Welcome Rural Community College Alliance

Welcome RCCA Graduates and Staff!

Thank you for your interest in Western Governors University (WGU), the nation’s only online, competency-based university offering bachelor’s and master’s degree programs to busy adults.

If you’re interested in moving forward with your studies and earning your bachelor’s degree, WGU is here to help.

Founded by the governors of 19 U.S. states to expand access to higher education, WGU offers nationally and regionally accredited degrees in business, information technology, teacher education, and health professions.

Special Offer for RCCA Graduates and Staff

As an RCCA graduate or staff member, you’re eligible for an application fee waiver (a savings of $65). Talk to an Enrollment Counselor about how to receive this waiver.

If your institution is a member of WGU’s Community College Partnership Program, you’re also eligible for two special benefits. First, you are immediately eligible to receive a 5 percent tuition discount for the entirety of your degree program.

As a graduate or staff member of a member institution, you’re also eligible to apply for the WGU Community College Excellence Scholarship. Each scholarship is valued up to $2,000.

Find out if your community college is a member institution.
Learn more about the WGU Community College Excellence Scholarship.

Note: You may also be eligible for WGU’s numerous other scholarship offerings. Click here to learn more. (You will only be eligible to receive one scholarship in conjunction with the 5 percent tuition discount.)

WGU is affordable

“WGU is the best relatively cheap university you’ve never heard of.”
- Kathleen Kingsbury, TIME Magazine, November 17, 2008

WGU is a non-profit online university. What does this mean for you? Very affordable tuition. In fact, WGU charges less than half what other traditional and reputable online universities typically charge. WGU is also approved to offer federal financial aid to those who qualify.

Tuition
Financial Aid

WGU is competency-based

WGU’s rigorous, competency-based approach is ideally suited to self-directed learners anxious to advance their education and careers efficiently. Unlike traditional and even other online universities, WGU doesn’t award degrees based on seat time or on a certain number of required courses. Instead, you earn your degree by demonstrating your competence in your field. Through independent study, learning resources, and carefully designed assessments, you learn and master essential skills and knowledge necessary for success. Assessments take the form of essays, exams, research papers, and an assortment of projects that can be completed online.

Our competency-based approach measures your progress by successful completion of challenging assessments. If you have existing competencies from prior work and education, you may be able to draw upon this experience to complete your assessments faster and accelerate your degree program.

Learn more about WGU’s online degree programs:
College of Business
College of Information Technology
College of Health Professions
WGU Teachers College

WGU is flexible and supportive

If your schedule demands flexibility, WGU is for you. In most cases, you will access course material or study independently at the time and place you choose. You can progress at a pace that enables you to earn a college degree while managing your career, your family, and life’s other challenges. Our competency-based approach to education allows for extensive personalization of your program to fit around your busy schedule.

When you become a student, you’ll study under the guidance of a dedicated mentor who will work with and support you from enrollment to graduation. Together with your mentor, you’ll develop your personalized Academic Action Plan—a roadmap and schedule for successfully completing your program.

Learn more about the WGU experience

WGU is accredited

WGU is nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) and regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The WGU Teachers College is the first and only exclusively online provider of teacher education to receive accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). WGU’s nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

WGU is recognized

WGU was presented the 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning for 2008 by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).

This award is in recognition of WGU's achievements as the nation's first competency-based online university and its success in expanding access to higher education for adults seeking bachelor's and master's degrees.

For more information

For more information about WGU’s online degree programs, financial aid, student life, and transferring, call 1-866-225-5948 to speak with an Enrollment Counselor. Transferring is easy, and we’ll even waive your $65 application fee. Call or request more information today!