans, getting a four-year degree no longer makes sense. Here’s what could replace it.

Ed Tech Magazine, Oct. 28, 2020 EDUCAUSE spoke with several college presidents to better understand how they've been managing so far with the pandemic and how technology is bolstering their response plans for the short term and redefining their mission and vision in the long term.

Podcasts and Radio

The Future of Education: Where Is It, and What Does It Look Like?
Sustaining Capitalism, March 16, 2022

President Series Part 1 - Scott Pulsipher, Western Governors University
The Higher Ed Shift, Sept. 8, 2021

Online learning in the time of COVID-19
Lessons Earned Podcast, May 2020

Disruption, Leadership in Crisis, and Re-Imagining the Promise of Higher Education
The EdUp Experience Podcast, April 26, 2020

Is Coronavirus the Catalyst Higher Ed Needed for Transformation?
EdScoop Radio Podcast, April 2, 2020

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Featured

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.

Other Media

Podcasts

Opinion Editorials

News Articles

Other Media

The Gates Foundation, Nov. 16, 2021 One institution that has focused on value from the time it was created is Western Governors University (WGU), which was designed with providing education that had “a path to opportunity,” says WGU’s president, Scott D. Pulsipher.

Work Shift, Aug. 11, 2021 WGU president Scott Pulsipher talks about policies that can help expand access for working learners and whether CBE might finally have its moment.

Education Dive, Nov. 30, 2020 The forum asserts that the pandemic's impact on students heightens the need for colleges to develop policies that serve diverse learners.

EdSurge, Nov. 19, 2020 Should it really be a diploma that points the way to opportunity, or the skills that diploma (supposedly) signifies? What if people could get those skills without going to college?

The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 12, 2020 For millions of Americans, getting a four-year degree no longer makes sense. Here’s what could replace it.

Ed Tech Magazine, Oct. 28, 2020 EDUCAUSE spoke with several college presidents to better understand how they've been managing so far with the pandemic and how technology is bolstering their response plans for the short term and redefining their mission and vision in the long term.

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