lawyer

Western Governors University Headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah

According to the school's mission, WGU aims to ". improve quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities by providing a means for individuals to learn independent of time or place. " WGU's Promise states that the institution helps its "students achieve their dreams for a degree and career success by providing a personal, flexible, and affordable education based on real world competencies." [ 19 ] According to WGU, as a nonprofit it aims to focus on the needs of individuals with modest incomes, first-generation college students, minorities, and those who live in rural locations. [ 20 ] WGU students are eligible to apply for federal financial aid and the university offers a number of scholarship programs.

Western Governors University comprises four colleges, each offering bachelor’s and master’s degree programs: Business, Information Technology, Teacher Education, and Health Professions (including Nursing). As of January , 55 bachelor's, master's, and post-baccalaureate degree programs, as well as teacher endorsement preparation programs, were offered among the four colleges.

The College of Business has bachelor's degree programs in business management, marketing, accounting, finance, HR, and IT management, as well as three MBA programs.

The Teachers College has more than 10,500 students nation wide and is NCATE -accredited. The WGU Teachers College has licensure and master's programs in interdisciplinary studies, mathematics, science, special education, ELL/ESL, learning and technology, instructional design, and educational leadership.

The College of Information Technology offers bachelor's and masters degrees, some of which incorporate up to 10 IT certifications. Degree programs are offered in databases, software, security, health informatics, network administration, and design and management. The IT certification exams are integrated with the degree program.

The College of Health Professions offers degree programs in nursing, nursing education, nursing leadership and management, health education, health informatics, and healthcare management.

All aspects (with the exception of demonstration teaching for educators and the prelicensure program for nurses) are completed entirely online. The university states [ 21 ] that "learning resources come in a variety of forms, including textbooks, web-based tutorials, simulations, [and] online classes." The university doesn't develop their own courses, but instead licenses course modules from commercial providers such as Pearson and McGraw-Hill. [ 22 ] Each student at WGU is assigned a working mentor who advises and assists the student from enrollment through degree completion. Each mentor/student team creates a personal academic action plan (AAP) that helps the student track his or her progress through each 6-month term. Students at WGU have some control over how much coursework they complete per term, but are required to complete a minimum each term to maintain full-time status. There are no written limitations regarding course loads, but students must have the approval of their mentor to add courses during a term. Courses can only be added one at a time during the term, and only after the student's current courses have been completed successfully. Students may take certain exams without study for some courses if they show competency via pre-assessments. Other courses require weeks-long participation in online courses and in written submissions that are graded by independent contract evaluators.

Courses are generally assessed using both performance-based and objective assessments. The performance-based component normally is done by submitting marked assignments. The objective assessment component is a proctored exam. Exams are taken at proctored exam sites, which are located across the country or via Kryterion online monitoring, using a webcam. There are no open-book exams. Students must prepare themselves to take the exams after completing their course of study materials; they must also pass a pre-assessment exam that is available for most subjects before attempting the final exam.

WGU has competency-based programs for completing degree and certificate requirements, with no requirement of class attendance. Competency-based programs allow students to demonstrate through assessments that they have acquired the set of competencies (levels of knowledge, skill, or ability) required for a particular degree or certificate. For example, the university states that the business management bachelor's degree requires "132 Competency Units (credit equivalents)" and can be completed in four to five years for students with little or no prior college, but that "successful students who commit 20 hours or more per week to their studies are often able to complete their programs more quickly." [ 23 ] Adult students have often acquired many of the skills necessary for a degree through life and work experiences.

Western Governors University is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. [ 24 ] In 2006 the WGU Teachers College became the first exclusively online school to receive accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE ). [ 25 ]

In May , Western Governors University's Nursing Education Programs were accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The initial accreditation, which has a five-year term, was awarded following a process that included a site visit as well as a review of WGU's nursing curriculum. [ 26 ]

In , WGU's B.S. degree in Health Informatics received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The accreditation is granted after extensive reviews based on industry-developed standards. [ 27 ]

In , tuition for WGU is $2,890 per 6 month term for most undergraduate programs and has not increased since the fall of . [ 28 ] Tuition is charged at a flat rate per six-month term, regardless of the number of courses taken or credits completed.

In , , and , WGU won the 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning from the U.S. Distance Learning Association (USDLA ). [ 29 ]

The university’s president, Robert Mendenhall. was named CEO of the Year by Utah Business Magazine. [ 30 ] [ 31 ]

In , President Mendenhall received the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.

In , Western Governors University was ranked #1 in GuidetoOnlineSchools.com's Top Online Colleges. [ 32 ] In prior years, WGU was ranked #2 (), #6 () and #16 ().

In , Western Governors University's Bachelor's degree in Management ranked #4 in Affordability by GetEducated.com. [ 33 ]