Scott Pulsipher
{{Short description|President, Western Governors University}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Scott Pulsipher
| post-nominals =
| image = Scott Pulsipher.png
| alt = Photo of University President Scott Pulsipher in robe behind lectern.
| caption = Scott Pulsipher addresses WGU graduates.
| birth_name = Scott D. Pulsipher
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| known_for = President of Western Governors University.
| education = {{ubl|Brigham Young University}}
| occupation = {{hlist|University President|board member|Writer}}
| years_active = 2016–present
| title = President of Western Governors University
| spouse =
| children =
| father =
| mother =
| website = {{URL|https://www.wgu.edu/about/governance/president.html}}
| awards =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
}}
Scott D. Pulsipher is the president of Western Governors University, the largest nonprofit university by total enrollment in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Largest Colleges and Universities in the U.S. {{!}} BestColleges |url=https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/largest-colleges-universities-in-united-states/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.bestcolleges.com |language=en-US}} He was appointed to this position in April 2016.
Education
Pulsipher earned a bachelor's degree in management with a finance emphasis from Brigham Young University. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School.{{cite web |title=Office of the President |url=https://www.wgu.edu/about/governance/president.html |access-date=May 2, 2023 |website=Western Governors University |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Validation request |url=https://www.conference-board.org/bio/scott-pulsipher |website=The Conference Board |access-date=May 2, 2023}}
Career
= Yantra =
After completing his bachelor's degree, and not long after business school, Pulsipher joined Yantra, a supply software company, as a VP of product management and marketing. Yantra was later acquired by Sterling Commerce (now owned by IBM), and Pulsipher remained with the company. During his tenure, revenue climbed $600 million and annual employee turnover declined from around 18 percent to under 2 percent.{{Cite book| publisher = Harvard Business Press| isbn = 978-1-63369-365-4| last = Johnson| first = Whitney| title = Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve| date = 2018-05-01}}
= Amazon and Needle Inc. =
In 2009, Pulsipher left Sterling Commerce, and joined Amazon as general manager of the Amazon Webstore.{{Cite web |date=2020-07-24 |title=Pandemic crisis touted as time to finally embrace older students |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/pandemic-crisis-touted-time-finally-embrace-older-students |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}} While there, he helped launch Amazon's website in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.{{Cite web |last=Basken |first=Paul |date=24 July 2020 |title=Pandemic crisis touted as time to finally embrace older students |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/pandemic-crisis-touted-time-finally-embrace-older-students}} He moved onto Needle Inc. in 2013 where he drove that business into the ground and then to Western Governors University.{{Cite web |last=Stambor |first=Zak |date=2013-06-05 |title=Needle names Amazon Webstore exec Scott Pulsipher president and COO |url=https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2013/06/05/needle-names-amazon-webstore-exec-scott-pulsipher-pres-and-coo/ |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Digital Commerce 360 |language=en-US}}
President of Western Governors University
Western Governors University (WGU) is a nonprofit online, competency-based institution that allows students to move through academic programs at their own pace, and focuses on necessary career skills.{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/what-competency-based-education-means-for-colleges/ar-AA1jYnCV |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.msn.com}}{{cite web |date=November 16, 2021 |title=A Focus on Value: Five Questions for WGU President Scott Pulsipher |url=https://usprogram.gatesfoundation.org/news-and-insights/articles/a-focus-on-value-five-questions-for-wgu-president-scott-pulsipher |website=usprogram.gatesfoundation.org |language=en}} In 2018, 72% of WGU graduates reported that their education was worth the cost;{{Cite web |last=Blumenstyk |first=Goldie |date=10 April 2018 |title=With Its Model Under the Gun, an Online-Education Leader Makes the Case for Mentors |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/with-its-model-under-the-gun-an-online-education-leader-makes-the-case-for-mentors/ |access-date=25 June 2024 |website=The Chronicle of Higher Education}} and in 2021, this rose to 77 percent, compared to only 37 percent nationally. In 2021, over 150,000 students enrolled in WGU.{{Cite web |last=PH&A |first=On EdTech by |title=2021-22 IPEDS Data: 12-Month Enrollments - On EdTech |url=https://onedtech.philhillaa.com/p/2021-22-ipeds-12month-de-enrollment-profile |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=On EdTech Newsletter |language=en}} The university graduates between 45,000 and 50,000 students a year.{{Cite web |last=Stoll |first=Ira |date=2023-09-12 |title=Higher Education Could Help Heal America |url=https://www.educationnext.org/higher-education-could-help-heal-america/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Education Next |language=en-US}}
As the president of Western Governors University, Pulsipher has overseen significant growth and expansion of the nonprofit university. During his tenure, has overseen a plan called 10x Vision, created to scale enrollment and launch new ventures to expand access to higher education.{{cite web |title=Western Governors University: 10x Vision – Case – Faculty & Research – Harvard Business School |url=https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=56008 |website=www.hbs.edu |publisher=Harvard Business School}}
Community engagement
In addition to his work as an educator and administrator, Scott Pulsipher has been involved in various volunteering and community service initiatives. He served on the board of trustees for the Utah Technology Council (now Silicon Slopes Commons) from 2016 to 2019, where he helped to foster support for Utah's technology ecosystem. He also served as Tech Chair and board member of the Marriott School of Marketing's advisory board at Brigham Young University from January 2010 to April 2016.{{cite news |title=Scott D Pulsipher, Western Governors University: Profile and Biography |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/18066663#xj4y7vzkg |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}
In 2019, he was named to the White House workforce-policy advisory board, a 25-member advisory board, along with Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., Ginny Rometty, CEO of IBM, and other business leaders, governors, and education and labor officials.{{Cite news |last=Hanrahan |first=Tim |date=13 February 2019 |title=White House Names Top Executives to Workforce Advisory Board |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-executives-named-to-workforce-advisory-board-11550084840 |access-date=3 July 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}
In 2020, he was named to the National Task Force on Transfer of Credit.{{Cite web |title=CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez Named To National Task Force On Transfer Of Credit |url=https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2020/01/30/cuny-chancellor-felix-v-matos-rodriguez-named-to-national-task-force-on-transfer-of-credit/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=CUNY Newswire |language=en}}
Pulsipher chairs the Presidents Forum, which is a network of college and university presidents committed to the reinvention of higher education. He is also a member of the Handshake's Impact Advisory Board, trustee for the Committee for Economic Development, and on the board of the American Council on Education.{{Cite web |title=ACE Holds Capitol Hill Forum on Proposed Distance Education Regulations |url=https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/Distance-Education-Regulations-Forum.aspx |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.acenet.edu |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=ACE Board of Directors |url=https://www.acenet.edu/About/Pages/board-of-directors.aspx |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.acenet.edu |language=en-US}}
Education policy
Pulsipher has spoken at different conferences and events about changes that colleges, policy makers, and employers should make to help more people find employment or advance in their careers.{{Cite web |last=D’Agostino |first=Susan |title=Challenging ‘Bad’ Online Policies and Attitudes |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/03/09/challenging-bad-online-policies-and-attitudes |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Inside Higher Ed |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Schindelheim |first=Ramona |date=2023-02-22 |title=We have a lot to talk about at SXSW EDU |url=https://www.workingnation.com/we-have-a-lot-to-talk-about-at-sxsw-edu/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=WorkingNation |language=en-US}} He regularly speaks on podcasts, including Work In Progress,{{Cite web |last=Schindelheim |first=Ramona |date=2023-03-21 |title=Online backlash: Bad policy holds students back |url=https://www.workingnation.com/online-backlash-bad-policy-holds-students-back/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=WorkingNation |language=en-US}} MarketScale,{{Cite web |last=Horn |first=Michael |date=2023-12-18 |title=Competency-Based Learning is the Key to Success: WGU's Strategic Vision |url=https://marketscale.com/industries/education-technology/competency-based-learning-at-wgu/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=MarketScale |language=en-US}} HEDx,{{Cite web |last=Hedx |date=2023-03-29 |title=Scott Pulsipher |url=https://hedx.com.au/podcast-hedx-episode-68/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=HEDx |language=en-AU}} The Disruptive Voice,{{Cite web |title=The Disruptive Voice: 117. Creating Pathways To Opportunity at Western Governors University: A Conversation with Scott Pulsipher |url=https://thedisruptivevoice.libsyn.com/117-creating-pathways-to-opportunity-at-western-governors-university-a-conversation-with-scott-pulsipher |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=thedisruptivevoice.libsyn.com |language=en}} The Rant,{{Cite web |date= |title=Serving Working Learners - A Conversation with Scott Pulsipher, President at WGU |url=https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-rant/serving-working-learners-a-ZnMkKg1wH4e/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Listen Notes |language=en}} Harvard Business School,{{Cite web |title=Podcast - Managing the Future of Work - Harvard Business School |url=https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/podcast/Pages/podcast-details.aspx?episode=30858953 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=www.hbs.edu}} The University Innovation Alliance,{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x2JP67vhK8 |title=WGU President Scott Pulsipher interview on #WeeklyWisdom |date=2024-04-22 |last=University Innovation Alliance |access-date=2024-07-30 |via=YouTube}} and the EdUp Experience.{{Cite web |date=27 March 2023 |title=579: How to Lead From the Front - with Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University |url=https://www.edupexperience.com/ScottPulsipher2/ |website=EdUp Experience}}
Pulsipher has also come before Congress to testify on the state of education and needed changes.{{Cite web |title=Hearing on "Expanding Access to Higher Education and the Promise It Holds" – Ways and Means |url=https://waysandmeans.house.gov/event/hearing-on-expanding-access-to-higher-education-and-the-promise-it-holds/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title="American Education in Crisis" |url=https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/american-education-in-crisis |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=democrats-edworkforce.house.gov |language=en}} This includes testifying before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce about the importance of a high return on investment for a college education.{{Cite web |last=Knott |first=Katherine |title=House Education Committee Ready to Tackle Short-Term Pell |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2023/02/08/house-education-committee-hears-about-need-short-term-pell |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Inside Higher Ed |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=POLITICO Pro: 5 takeaways from opening testimonies in Foxx’s first education hearing |url=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2023/02/5-takeaways-from-opening-testimonies-in-foxxs-first-education-hearing-00081791 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=subscriber.politicopro.com |language=en}} WGU partly measures programs’ ROI by reviewing graduates’ median pay increase two years after graduation, the cost of each program, and how many years a student has until they reach retirement age.{{Cite web |title=How can the Education Department build a list of low-value college programs? |url=https://www.highereddive.com/news/low-value-college-programs-list-education-department-public-comments/643214/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Higher Ed Dive |language=en-US}}
Awards
In 2020, EdTech Digest named Pulsipher one of the Top 100 Influencers in EdTech.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Fierce Education |date=2023-03-30 |title=Leading from the Front: Scott Pulsipher, President, WGU {{!}} Fierce Network |url=https://www.fierce-network.com/leadership/leading-front-scott-pulsipher-president-wgu |access-date=2024-08-23 |website=www.fierce-network.com |language=en}}