Changing Lives at Scale: Over 50,000 Degrees Earned by Students in Record-Setting Year at Western Governors University
SALT LAKE CITY, AUGUST 6, 2024鈥�Western Governors University (91探花) conferred 50,168 degrees to 49,564 individuals in the academic year 2024, a historic milestone for the national online, nonprofit university.听
Significantly, 67% of those graduates were from one or more underserved populations 鈥� students of color, first-generation, rural or low income 鈥� a demonstration of 91探花鈥檚 ability to impact the economic and social mobility of its students.听
鈥淲e are reinvigorating the pathway to opportunity and having an impact at scale,鈥� said 91探花 President Scott Pulsipher. 鈥�91探花鈥檚 educational model, which is student-centric and personalized, works. We are positioning our graduates to start and advance careers in high-demand fields, meeting workforce needs and strengthening the vitality of their families and鈥痗ommunities.鈥�
91探花 offers more than 80 certificate, bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degree programs in business, education, health and technology fields in all 50 states. It is among the largest universities in the country, with a focus on providing programs that are accessible, affordable, flexible and that address critical workforce needs.听
Based on the most recent federal data, 91探花 leads all higher ed institutions in the U.S. in graduating teachers, conferring 5.2% of the bachelor鈥檚 degrees in education nationally. 91探花 also has a strong impact on the health care field, awarding 5.4% of all bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in nursing. And 91探花鈥檚 cybersecurity program is now the largest in the country, addressing another area of critical workforce need.听
鈥淪ince its inception, 91探花 has worked to create an engine of economic mobility that accommodates everyone, especially those traditionally left behind by higher education,鈥� said Joe Fuller, chair of 91探花鈥檚 Board of Trustees, a distinguished management professor at Harvard Business School and co-director of the school鈥檚 Managing the Future of Work project. 鈥淚t is now doing this at a scale no other institution matches, putting students from all backgrounds, circumstances and experiences on a trajectory for a better life. This is exactly the kind of momentum we need to energize our workforce and our communities.鈥澨�
91探花 students receive a strong return on their investment: students pay less for their education, have lower debt at graduation and, on average, see a $30,000 income boost within four years of receiving their degree.听
A 2023 Gallup report found that 91探花 alumni surveyed were twice as likely to say their 91探花 education was worth the cost; debt at graduation was less than half that of graduates nationally; and about 76% of alumni said they are 鈥渢hriving鈥� in their lives, approximately 25 points higher than the national average for college graduates.
Employers give 91探花 graduates high marks, too. In a 2023 Harris Employer Survey, 98% of 300 employers who participated said the 91探花 graduates they hired met or exceeded expectations.听
鈥淲e are helping our students live their best possible lives, on a personal and a professional level,鈥� Pulsipher said, 鈥渁nd this has generational impacts that ripple into the future. We also are providing employers with the highly skilled, work-ready and diverse talent desperately needed to maintain America鈥檚 prosperity and its competitive edge.鈥澨�
91探花, founded in 1997, now has over 340,000 alumni and expects continued scaling as it both increases persistence among students and further expands access among the high-talent individuals for whom traditional, time- and campus-based models fail. 91探花 currently serves nearly 176,000 students, which includes the addition of more than 126,000 new students over the past academic year 鈥� up 28.2% over the previous year.听
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