Western Governors University is celebrating five years in Ohio with $10,000 scholarships

When Western Governors University expanded its reach in Ohio five years ago, online higher education was available but certainly not the norm for most students.

As discussions to bring the all-online, nonprofit university to Ohio started taking root in 2017, about 2.9 million American adults were enrolled in distance-learning programs and exclusively taking online courses, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That all changed in the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of students, professors and university leaders to reassess everything and move online.

The number of undergraduate students exclusively enrolled in distance education courses skyrocketed to 7 million in 2020, a 141% increase from just three years earlier.

Where many universities scrambled to get courses online, WGU Ohio was situated to thrive, said K.L. Allen, WGU Ohio chancellor and regional director.

"COVID did a lot of horrible things, but it forced higher education to pivot," Allen said. "No university was ever created for COVID, but WGU was ready."

This month, WGU officially celebrates five years in Ohio, boasting nearly 10,000 graduates and about 5,000 students enrolled.

To celebrate its anniversary, Allen said WGU Ohio is offering $10,000 scholarships. The application deadline is June 30. New students as well as returning graduates pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree through an eligible program at the university can apply. Recipients will receive a tuition credit of up to $2,500 per term (renewable for up to four terms) for a total of $10,000 each.

The university was founded in 1997 by 19 governors of western states who wanted to make it easier for their residents to get college degrees. The average age of a WGU Ohio student is about 33, Allen said, with most students earning degrees in health care, nursing, business, teaching and information technology. A typical WGU Ohio student graduates in about 23 months.

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In WGU's competency-based approach, students pay a flat fee of about $7,500 per year and move through online courses at their own speed. If they already know the material and have developed skills through their life experiences, they can demonstrate it through a test or other assessment and move on to the next concept. Students are assigned mentors who stay with them through their entire time with the university.

That competency-based learning model was a big draw for former Gov. John Kasich, who played a driving role in making the out-of-state online school part of Ohio's state university system.

WGU Ohio's in-state designation caused a stir among some of the state's four-year public universities at the time, but Allen said the university "is not a competitor but a collaborator."

"We're not looking to attract 18-year-olds," he said.

Rather, WGU Ohio caters to adult learners who are already in a career or have families of their own looking to upskill or pivot to a new career, Allen said.

The Ohio Association of Community Colleges has a partnership with WGU Ohio that allows any student who receives an associate degree from an Ohio community college to transfer to the university. Students also receive a 5% tuition discount and access to university scholarships.

Randy Gardner, chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, said WGU Ohio's presence is helping the state's workforce become more competitive at a crucial time.

“As Ohio continues to diversify its economy and attract new cutting-edge jobs, WGU Ohio is helping address the growing need for highly skilled, credentialed workers required for today’s in-demand jobs,” Gardner said.

Pat Tiberi, president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, agreed.

“One of the most critical issues facing Ohio’s business community is the lack of skilled talent to fill open positions,” Tiberi said. “Due to advances in technology and automation, Ohio’s economy and the skills it needs are changing at an unprecedented rate and WGU Ohio is playing an important role in helping employers find the talent they need.”

Much of the attention, for obvious reasons, is going toward developments at Intel, Microsoft and Honda, Allen said. But Ohio's workforce needs go beyond new factories, he said.

"People will leave to go to Intel and Honda, and there will be holes to fill," Allen said. "That's where we come in."

In the next five years, Allen said WGU Ohio wants to deepen its existing higher education partnerships, build better relationships with the state's historically Black colleges and universities, and help keep more talent in Ohio.

"Online education, like remote work," Allen said, "is here is stay."

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: WGU celebrates five years in Ohio with $10,000 scholarships