Professional Development Resources

Night Owl Network
Introducing the Night Owl Network, an exclusive professional community of WGU Night Owls from around the world! Connect with other Night Owls near and far with a variety of industry backgrounds. Give back by sharing industry insights, starting a mentorship, or giving career advice. Discover and join professional interest groups, make life-long connections, and find resources to help keep your career goals on target.

WGU Library
Even after you graduate, WGU offers alumni select access to various articles, magazines, and books on a variety of professional development and career topics.

National Society of Leadership & Success (NSLS)
The NSLS is the largest leadership honor society in the United States. Our WGU chapter was started in 2020 and is part of the national organization with 700+ chapters and over 1.4 million members. Only students that meet the membership criteria, which is based on academic progress (SAP) are invited. As of 2021, we have 3,698 members who have access to more than $500,000 in scholarships, an exclusive NSLS job board, a personalized letter of recommendation, and who learn from exceptional leaders like Barack Obama during exclusive Speaker Broadcasts.

The following associations have resources that will assist with continued professional development, self-improvement, and research:

Cloud and Systems Administration

• Cloud Computing Association
• International Association of Cloud & Managed Service Providers
• Cloud Software Association

Information Technology

• CompTIA IT Pro
• Association of Women in Computing
• Women in Technology

Data Management and Analytics

• Data Management Professionals
• Global Data Management Community
• Association for Clinical Data Management
• The Digital Analytics Association
• Association of Intelligent Information Management
• Certified IT Management, Business Data & Computer Professionals
• Data Science Association
• Black Data Processing Associates

IT & Cyber Security

• Cybersecurity Ventures
• Sans Institute
• Information Systems Security Association (SSA)
• Center for Internet Security
• Internet Security Alliance
• The Cloud Security Alliance
• Association of Executives in Healthcare Information Security
• Executive Women's Forum
• National Cybersecurity Student Association
• Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) North America Chapters

Software Development

• Association of Software Professionals
• Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Software Development Forum
• Networks and Systems Professional Association

Network Operations

• Network Professional Association
• CompTIA
• Network Computing

Open Education Consortium
This site offers an incredible number of free higher education resources. Literally dozens of universities from across the nation contribute to this initiative.

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Schools
This site offers free educational resources that aim at comprehensive coverage of all things web related. Study XML, PHP, Java Script, .NET, SQL, CSS, WML and more.

Pluralsight
WGU has partnered with Pluralsight to offer WGU alumni free access to the most-relevant learning content. Pluralsight is designed to help keep you up to date with technology and increase productivity — you will find expert-authored online courses on software development, IT ops, data science, and much more!

Employment Opportunities
For those of you who are actively engaged in a job search, visit the information technology job boards to find new career opportunities.

Employment Websites

• With the tagline, "Job Search Made Simple," SimplyHired is building the largest online database of jobs on the planet.
• Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Job Board
• Health Career Center: This website offers an extensive list of available medical jobs nationwide.
• HealtheCareers Network (HeCN) is your destination for healthcare jobs and medical jobs. Choose your career and HeCN will customize your site experience with the news, information, events, career resources, and employment opportunities that most interest you.
• HIMSS JobMine: The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) provides readers with a list of jobs available to HIM professionals.
• Whether you're searching for hospital administration jobs, allied health jobs, nursing jobs, or physician jobs, Hospital Jobs Online (HJOL) is your one-stop resource for a new career.
• Indeed.com advertises as the #1 job site worldwide for all jobs, with over 50 million unique visitors and 1 billion job searches per month.
• LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network with 200 million members in 200 countries and territories around the globe.

Professional Associations

• The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning.
• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. HIMSS represents more than 35,000 individual members, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare, government, and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 520 corporate members and more than 120 not-for-profit organizations that share its mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems.
• Meetup (Health Information Technology) brings people together in thousands of cities to do more of what they want to do in life. It is organized around one simple idea: when we get together and do the things that matter to us, we’re at our best. And that’s what Meetup does. It brings people together to do, explore, teach and learn the things that help them come alive.

Professional Development

• AHIMA Events offer idea-sparking knowledge delivered by leading health information management (HIM) experts. Attend AHIMA events and engage with the latest, career-affecting hot topics. Current meetings explore subjects like ICD-10, electronic health record (EHR) implementation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008 (ARRA), and recovery audit contractors (RACs). Look for more in the future!
• Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems' contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care.
• For more than 14 years, Health Data Management has been the leading source for news and in-depth analysis on using information technology to achieve business goals and improve the quality of care; a trusted resource for the critical knowledge that senior executives need to make the right decisions in a highly competitive market.

The following associations have resources that will assist with continued professional development, self-improvement, and research:

Teacher Organizations

National Council of Teacher of Mathematics (NCTM)
NCTM is an organization that provides support and resources to teachers of mathematics.

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
NSTA's mission is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

American Association of Physics Teacher (AAPT)
AAPT was established in 1930 with the fundamental goal of ensuring the "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching."

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
NCTE is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
ACTFL's mission statement is: "to provide vision, leadership, and support for quality teaching and learning of languages." 

National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)
NASET is the only national membership organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of special education teachers and those preparing for the field of special education teaching.

LinkedIn Learning Continuing Education Courses
Take advantage of FREE access to LinkedIn Learning through WGU for continued professional development and potential Continuing Education Units (CEUs)!

National Education Association (NEA)
NEA's mission is: "to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world."

Teachers of English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL)
TESOL's mission is "to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide."

Teacher Conferences

• NCTE Annual Meeting
• NCTM Annual Meeting
• NSTA Upcoming Conferences
• ACTFL Convention & Expo
• NCSS Conferences, Meetings, and Workshops
• TESOL Attend and Learn

Employment Opportunities
For those actively engaged in a job search, this page provides an itemized list of state teaching job opportunities, international opportunities, and positions in higher education for anyone who might be interested in positions outside of the K-12 realm.

WGU Teachers College Learning Community
This site is designed to inform and inspire stronger and smarter educator-leaders throughout their diverse career paths across the education spectrum. Browse the site for trending topics, learning resources, and professional development including badge and certificate programs.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Established in 1987, the National Board is an independent, nonprofit organization working to advance accomplished teaching for all students. Are you interested in National Board Certification?

SimpleK12
As a teacher, you know the value of consistent and lifelong learning. As your alma mater, we listened when you asked for continuing education benefits.

Placement File Information
If you need a university placement file because a school district HR office requires one, please follow these directions from the WGU Knowledge Center.

Hey Teach!
Don't miss this great resource brought to you by WGU. Hey Teach! is a digital publication for educators that offers printable materials, advice from veteran teachers, infographics, cartoons, and other cool content and resources.

LinkedIn Learning in WGU Handshake
Take advantage of FREE access to Linkedin Learning through WGU for continued professional development and potential Continuing Education Units (CEUs). LinkedIn Learning is now in Handshake. To access the system:

1. Log in to your WGU Handshake account using your WGU sign in credentials.
2. After you have logged in (or created an account) you should be directed to the article regarding this resource.  If not, select "Resources" under the "Career Center" menu at the top of the site to access all of the career-related online tools. You will find this under "Professional Development Resources."

The following associations have resources that will assist with continued professional development, self-improvement, and research:

Accounting

• American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
• Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
• Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
• National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA)

• American Statistical Association
• International Institute of Business Analysis
• Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Economics

• American Economic Association
• American Society of Health Economists
• Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management
• Association for Social Economics
• International Economic Development Council
• National Association for Business Economics

Finance

• American Association of Finance and Accounting
• American Finance Association
• Association for Financial Professionals
• Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
• Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
• Financial Management Association
• International Academy of Financial Management
• Investment Management Consultants Association
• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
• Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
• Wells Fargo Webinar Series

Human Resources & Management

• American Management Association
• Association for Talent Development
• American Staffing Association
• International Association for Human Resource Information Management
• National Black MBA Association
• Society for Human Resource Management

Insurance

• Insurance Information Institute
• National Association of Professional Insurance Agents

Marketing & Sales

• American Marketing Association
• Association of National Advertisers - Business Marketing
• Data & Marketing Association
• Digital Analytics Association
• National Association of Sales Professionals
• Sales and Marketing Executives International

Manufacturing, Production, Supply Chain

• American Production & Inventory Control Society
• Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
• Manufacturers’ Agents National Association

Retail

• National Retail Federation
• Retail Industry Leaders Association

O*NET Online
You can go to the Occupational Network to research various occupations, salary information, skills needed and available positions.

Employment Opportunities
For those of you who are actively engaged in a job search, visit the business job boards to find new career opportunities.