In 1997, in an unprecedented effort to resolve a cluster of practical problems that each of them faced, the governors of 19 western states formally launched the university that bears their name. The governors intended their new university to be student-centered but market-oriented; independent but serving needs across the western region through the use of distance-learning technologies; networked--using the teaching resources of other western institutions rather than developing and teaching its own courses--but separately accredited and degree-granting. Most important, it would be competency-based. In this article, the author discusses the Western Governor University's competency model.