Western Governors University Announces Investment in WGU Texas

Online university allocates part of grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help expand access to competency-based higher education in the state

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WGU Texas, texas.wgu.edu, is one of three state subsidiaries that will be supported by a $4.5 million grant to Western Governors University from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The overall grant is aimed at leveraging Western Governors University's state subsidiaries in Texas, Indiana, and Washington to expand access to affordable, competency-based higher education. The investment in Texas will help support development and outreach for WGU's new subsidiary, WGU Texas.

Established August 3 by Governor Rick Perry with support from Texas Higher Education Chairs Senator Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Dan Branch, WGU Texas is a subsidiary of nationally recognized, nonprofit Western Governors University. Open to all qualified Texas residents, WGU Texas offers 50 online bachelor's and master's degree programs in Business, Information Technology, Teacher Education, and Health Professions, including Nursing.

Designed to meet the needs of working adults, WGU Texas uses a competency-based learning model, which allows students to advance by demonstrating their knowledge and abilities, rather than accumulating credit hours. Students can take advantage of prior education and experience to move quickly through course material they already know, allowing them to focus on new learning. In addition, students may enroll at the beginning of any month and terms are six months long with no limit on the number of courses a student may complete per term. Tuition is affordable, less than $6,000 per year for most programs. For more information, go to texas.wgu.edu.

"College students have changed, and it's time higher education made some changes to keep up with them," said Hilary Pennington, Director of Postsecondary Success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "The foundation is pleased to support Western Governors University because they have a strong track record of providing a high-quality, affordable, and flexible college experience that meets the needs of today's students.  In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to support students who are juggling jobs and families while trying to make a better life for themselves."

About WGU Texas

WGU Texas is a competency-based, online university created to expand access to higher education for Texas residents. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of Business, Education, Information Technology, and Healthcare Professions, including Nursing.

Established through a partnership with nationally recognized and accredited Western Governors University, WGU Texas is open to all qualified Texas residents. Nonprofit and self-sustaining on tuition of less than $6,000 per year for most programs, WGU Texas receives no ongoing funding from the state.

Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is regionally accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and nationally accredited through the Distance Education and Training Commission (DETC). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

The university has earned the support of more than 20 leading corporations and foundations. They include institutions such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, AT&T, Dell, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, the Lilly Endowment, Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, Qwest, SunGard Higher Education, and Zions Bank. For more information, visit the WGU Texas website texas.wgu.edu or call 1-877-214-7011.

Follow WGU Texas:
http://www.facebook.com/WGUTexas
http://www.linkedin.com/company/western-governors-university
http://www.youtube.com/user/WesternGovernorsUniv

SOURCE WGU Texas