Western Governors University is a private, nonprofit, online American
university based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The university was founded by 19
U.S. governors in 1997 after the idea was formulated at a 1995 meeting of the
Western Governors Association. The university uses a competency-based
learning model, with students working online. Robert Mendenhall is the current
university president. Its accreditation is through the Northwest Commission on
Colleges and Universities. History
WGU was officially founded in 1997 in the United States by the governors of 19
U.S. states. It was first proposed by then-governor of Utah Mike Leavitt at
the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association in June 1995. It
was formally proposed the following November and officially founded in June
1996, with each signing state governor committing $100,000 toward the launch of
the new competency-based university. While the seed money was provided from
government sources, the school was to be established as a self-supporting
private, nonprofit institution. In January 1997, 13 governors were on hand
to sign the articles of incorporation formally beginning the new university.
In 2001, the United States Department of Education awarded $10 million to found
the Teachers College, and the first programs were offered in Information
Technology. In 2003, the university became the first school to be accredited
in four different regions by the Interregional Accrediting Committee. In
2006, the fourth college, the College of Health Professions, was founded, and the
school's Teachers College became the first online teacher-preparation program
to receive NCATE accreditation. In 2010, the first state-established offshoot WGU
Indiana, was founded by Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, and the school
reached 20,000 students for the first time. In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation provided $4.5 million for WGU Indiana and the creation of WGU Texas
and WGU Washington. On January 8, 2013, Bill Haslam,
governor of Tennessee, announced the creation of the state-affiliated WGU
Tennessee. On January 28, 2013, Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri, in his annual
State of the State address, announced the founding of WGU Missouri, creating
the fifth state-affiliated campus. And on June 16, 2015, Governor Brian
Sandoval of Nevada launched WGU Nevada, the sixth state-based WGU. The
state-affiliated offshoots of WGU share the same academic model, faculty,
services, accreditation, tuition, and curricula as WGU and were established to
give official state endorsement and increased name recognition to WGU in
those states; however, WGU has students and graduates in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, U.S. territories, parts of Canada, and on U.S. military
bases worldwide. As of July 2015, the university had
grown to nearly 60,000 currently enrolled students and more than 50,000
graduates. Academics
WGU comprises four colleges, each offering bachelor's and master's degree
programs: the College of Business, the College of Information Technology, the
Teachers College, and the College of Health Professions, which includes
degrees in nursing. As of October 2014, 55 bachelor's, master's, and
post-baccalaureate degree programs, as well as teacher endorsement preparation
programs, were offered among the four colleges.
Terms consist of six-month "rolling" semesters, which start for individual
students on the first of every month. Classes are assigned unique terms
lasting six weeks but students may proceed at their own pace. Many classes
have "cohorts," or students working in the same general time frame, to
facilitate online meetings and discussions, though students in any
given cohort progress to the next course as soon as they are able to prove their
knowledge. Course mentors provide both group and individual instruction as well
as moderating online discussions. = Rankings =
In 2015, the National Council on Teacher Quality rated WGU's secondary teaching
program its #1 best value in teacher education and the National League for
Nursing named WGU's College of Health Professions a Center of Excellence. In
2014, US News, in its academic rankings of teacher education programs in
conjunction with NCTQ, ranked WGU #1 in the nation for secondary teacher
education among both online and traditional universities. In 2013, WGU
was named one of the 50 most innovative companies in Fast Company's Most
Innovative Companies Issue, ranking #28 among leading businesses including
Apple, Amazon, Google, and Target along with such rising newcomers as Square,
Fab, and Tumblr. In recent years, WGU has been the nation's top producer, in
terms of numbers of licensure graduates, of science and math teachers. WGU has
also received the 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning from
the United States Distance Learning Association several years running, among
many other recognitions. = Methodology =
WGU has competency-based programs for completing degree and certificate
requirements. Competency-based programs allow students to demonstrate through
assessments that they have acquired the set of competencies required for a
particular degree or certificate. WGU is the first accredited school to use the
competency-based approach, driving a growing trend toward competency-based
higher education. United States Department of Education Secretary Arne
Duncan has stated, "While such programs [like WGU] are now the exception, I want
them to be the norm." All aspects are completed entirely
online. The university states that "learning resources come in a variety of
forms, including textbooks, web-based tutorials, simulations, [and] online
classes." The university doesn't develop its own courses, but instead licenses
course modules from commercial providers such as Pearson and McGraw-Hill.
Performance-based assessments are normally completed by submitting written
assignments through an online service. These submissions are checked for
integrity by comparing them for unique content across thousands of other
documents submitted at WGU and other universities, as well as documents
available online. The objective assessment component is a proctored
exam. Exams are usually taken via online monitoring through administered by an
online proctoring company such as ProctorU or Examity, using a
university-provided webcam. There are no open-book exams.
= Admissions = WGU has a multi-step admissions process.
Admissions requirements differ depending on which academic program the student
chooses to attend. Many programs require either an associate degree from an
accredited college or a specific amount of related, verifiable work experience
in the field in which a student wishes to study. The school does not require
SAT or ACT scores for admission. Undergraduate programs require the
student to possess a high school diploma or GED and pass the school's Collegiate
Readiness Assessment, and admission into all programs requires an interview with
a WGU Enrollment Counselor to determine if the competency-based approach is the
best fit for the individual student. = University governance =
As a private, nonprofit university, WGU is governed by a board of trustees that
consists of state governors, educators, and business and industry leaders. In
addition, the university's National Advisory Board consists of leaders from
private corporations and foundations which support the university. Current
members include Google, Microsoft, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and AT&T
among many others. Each of the five state established schools also have a
local Chancellor and Advisory board from within the state. Course competencies
are defined with input from third-party councils made up of business, academic,
and industry leaders, who guide the university in determining what a
successful graduate in any given degree program must know to be a valuable
employee. = Faculty =
WGU's disaggregated faculty consists of student mentors, course mentors, program
faculty, and evaluation faculty. The university has 1,100 full-time faculty
members and 200 part-timers. State-affiliated schools
In addition to being founded by governors, several states have created
state-established and affiliated schools. Though state funding in some
instances was used for the creation, each school is self-supporting through
tuition and donations and overseen by the WGU board along with a local state
chancellor and advisory board. The state-affiliated WGU offshoots offer the
same programs and curricula as the national WGU student body receives, and
accreditation is through WGU. The state affiliates simply allow the states to
give WGU an added level of endorsement, increasing the university's
name-recognition in the state and enabling those states to leverage WGU's
ability to increase higher-education capacity to a greater degree. Despite
the existence of state affiliates, WGU enrolls students living in all U.S.
states and on U.S. military bases worldwide.
= WGU Indiana = WGU Indiana was the first state
established school created June 11, 2010, by Executive Order 10-04, signed
by then governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels. At its founding Daniels stated
"Today we mark the beginning of, in a real sense, Indiana's eighth state
university". As a state-affiliated school, WGU Indiana is an approved for
Indiana state grants and scholarships offered through the State Student
Assistance Commission of Indiana and students graduating from the states
community college system can take advantage of the articulation agreement
which allows them to transfer all credits, waive the application fee, and
receive a 5% discount on tuition. The school is based in Indianapolis and the
school's chancellor is Allison Barber. = WGU Washington =
WGU Washington was created February 26, 2011 with the passing of House Bill
1822. It was signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire. Washington state's
previous governor Mike Lowry was one of the founding governors of the
university. A bill passed in April 2013 will make students eligible for state
grants like in-state schools. A transfer agreement allows students who graduate
from state community colleges to receive a 5% discount. The Washington Chancellor
is former Bellevue College President Jean Floten.
= WGU Texas = Governor Rick Perry of Texas founded WGU
Texas in August 2011 with Executive Order RP 75. Perry's predecessor George
W. Bush was one of the founding governors of the university. The
creation was supported by Rep. Dan Branch, Republican leader of the House
Education Committee and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, Democratic Chair of the
Senate Education Committee. It called for the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, Texas Education Agency and Texas Workforce Commission to
help with its founding. The state school will have an Advisory Board appointed by
the governor and be based in Austin. Ray Martinez is the Texas Chancellor.
= WGU Missouri = Governor Jay Nixon first announced the
creation of WGU Missouri in his annual State of the State address in January
2013. He signed Executive Order 13-04 officially starting the new school. He
stated "(Missouri) has great opportunities for higher education, and
I'm proud to say we've just added one more. WGU Missouri." It was created
using funds from Federal Community Development Block Grants and a grant
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The school has an advisory
board and its own local chancellor, Dr. Angela Besendorfer. Students are
eligible for state grants. It is based in Jefferson City.
= WGU Tennessee = Governor Bill Haslam announced the
creation of WGU Tennessee in January 2013. It was part of his "Drive for 55"
plan to bring the college graduation rate of the state up to 55%. The school
was started with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and $5
million in one time state funds. Students are eligible for state
financial aid. The school, based in Franklin, has a local chancellor, Dr.
Kimberly K. Estep, and advisory board. = WGU Nevada =
Governor Brian Sandoval created WGU Nevada by proclamation and a memorandum
of understanding with WGU, launching the sixth state-based WGU university on June
16, 2015. It was created with a $2 million grant from United Student Aid
Funds and required no startup funding from the state. At the time of the
launch, WGU had more than 900 students and more than 850 alumni in Nevada. Dr.
Spencer Stewart was named chancellor of WGU Nevada.
Accreditation WGU is regionally accredited by the
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Regional accreditation is
by the NWCCU, the regional accreditor of other schools such as the University of
Washington, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Gonzaga
University, and the University of Oregon, among others. Because of its
unique founding by 19 governors whose states encompass several regions, WGU
was the first and only university to date to be reviewed and awarded
accreditation by four differing regional accreditors.
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. In May 2009, WGU's nursing education
programs were accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing
Education. The initial accreditation, which had a five-year term, was awarded
following a process that included a site visit as well as a review of WGU's
nursing curriculum. In May 2014, CCNE extended WGU's accreditation through
June 2024. "Western Governors University Earns CCNE Accreditation for Another 10
Years". In 2011, WGU's B.S. in Health
Informatics degree received accreditation from the Commission on
Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The
accreditation is granted after extensive reviews based on industry-developed
standards. Tuition
In 2015, tuition for WGU is $2,890 per six-month term for most undergraduate
programs and has not increased since the fall of 2008. Tuition is charged at a
flat rate per six-month term, regardless of the number of courses taken or
credits completed. See also
Utah portal Universities portal
References External links
Official website