WGU Announces No Tuition Increase for the 8th Straight Year

SALT LAKE CITY, June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Western Governors University (WGU) announced today that it will not increase tuition or fees for another year. The nonprofit, online university has held tuition flat since 2008, bucking the trend of annual increases by other colleges and universities across the country. WGU's tuition is charged at a flat rate of $2,890 per six-month term for most programs, regardless of the number of courses completed. And, while the average cost of textbooks at other universities is nearly $1,200 per year, the university's resource fee of $145 per term includes access to e-textbooks for all courses—as well as a host of other innovative, technology-based learning resources.

"WGU is committed to keeping our tuition affordable, and as a university that receives no outside funding for our operations, we continue to find ways to increase efficiencies and control costs," said WGU Vice President of Enrollment and Admissions Daren Upham. "Our intention is to hold tuition steady for the next five years."

Because WGU's innovative learning model, called competency-based education, allows students to advance as soon as they demonstrate mastery of course materials, many students accelerate their progress toward a degree, saving both time and money. The average time to complete a bachelor's degree at WGU is less than 3 years, so the average cost for a bachelor's degree is about $18,000.

In addition, a degree from WGU pays for itself faster. A study conducted by Gallup for WGU found that WGU students experienced an average increase in income of $10,400 in the first one to three years after graduation, making the return on investment of a WGU degree about 2 years.

WGU is committed to helping students graduate with less debt. In addition to affordable tuition and fees, WGU has initiated a program called the Responsible Borrowing Initiative. This program encourages students to borrow only what they need and provides detailed information on loan payments. In less than two years since the program was implemented, student borrowing at WGU has decreased by more than $125 million, a reduction of 29 percent.

For more information about WGU's programs and tuition, go to www.wgu.edu/tuition2015.

WGU offers more than 50 accredited bachelor's, post-baccalaureate, and master's degree programs in the high-demand fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. All programs are online and competency-based, designed to make a respected college degree accessible and affordable for busy adults.

About WGU 
Recognized by President Obama as an innovative university that "awards credits based on learning, not seat time," Western Governors University is the only university in the U.S. offering accredited, competency-based bachelor's and master's degree programs at scale. Named one of  Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies for 2013," WGU has been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered," NBC Nightly News, CNN's "Schools of Thought," and in The New York Times.

The leader and pioneer in competency-based education, WGU has more than 57,000 students and 43,000 graduates in all 50 states. The online, nonprofit university is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. WGU's Teachers College is the first exclusively online provider of teacher education to receive accreditation for its teacher licensure programs from NCATE, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The WGU bachelor's and master's nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*), and its B.S. in Health Informatics is accredited by CAHIIM (Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education).

The university has earned the support of more than 20 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).

Follow WGU:
http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university
http://twitter.com/wgu
http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv
http://google.com/+wgu
http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml

Contact for media inquiries:
Joan Mitchell – VP of Public Relations
801-428-5463
[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:
866-225-5948
www.wgu.edu

SOURCE Western Governors University