DURHAM — WGU North Carolina, an affiliate of the accredited online Western Governors University, has announced that the number of its cumulative graduates in the state has surpassed 5,000 and that the university has active students in all 100 North Carolina counties. WGU North Carolina was launched in October 2017 to expand access to higher education for North Carolina residents.
As of August 2021, WGU has conferred degrees to more than 5,300 North Carolinians, some of whom earned their degrees before the official launch of the North Carolina affiliate. More than 3,900 students spread out among all of North Carolina’s 100 counties are currently enrolled in one of WGU’s more than 60 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in the fields of business, information technology, K-12 teacher education, and healthcare, including nursing.
“Despite varying degrees of broadband connectivity throughout the state, it’s encouraging to see WGU North Carolina students in all 100 counties,” said Ben Coulter, Ed.D., Chancellor of WGU North Carolina. “Moreover, it serves as testament to our mission of providing affordable and accessible postsecondary education opportunities to all North Carolinians.”
“While many postsecondary schools were pivoting to online education during the pandemic, WGU had pioneered the concept of online competency-based education 24 years ago,” said former North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue, who serves on the WGU North Carolina Board of Advisors. “WGU North Carolina’s affordable and accessible degrees will help our state meet its workforce-development needs.”
Designed for working adults, WGU offers an asynchronous, competency-based model that allows students to log in and access coursework at a time convenient for them, and to accelerate at their own pace. Tuition is around $4,000 per six-month term for most undergraduate degree programs, and students can take as many courses as they and their assigned mentors are comfortable with during the term.
For more information about WGU North Carolina, visit nc.wgu.edu.
