WGU Offers One of a Kind Distance Education
| School Overview | |
|---|---|
| Serves: | USA |
| Accredited by: | NWCCU |
| Enrollment: | Monthly |
| Financial Aid: | Yes |
| Scholarships: | Yes |
Competency-Based Graduate Nursing Degrees
Competency-based online degrees form the nucleus of Western Governors University's educational model. This type of education builds directly off of professional knowledge already known. While the paradigm has critics, there is plenty of contemporary support for the model. WGU was founded by a corps of state governors anxious to provide an online and accessible higher educational model that embraced a wider population of adult learner. The visionary goal was two-fold: train more regional professionals in high-need fields, as well as provide collegiate opportunity where there may have formerly been little.
WGU Academics and Educational Model
WGU is divided into four distinct schools of study: Business, Teachers College, Health Professions, and Information Technology. Within each program there are teams of mentors and support staff that are assigned to each online student. The competency-based approach is designed in such a way that participants work one-on-one with their mentors and create a customized curriculum-called an Academic Action Plan-based on their current competency and the desired career goal or ultimate competency outcome. As core knowledge is built, participants are continually reassessed for increasingly granular knowledge and skills.
The CB model is employed for its accuracy, relevance, and flexibility. No other online university uses this teaching method, which WGU claims sets them above the rest. Instead of meeting general curriculum goals and requirements, each student meets a customized and specialized goal in keeping with their specific career plan.
Founding of WGU
Nineteen state governors in the Western region founded WGU in 1997. In fact, President George W. Bush-Governor of Texas at the time-played a small role in the institution's founding. This unique academic institution is headquartered in Utah, but is a completely developed distance learning university. The institution remains directed by a board of bipartisan governors and is accredited by four regional agencies. The Teachers College is the only online school of its kind, thus far, to earn accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Online Nursing Degrees
The Health Professions program extends two online Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees: MSN Education and MSN Leadership and Management. Both offer contemporary education in high-demand fields. Nurses with busy work and family schedules may pursue a relevant, accelerated, and fully accredited graduate degree that leads them directly to jobs in mid- to upper-level healthcare management.
Nursing Master's Degree Programs