Western Governors University

For working professionals and mature students Western Governor's University offers several options to complete degrees and professional development and continuing education programs. This University, started by the Governor's of 19 states to be able to offer online degree programs based not as completely on grades but rather on competency levels throughout different programs. This more holistic approach to education and professional training makes it much more practical for working professionals to apply their own experiences and current knowledge to course material. The revolutionary competency approach used by Western Governor's University is recognized to be an effective method for assessing adult learner knowledge and professional skill levels. This assessment based approach allows learners to truly customize their course selection and learning experience to obtain the skills and theory that they require in their own career and educational goals.

Even through Western Governor's University uses an assessment based competency type evaluation program to determine learning, they are still fully accredited through the Northwestern Commission on Colleges and Universities, which in turn is recognized by the United States Department of Education. They are also nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council, meaning that they can grant degrees to students across the United States. There are students that complete online learning courses internationally and staff is located across 30 states, ensuring that the highest level of education and professional experience is brought to the online learners. Emphasis in faculty selection is place on experience and professionalism in the field as well as the prospective instructors level of education. Most instructors hold a Doctorate degree or the highest level degree granted in their area of expertise.

One of the unique features of Western Governor's University is that every student that enrolls online is required to take an online learning class "Education without Boundaries". During this class each new student is assigned a mentor that begins to work with the student right from the start, ensuring that student's have someone to talk to, ask questions of and learn the skills needed to be a successful online learner. The mentor will help with course selection, helping with technology problems and even providing coaching to help you organize and structure to complete assignments within the time frame required. For those students that are accelerating their degree the mentor can also help you pair courses to make the best match in subjects to compliment each other within specific terms. Another feature that helps to speed up your education timeframe is that students can demonstrate competency before completing the complete program of study for each course, meaning as long as you can complete the assessments successfully you do not need to cover the complete course material. In this structure your current knowledge and work experience will really prove beneficial.

Students completing courses through Western Governor's University will be eligible for federal and state funding, as would students in any other post graduate course, based on their financial status. However Western Governor's University strives to keep costs of tuition low so most students will require very little supplemental funding, especially those professionals that will continue to work full or part time while completing their degree. 

Programs offered by Western Governors University