Nursing School Enrollment at Western Governors University Tops 1,000

WGU's CCNE-Approved Nursing Programs Have Doubled in One Year

SALT LAKE CITY, April 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Enrollment in Western Governors University's competency-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs in nursing passed the 1,000-student mark this month, growing by more than 100% since March of 2009. The six bachelor's and master's degree programs in nursing, which earned accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) last year, are on track to continue this phenomenal growth through the rest of 2010.

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WGU's flexible and affordable online nursing degree programs are designed to meet the needs of working nurses. Rather than attending traditional classes and earning credit hours, students are required to demonstrate their knowledge and competency by writing papers, completing assignments, and taking exams. Degree requirements have been developed in collaboration with healthcare industry experts to ensure that nursing graduates are skilled in patient care, nurse education, or nurse leadership. Each student is assigned a mentor, who acts as a coach and guide throughout the degree program. Tuition for WGU's nursing programs is $6,500 per year (with the exception of the B.S. in Nursing, Prelicensure), and terms are six months in length and can start the first of any month. Students work with their mentors to develop an academic schedule that fits their lives and schedules.

"WGU's nursing programs are growing so rapidly because they address the needs of working nurses who want to advance their careers by advancing their education," said Mary Anne Rea-Ramirez, WGU's Director of Nursing Programs. "There's a growing shortage of nurses in the U.S., and WGU is helping to address this shortage by making a quality nursing education more affordable and accessible."

WGU's College of Health Professions offers six nursing degree programs as well as a B.S. in Health Informatics and an M.B.A. in Healthcare Management. Programs include:

• B.S. Nursing (RN to BSN online)
• B.S. Nursing (Prelicensure, limited availability in CA and TX)
• B.S. Health Informatics
• M.S. Nursing—Education (for RNs with BSNs)
• M.S. Nursing—Leadership and Management  (for RNs with BSNs)
• M.S. Nursing—Education (RN to MSN Option)
• M.S. Nursing—Leadership and Management  (RN to MSN Option)
• M.B.A. Healthcare Management

For more information, go to http://www.wgu.edu/nursing_programs or call 1-866-225-5948 (866-CALL-WGU).

About Western Governors University (WGU)

"[WGU is] the best relatively cheap university you've never heard of."– TIME magazine

Recently featured on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, WGU is the only university in the U.S. offering competency-based degree programs and the only non-profit, fully online university in the country. WGU offers degree programs in Business, Education, Information Technology, and Healthcare Professions, including Nursing. Since its inception in 1997, WGU has grown into a national institution, serving more than 19,000 students in all 50 states.  

WGU is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). WGU's Teachers College is the first and only exclusively online provider of teacher education to receive accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). WGU nursing programs have been accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

The university has earned the support of more than 20 leading corporations and foundations. They include institutions such as AT&T, BearingPoint, Dell, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, HCA, Microsoft, Oracle, Qwest, SunGard Higher Education, Sun Microsystems, and Zions Bank. More information is available at www.wgu.edu.

SOURCE Western Governors University