Western Governors University Celebrates Three-Year Anniversary in Ohio

Nonprofit, online university grows to 4,400 students in the state and has already awarded nearly 6,300 degrees to Ohioans since June 2018.

COLUMBUS, OH – Just three years after Ohio policymakers authorized Western Governors University as the state’s newest accredited university, the nonprofit online school has nearly 6,300 bachelor’s and master’s degrees to Ohio students.

WGU Ohio’s current enrollment includes 4,400 adult learners who are preparing for such in-demand careers as nursing and healthcare, business, teaching and information technology.

“WGU Ohio has experienced tremendous success in a very short time, thanks to our affordable tuition structure and innovative approach to higher education, which is tailored to the needs of adult learners who have work or family obligations,” said WGU Ohio Chancellor K.L. Allen. “The traditional college education experience of spending up to four years on a campus with a daily classroom routine doesn’t mesh well for many adults who have existing responsibilities. The average age of our students is 37 and nearly three-quarters work full time, yet they are able to work toward rewarding careers because they can fit their learning into the spaces of their lives,” he said.

WGU was established in Ohio on June 21, 2018, as state officials worked to provide new pathways for adult Ohioans to seek careers in in-demand professions. Ohio became the 27th state to join the Western Governors University partnership, a pioneer in affordable online higher education that was created in 1997 by a collaboration of state governors to offer adult learners the chance to go to college while working and caring for their families.

WGU Ohio students follow a competency-based model of higher education, an approach that allows them to earn credit toward a college degree by demonstrating their mastery of a subject and its skills, rather than calculating a person’s progress by the number hours that student sits in a classroom. There’s no need to attend lectures or to “log on” at a specific time. Instead, WGU students complete their programs in ways that fit their lives by studying at home on schedules they set to accommodate work and family obligations. In addition to learning from instructors who are skilled at online teaching, each WGU student is assigned a dedicated advisor to motivate and mentor them throughout the process.

A nonprofit, independent university, WGU Ohio offers more than 60 accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, information technology, education and healthcare – including nursing.