About Graduation Rates
Every year, colleges and universities like WGU are required to submit data about our institution and our students to the federal Department of Education. This information is then posted on the federal web site, College Navigator where you can search for colleges and compare information. WGU is also required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008, to provide all students and prospective students with specific information about our institution, including the retention and graduate rates on this page.
At WGU, graduation is our goal. It’s the reason we exist: to help every student who enrolls achieve the degree that will turn dreams into realities; so we take graduation rates very seriously. You may have seen graduation rates reported for WGU, including a rate on the College Scorecard of under 20%. That’s because the College Scorecard uses Department of Education data that only counts first-time, full-time students.
In other words, the nontraditional students who make up more than 98% of WGU’s student body are not counted in the College Scorecard data. The vast majority of WGU students have previous college experience before coming to WGU. These students are not considered first-time students, so their success at WGU is not counted in the rate reported by the Department of Education through the College Scorecard.
To put it another way: The College Scorecard data excludes the very students WGU was designed to serve.
Graduate Career Success
While students come to WGU for widely different career reasons, when they graduate, they’re finding the opportunities they sought.
Advancement: According to a 2021 Harris Poll survey1 87% of WGU graduates reported they were employed in their degree field.
Employer Acceptance: When employers were asked how the WGU graduates they’d hired performed on the job, 98% said WGU graduates met or exceeded expectations. 97% said that their WGU graduates were prepared for their jobs, and 95% said that would hire another WGU graduate2.
Graduate Satisfaction: A 2021 Harris Poll revealed that 95% of WGU graduates have recommended WGU to others, compared with 80% of those who attended other schools. 95% of WGU grads said they would choose WGU again, compared with 89% of grads from other schools3.
Low Default Rates: Most WGU student borrowers are careful about their school loans and repay them in a timely fashion. WGU’s FY2018 cohort's official 3-year default rate of 3.0% is less than half the national average of 7.3%4, much lower than at many similar institutions, and has actually decreased in recent years, bucking the national trend.
1 2021 Harris Poll survey of 1,252 WGU graduates.
2 2021 Harris Poll survey of 300 employers of WGU graduates.
3 2021 Harris Poll of 1,252 WGU graduates and 2,342 national, non-WGU graduates.
4 The Institute for College Access & Success
Graduation and Transfer Rates
The overall graduation rate is also known as the “Student Right to Know” or IPEDS graduation rate. It tracks the progress of student who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking students to see if they complete a degree or certificate within 150% of “normal time” for completing the program in which they are enrolled.
WGU also reports a transfer-out rate, which is the percentage of the full-time, first-time students who transferred to another institution.
Note that, as mentioned above, WGU has around 2% of the student population which are first-time, full-time students. The majority (98%) of our students began their studies at another college or university and are not tracked for this rate. For this reporting timeframe, 305 students or 2% were counted as “full-time, first-time”.
Race/Ethnicity
Cohort
Grad Number
Percent
American Indian or Alaskan Native
2
1
50%
Asian
21
18
85.71%
Black
26
13
50%
Hispanic/Latino
22
14
63.64%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
2
2
100%
Race or Ethnicity Unknown
12
9
75%
Two or More
4
3
75%
White
216
134
62.04%
Total
305
194
63.61%
Race/Ethnicity
Cohort
Race/Ethnicity
Grad Number
Race/Ethnicity
Percent
American Indian or Alaskan Native
2
American Indian or Alaskan Native
1
American Indian or Alaskan Native
50%
Asian
21
Asian
18
Asian
85.71%
Black
26
Black
13
Black
50%
Hispanic/Latino
22
Hispanic/Latino
14
Hispanic/Latino
63.64%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
2
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
2
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
100%
Race or Ethnicity Unknown
12
Race or Ethnicity Unknown
9
Race or Ethnicity Unknown
75%
Two or More
4
Two or More
3
Two or More
75%
White
216
White
134
White
62.04%
Total
305
Total
194
Total
63.61%
Status
Cohort
Number of Grads
Percent
Male
134
71
52.99%
Female
171
123
71.93%
Total
305
194
63.61%
Status
Cohort
Status
Number of Grads
Status
Percent
Male
134
Male
71
Male
52.99%
Female
171
Female
123
Female
71.93%
Total
305
Total
194
Total
63.61%
Status
Cohort
Number of Grads
Percent
Received a Federal Pell Grant
67
32
47.76%
Received a Subsidized Stafford Loan who did not receive Pell
83
41
49.40%
Received neither a Pell Grant nor a Subsidized Stafford Loan
155
121
78.06%
Total
305
194
63.61%
Status
Cohort
Status
Number of Grads
Status
Percent
Received a Federal Pell Grant
67
Received a Federal Pell Grant
32
Received a Federal Pell Grant
47.76%
Received a Subsidized Stafford Loan who did not receive Pell
83
Received a Subsidized Stafford Loan who did not receive Pell
41
Received a Subsidized Stafford Loan who did not receive Pell
49.40%
Received neither a Pell Grant nor a Subsidized Stafford Loan
155
Received neither a Pell Grant nor a Subsidized Stafford Loan
121
Received neither a Pell Grant nor a Subsidized Stafford Loan
78.06%
Total
305
Total
194
Total
63.61%
Retention Rate
Retention rate measures the percentage of first-time students who return to WGU to continue their studies the following year.
Entering year-to-second-year retention rate for first-time (full-time) students: 79%
(Sept/2020– Aug/2021 to Sept/2021 – Aug/2022)
Continuing Education
WGU completers who have continued their educational pursuits.
In accordance with the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, WGU must make available information regarding the types of Graduate and Professional education pursuits in which graduates of WGU’s four-year degree programs have enrolled.
Sixteen percent of WGU’s four-year degree program graduates (160,339) between July 1, 1998, and April 30, 2022, went on to complete a Graduate or Professional program. Source data: National Student Clearinghouse Subsequent Enrollment and Graduation Survey
Degree Earned
Total
Percent
Doctorate
6
.02%
Master's
25,753
99.6%
Juris Doctor
6
.02%
Post-Master's
76
.30%
Post-Bacc
15
.06%
Total
25,856
100%
Degree Earned
Total
Degree Earned
Percent
Doctorate
6
Doctorate
.02%
Master's
25,753
Master's
99.6%
Juris Doctor
6
Juris Doctor
.02%
Post-Master's
76
Post-Master's
.30%
Post-Bacc
15
Post-Bacc
.06%
Total
25,856
Total
100%
WGU Baccalaureate to Graduate Program
WGU’s four-year degree program graduates who continued with WGU and earned a graduate degree.
Degree Earned
Total
Percent
Post-Bacc
15
0.06%
Endorsement
64
0.25%
Master's
25,234
99.69%
Total
25,313
100%
Degree Earned
Total
Degree Earned
Percent
Post-Bacc
15
Post-Bacc
0.06%
Endorsement
64
Endorsement
0.25%
Master's
25,234
Master's
99.69%
Total
25,313
Total
100%
Updated 10/5/22
