SALT LAKE CITY- Western Governors University’s (WGU) College of Health Professions has been designated a 2021 Center of Excellence for Enhanced Student Learning and Professional Development by the National League for Nursing (NLN). The recognition is given to schools of nursing, schools within a system, and health care organizations that have achieved a level of excellence in one of four designated areas.

“Our focus at the College of Health Professions, and at Western Governors University, is on providing a high-quality competency-based educational experience for our students,” said Janelle Sokolowich PhD, MSN, RN, academic vice president and dean of the College of Health Professions. “This designation recognizes the commitment and dedication of our faculty and staff to providing a pathway for each of our nursing students to achieve their personal dreams of success.”

The College of Health Professions is one of only 10 schools and institutions in the nation to earn the NLN’s 2021 Center of Excellence for Enhanced Student Learning and Professional Development designation. The seminal leader in competency-based education for academic nursing since 2007, the school is currently educating more than 29,000 bachelor’s- and master’s-level nursing and healthcare students in an online, self-paced learning environment. In 2020-21, more than 17 percent of all Registered Nursing to Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates in the U.S. were educated by WGU’s College of Health Professions.

The National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its nearly 45,000 individual and 1,100 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations.