Western Governor’s University
Of Graduates Would Recommend This School
77%
Western Governor’s University is a private, regionally accredited, non-profit university offering online degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Founded by 19 U.S. Governors in 1997, the university seeks to provide for working adult students and particularly for students who have already completed some higher education but have unfinished degrees. To this aim, WGU offers competency-based education which allows students to apply prior knowledge to speed up coursework they have already covered. Presently close to 80,000 students attend WGU, making it one of the largest universities in America. Curricula are career-centered and practical. Four colleges within the university provide bachelor’s and master’s-level degrees in business, information technology, education, and health care fields. Several affiliated schools utilizing the same pedagogical techniques and services have also been established in Tennessee, Indiana, Washington, Texas, Missouri, Nevada, and North Carolina. 52 fully online degree programs are available through WGU at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels.
Western Governor’s University Performance Metrics
65%
Percentage of Students Receiving Financial Aid
41:1
Student-Faculty Ratio
52
Number of Online Degrees
Bachelor’s Degrees Online
- B.S. Business Management
- B.S. Business—Healthcare Management
- B.S. Business—Human Resource Management
- B.S. Business—Information Technology Management
- B.S. Health Information Management
- B.S. Marketing Management
- B.S. Accounting
- B.S. Cloud and Systems Administration
- B.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance
- B.S. Data Management/Data Analytics
- B.S. Information Technology
- B.S. Network Operations and Security
- B.S. Software Development
- B.S. Health Information Management
- B.S. Business—Information Technology Management
- B.S. Nursing (RN to BSN online)
- B.S. Nursing (Prelicensure)
- B.S. Health Information Management
- B.S. Business—Healthcare Management
Master’s Degrees Online
- Master of Business Administration
- MBA Information Technology Management
- MBA Healthcare Management
- M.S. Integrated Healthcare Management
- M.S. Management and Leadership
- M.S. Accounting
- M.S. Data Analytics
- M.S. Curriculum and Instruction
- M.S. Special Education (K—12)
- M.S. Educational Leadership
- M.A. English Language Learning (PreK—12)
- M.Ed. Instructional Design
- M.Ed. Learning and Technology
- M.A. Mathematics Education (K—6, 5—9, or 5—12)
- M.A. Science Education (5—9)
- M.A. Science Education (Chemistry, 5—12)
- M.A. Science Education (Physics, 5—12)
- M.A. Science Education (Biological Sciences, 5—12)
- M.A. Science Education (Geosciences, 5—12)
- Endorsement Preparation Program, English Language Learning (PreK—12)
- Endorsement Preparation Program, Educational Leadership
- M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance
- M.S. Data Analytics
- M.S. Information Technology Management
- MBA Information Technology Management
- M.S. Nursing—Education
- M.S. Nursing—Leadership and Management
- M.S. Nursing—Nursing Informatics
- M.S. Nursing—Education
- M.S. Nursing—Leadership and Management
- M.S. Nursing—Nursing Informatics
- M.S. Integrated Healthcare Management
- MBA Healthcare Management
Online Course Report Rankings Featuring Western Governor’s University
Rankings
10
- The 10 Best Online Bachelor’s in Accounting Degree Programs
- The 10 Best Online Bachelor’s in Business Administration Degree Programs
- The 10 Best Online RN to BSN Degree Programs
- The 10 Best Online Masters in Special Education
- Most Innovative Online Universities
- The 50 Most Affordable Online Universities
- The 10 Best Online Bachelor’s in Computer Science Degree Programs
- The 10 Best Online Master’s In Health Care Administration Degree Programs
- The 10 Best Online Masters in Educational Technology Degree Programs
- The 10 Best Online Masters in Educational Administration Degree Programs
Facts about Western Governor’s University
- The the National Council on Teacher Quality declard Western Governor’s University secondary teaching program as the best value in America. This designation looked at both online and traditional universities.
- The University was designated as one of the 50 most innovative organizations by Fast Company in 2013.
- WGU is the largest producer of math and science educators in the Ameirca.
- Two notable politicians have attended Western Governor’s University: a 2012 presidential candidate for the Reform Party of America, and a member of the Utah House of Representatives
Western Governor’s University Locations
- Online
Western Governor’s University Online Learning Features
Western Governor’s University was founded with a mission aimed at helping working students and students with some credits but not yet a degree complete their degrees. With these goals on mind, WGU has created some of the most innovative distance learning features of any university today. Innovative online learning components include competency-based education, in which students may leverage skills they’ve developed in the work force or prior education to quickly progress through their course of study. Furthermore, competency-based education means that students must exemplify competency in a core set of skills for graduation. Courses are suggested that lead to competency sets, yet those in areas in which students already have competency are skipped. This leads to personalized degree plans by student. Additionally, the university employs a system in which courses may be started each month. In conjunction with subscription-based tuition, this allows for motivated or already-knowledgeable students to lower both time-until degree as well as program costs significantly. These are likely some of the reasons why Western Governor’s University is one of the most popular online universities in the world.