WGU a Top Producer of Minority Nurses

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Western Governors University (WGU) awards the fourth-largest number of bachelor's degrees in nursing and the ninth-largest number of master's degrees in nursing to minorities in the United States, according to Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Diverse's report identifies the top 100 minority health science degree producers in the U.S. for African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, and Native American students. 

Online and nonprofit, WGU's College of Health Professions has awarded nearly 10,000 degrees in nursing since its founding and currently has more than 11,000 enrolled students across all 50 states, 23% of whom are minorities.

"WGU is committed to providing access to a high-quality, career-boosting education to professionals nationwide—particularly would-be students who have not been traditionally well served by the higher-education system," said Dr. Jan Jones-Schenk, National Director of the College of Health Professions at WGU. "A diverse workforce of highly educated, dedicated nurses is a crucial component of our national goal to improve healthcare and produce better patient outcomes."  

Of WGU's more than 55,000 students, 72% are classified as underserved in at least one of the following categories:

• 27% ethnic minority
• 40% first-generation college students
• 28% low income
• 16% living in rural areas 

WGU's BSN and MSN degree programs, like all of WGU's online, accredited, competency-based degree programs, were designed for working adults looking to advance their careers in an educational setting that fits their busy lives. WGU allows students to study and complete assessments on their own schedules, often at an accelerated pace. Designed to meet the needs of working adults, competency-based learning allows students to advance through their programs as soon as they're able to demonstrate mastery of the material—competencies that are defined by academic and industry experts. Because WGU measures learning rather than time and charges tuition at a flat rate per six-month term, regardless of how many courses are completed, professionals with knowledge and skills from work and previous college experience can often move through their programs more quickly, saving both time and money.

Learn more about WGU's College of Health Professions »

About Western Governors University
Established in 1997 by a bipartisan group of U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, WGU has been recognized by the White House as what works in post-secondary education. The online university has more than 55,000 students and 42,000 graduates in all 50 states and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and its nursing degree programs accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*). WGU has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies and featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. 

WGU has earned the support of a number of leading corporations and foundations, including AT&T, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lilly Endowment, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, SunGard Higher Education, and Zions Bank. More information is available at www.wgu.edu or by calling 866.225.5948.

*Western Governors University offers nursing programs that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 5380, Washington DC 20036, 202-877-6791).

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Contact for media inquiries: Contact for enrollment information:
Joan Mitchell – VP of Public Relations 866-225-5948
801-428-5463 www.wgu.edu
[email protected]

SOURCE Western Governors University