Employer Partners Value Competency-Based Education
Across the country, WGU has partnered with employers to offer their employees access to education pathways and scholarships that can lead to better productivity, retention and career growth.
Employer partners, both big and small, appreciate that WGU is accredited, flexible, affordable and offers designated partner scholarships to qualifying employees. One local partner that greatly values its partnership with WGU is Atrium Health Navicent Peach in Byron, Georgia.
A Tradition of Service and Excellence
Originally opening in 1953 and moving into a new facility in 2013, Atrium Health Navicent Peach is a critical-access, nonprofit hospital that serves Peach County and surrounding communities. The hospital is part of Atrium Health Navicent, which is itself part of Advocate Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States.
The facility provides a range of inpatient and outpatient services, including 24/7 emergency care, medical surgical inpatient care, surgical services, endoscopy, rehabilitation/swing bed services and diagnostic imaging. It is licensed as a critical access hospital, supporting rural health care access in central Georgia.
Chief Nursing Officer Jill Hancock feels that she owes her nursing career to WGU. She earned her BSN from WGU in 2014, which laid the foundation for her progression into a nursing director role. She earned her MSN in 2021 just as the CNO position became available. “I would not have been able to advance to this role without the education and preparation I received through WGU,” she states. “WGU fully prepared me for the responsibilities of executive nursing leadership and helped shape me into the leader I am today.”
Under Hancock’s leadership, Atrium Health Navicent Peach became the very first Advocate Health facility to achieve ANCC Pathway to Excellence designation, and she was honored to be named the 2024 ANCC Pathway Nurse of the Year, Nurse Leader.
Competency-Based Education
Hancock says there are about six WGU graduates working at Atrium Health Navicent Peach and that she would absolutely hire more.
WGU’s degree and certificate programs are built on a competency-based education model, meaning graduates complete their degrees only after demonstrating mastery of defined, job-relevant competencies, not time-based coursework. For workforce planning, this creates a more predictable baseline of clinical, analytical and leadership capability among new hires, reducing uncertainty around entry-level readiness and remediation needs.
Because WGU’s healthcare programs are mostly online with structured clinical components, they are accessible to working healthcare staff seeking advancement (e.g., RN to BSN, BSN to MSN, healthcare administration). This flexibility supports internal career mobility, succession planning and retention strategies, allowing organizations to grow leaders from within without removing staff from the workforce.
Hancock believes that WGU represents a scalable talent source that emphasizes demonstrated competence, clinical exposure and workforce alignment. She adds, “Graduates are prepared to enter practice with verified skills, supporting faster role readiness, reduced onboarding burden and stronger internal pipelines for future leadership and specialty roles.”
“WGU’s impact on my professional journey has been profound and lasting,” Hancock reflects. Atrium Health Navicent Peach’s partnership with WGU can help facilitate similar journeys for all their employees.
Learn more about strategic partnerships with WGU here.
