An online degree that works with your busy schedule.
No set class times. A schedule that is truly built around your life.
We know you have a busy life and we don't think school should interrupt it. Every student comes to WGU with a unique situation—working full-time, working part-time, managing family, supporting a spouse, and more. We believe you should get to work schooling into your life, not the other way around. That's why we don't have set class-times, deadlines, or due-dates. You get to work on your courses any time, any place. Your personalized degree plan helps you see all your course requirements, and plan them out so you can stay on track to graduate. You set up your degree plan with the help of your Program Mentor, and will have regular appointments with them to ensure you're making progress.
Earn while you learn.
A flexible schedule means you can keep your current job while going to school. You can continue to earn money while you are learning, enhancing your résumé, and preparing for your future. You can do your coursework early in the morning, late at night, on weekends—any time that is convenient for you.
Flexibility means you drive your progress:
How quickly you learn.
The time you devote to studying.
How much previous knowledge you bring.
Your degree plan lays out program requirements.
It's your map to the assessments you'll need to complete and the learning resources you can use to prepare. Your degree plan includes:
- Details of your term.
- Assessment type, status, and associated learning resources.
- Access to preassessments—described in more detail in completing your assessments.
- Required completion dates—explained below.
All of the specifics will be described in detail by your Program Mentor and established during the first few weeks of your program.
Example list of course competencies.
Term enrollment.
Term enrollment is the process of choosing courses and verifying that you are enrolled for the term of study. During term enrollment, you and your Program Mentor will map out which assessments you will complete and the time frame in which you will do so by established start and end dates. Your Program Mentor will schedule at least the minimum number of competency units required for full-time enrollment (12 units for undergraduate students, 8 units for graduate students). Your on-time progress (OTP; explained further below) is based on how you set term enrollment each term.
Start and end dates.
To help you plan your progress through the term and to set a study schedule and calendar, you and your Program Mentor will set start and end dates for each course. With these dates, you can plan your preparation and see how you can accelerate or where you may need to spend more time in getting ready to demonstrate competency in an assessment area.
Common terms used at WGU.
Competency units (CUs).
Competency units or CUs are basically the same as a credit-hour in a traditional college. Because we measure competency instead of time in-class, we call them competency units rather than credits. Each WGU course is approximately 2-4 CUs and you need approximately 120 CUs to graduate with your undergraduate degree, 30-36 CUs for your graduate degree.
On-time progress (OTP).
WGU requires that students make measurable progress toward the completion of their degree programs every term. We call this on-time progress, a measure that shows you are on track and making progress toward on-time graduation. As full-time students, graduate students must enroll in at least eight (8) competency units each term, and undergraduate students must enroll in at least twelve (12) competency units each term.
Satisfactory academic progress (SAP).
Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) is particularly important for financial aid students because you must make SAP in order to maintain eligibility for financial aid. We will measure your SAP quantitatively by reviewing the number of competency units you have completed each term.