Western Governors University
Work 4001 S. 700 E Suite 700
Salt Lake City, UT 84107-2533
Work(866) 225-5948
Admissions E-mail: info@wgu.edu
Web site: http://www.wgu.edu/
Unranked School
College Category:
Baccalaureate Colleges (West), unranked
Baccalaureate Colleges (West), unranked
Overview : Western Governors University
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Institutional Control: | Private |
| Year founded: | 1996 |
| Religious affiliation: | N/A |
| Academic calendar: | continuos |
| Total number of undergraduates: | 8,344 |
| Setting: | urban |
| Endowment: | $0 |
| Fall Admissions | |
| Application deadline: | rolling |
| Application fee: | $65 |
| Fall 2008 Acceptance rate: | N/A |
| Selectivity: | N/A |
| Expenses | |
| Costs: | 2009-2010 Tuition and Fees: $5,870 |
| Mission | |
| School mission: | WGU is the only online, fully-accredited, competency-based university. WGU is a private, non-profit university that was created by 19 US governors and incorporated in 1997. It is supported by more than 20 leading corporations and foundations, including AT & T, Dell, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, HCA, HP, Microsoft, Quest, Simmons Media Group and Zions Bank. The first students enrolled in 1999. WGU offers bachelor's and master's degrees in information technology, business, teacher education and healthcare. WGU is the only university to be accredited by four regional accrediting organizations (February 2003); it is also nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council; and received approval for Candidacy for NCATE Accreditation for its Teachers College in just its third year of operation (2005). WGU received full unconditional accreditation for 5 years in October 2006, becoming the first online university ever to receive this prestigious accreditation. WGU has grown from 500 students in February 2003 to more than 10,000 students in February 2008. WGU is the only university in the country that grants degrees based on demonstrated competency, measuring learning rather than time or class credits. The mission statement: The principal mission of WGU is to improve quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities by providing a means for individuals to learn independent of time or place and to earn competency-based degrees that are credible to both academic institutions and employers. We were instrumental in creating the demonstration project for distance learning included in the 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and WGU was the only institution named in that congressional legislation. Because of the work of WGU, Congress opened up financial aid for distance learning for online institutions generally. Also, competency-based education programs, only available at WGU, were approved as eligible for federal financial aid. WGU also won competency-based education approval for VA benefits (GI bill), Department of Defense tuition assistance, and corporate tuition reimbursement programs. In recognition of WGU's innovative educational model of competency-based education, President Dr. Robert Mendenhall was one of 20 people appointed to the Secretary of Education's National Commission on the Future of Higher Education and was the only educator appointed to the commission from Utah. He served his full commission term from fall 2005 to fall 2006. In March, 2003, a teachers college was established to train K-12 teachers. The WGU Teachers College now has more than 6,000 students nationwide, including more than 1,500 who are currently studying in the high need areas of math and science. WGU is working to help fill positions nationwide in those high-need areas. A hallmark of WGU's competency-based program is the use of external validating measures of student performance, including Praxis exams. WGU was given a Best Buy rating in March 2008 for Online MBA's by GetEducated.com. The university was rated 16th in the top 25 best bargains for regionally accredited MBA's by GetEducated.com in March 2006. WGU was also rated a Best Buy for its Bachelor of Business in August 2006. WGU was the first university, online or otherwise, in 2006, that required students to take the Certified Master's of Business Administration Exam in order to receive their MBA degree. This insures graduates have a solid command of the MBA core curriculum and represents high credibility for a WGU student's MBA degree. WGU's College of Health Professions offers bachelor's and master's level nursing education programs, including a new B.S. in Nursing leading to RN licensure, as well as a B.S. in Health Informatics. |
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