Changing Lives at Scale: Over 50,000 Degrees Earned by Students in Record-Setting Year at Western Governors University
06 Agosto 2024 - 10:19AM
Western Governors University (WGU) conferred 50,168 degrees to
49,564 individuals in fiscal year 2024, a historic milestone for
the national online, nonprofit
university. Significantly, 67% of those graduates were
from one or more underserved populations — students of color,
first-generation, rural or low income — a demonstration of WGU’s
ability to impact the economic and social mobility of its
students. “We are reinvigorating the pathway to
opportunity and having an impact at scale,” said WGU President
Scott Pulsipher. “WGU’s educational model, which is student-centric
and personalized, works. We are positioning our graduates to start
and advance careers in high-demand fields, meeting workforce needs
and strengthening the vitality of their families
and communities.”
WGU offers more than 80
certificate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in business,
education, health and technology fields in all 50 states. It is
among the largest universities in the country, with a focus on
providing programs that are accessible, affordable, flexible and
that address critical workforce needs. Based on the most
recent federal data, WGU leads all higher ed institutions in the
U.S. in graduating teachers, conferring 5.2% of the bachelor’s
degrees in education nationally. WGU also has a strong impact on
the health care field, awarding 5.5% of all bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in nursing. And WGU’s cybersecurity program is now the
largest in the country, addressing another area of critical
workforce need. “Since its inception, WGU has worked to
create an engine of economic mobility that accommodates everyone,
especially those traditionally left behind by higher education,”
said Joe Fuller, chair of WGU’s Board of Trustees, a distinguished
management professor at Harvard Business School and co-director of
the school’s Managing the Future of Work project. “It is now doing
this at a scale no other institution matches, putting students from
all backgrounds, circumstances and experiences on a trajectory for
a better life. This is exactly the kind of momentum we need to
energize our workforce and our communities.” WGU
students receive a strong return on their investment: students pay
less for their education, have lower debt at graduation and, on
average, see a $30,000 income boost within four years of receiving
their degree. A 2023 Gallup report found that WGU alumni
surveyed were twice as likely to say their WGU education was worth
the cost; debt at graduation was less than half that of graduates
nationally; and about 76% of alumni said they are “thriving” in
their lives, approximately 25 points higher than the national
average for college graduates.
Employers give WGU
graduates high marks, too. In a 2023 Harris Employer Survey, 98% of
300 employers who participated said the WGU graduates they hired
met or exceeded expectations. “We are helping our
students live their best possible lives, on a personal and a
professional level,” Pulsipher said, “and this has generational
impacts that ripple into the future. We also are providing
employers with the highly skilled, work-ready and diverse talent
desperately needed to maintain America’s prosperity and its
competitive edge.” WGU, founded in 1997, now has over
340,000 alumni and expects continued scaling as it both increases
persistence among students and further expands access among the
high-talent individuals for whom traditional, time- and
campus-based models fail. WGU currently serves nearly 176,000
students, which includes the addition of more than 126,000 new
students over the past fiscal year — up 28.2% over the previous
year.
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About Western
Governors University (WGU): A nonprofit, online university
established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand
access to high-quality, affordable higher education, WGU now serves
nearly 176,000 students nationwide and has awarded over 380,000
degrees to more than 340,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving
innovation as the nation’s leading competency-based university, WGU
has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers,
and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In
less than 30 years, the university has become a leading influence
in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing
the workforce needed in today’s rapidly evolving economy. WGU is
accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and
Universities, has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative
Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News and CNN
and in The New York Times. Learn more
at wgu.edu and wgu.edu/impact.
- Changing Lives at Scale: Over 50,000 Degrees Earned by Students
in Record-Setting Year at Western Governors University
Sam Kennedy
Western Governors University
6159771736
pr@wgu.edu