Preparing your workforce to thrive.
Specific skills that are directly applicable to careers.
You want to give your workforce every advantage, and we have the same goal. Here at WGU, our degrees and courses are focused on ensuring your workers gain the specific skills they will need to succeed in their careers. Directly applicable skills and knowledge ensure that students leave WGU with credentials that they can take directly into the workforce after completion. Business partners find that WGU degrees and courses help their employees get vital skills that help them enhance their organization.
Discover how workforce alignment ensures that your employees will get specific knowledge and skills that they can apply to their work immediately.
Employers.
WGU works with employers to help prepare their workforce with specific skills they need to succeed in their career. Employers are then able to see growth within their orgnaization as their employees gain new skills and credentials. WGU partnerships allow employers to collaborate with WGU to create meaningful options for their employees.
Retention.
Employee retention is critical to your business success. Offering employees continuing education options can drastically improve retention rates. Research shows that organizations that offer paths for continued learning and growth are more likely to see employees stay at the company for much longer.
Talent acquisition.
While it's important to keep top performing employees, it's also vital to attract top candidates to your organization. Continuing education opportunities help appeal to the best candidates and make them excited about what your organization can offer them.
Skill development.
Offering courses or degrees to your employees helps them develop skills they need in their career. By helping employees have opportunities to grow their skills, you show them you are invested in their progress. This benefits your organization as well by giving you personnel who have the critical skills needed to make the company a success.
Customized learning.
WGU offers customized learning that works hand-in-hand with what your organization needs. Our programs and courses are specifically designed to meet workforce needs, ensuring your employees gain actionable skills as part of their learning. Students can also customize their learning to their timeframe, ensuring your employees can continue to work full-time, fitting schooling into their work schedule.
Learning pathways.
WGU offers learning pathways to help all of your employees gain access to education. Whether they already have a degree, haven't taken any college courses, or are somewhere in between, we work with you to create a path for all employees to succeed.
Upskilling and reskilling.
Often organizations find a need to upskill or reskill employees. WGU is a perfect partner in this effort. Whatever new skills you need your employees to obtain, we offer courses and programs that are designed to prepare your employees for the needs of your organization.
"Businesses need workers who are ready to hit the ground running in their chosen fields. WGU graduates arrive on the job with the skills they need. Thanks to WGU, employers have top-flight workers ready to rise to any challenge." Lydia Nesbitt-Arronte
Borderplex Economic Alliance, El Paso, Texas
Government.
WGU is dedicated to helping state and local governments give more opportunities to their community members when it comes to education. Our state partnerships help government organizations create pathways for learning for everyone they serve.
Government relations.
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Localized.
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Economic development.
Parnterships with WGU enable government organizations to improve economic development. This happens as more individuals get vital workforce skills that prepare them to make an impact in their career. This skill development helps with economic growth and success.
Government solutions.
WGU offers higher education solutions for government oragnizations searching for state partnership opportunities. These government solutions help provide affordable higher education for individuals who are looking to gain vital skills and credentials that can benefit their career, their community, and the economy.
Policy playbook.
WGU's State Policy Playbook ensures all entities have a mutual understanding of the goals and purposes of higher education initiatives with WGU. It outlines the mission of WGU and demonstrates how our learning systems reach those goals.
College readiness.
Not every individual is ready for college right now. That's why WGU offers college readiness programs that help every student get the learning they need, ensuring they can take the next step to a college education. Government partnerships help entire communities gain access to the skills and learning they need to be prepared to take the next step in their education.
The workforce of the future.
Technology is changing the world around us every day. Here at WGU, we are committed to preparing the workforce for all the changes that are coming. We are committed to delivering courses and degrees that are directly applicable to workforce needs. Employers, organizations, and governments alike can rest assured that individuals who attend WGU graduate with all of the learning and skills they need for workforce success.
Job alignment.
Degrees at WGU are directly aligned with specific jobs and career paths, helping students be better prepared for the actual work they'll be doing every day. Specific training, hands-on experiences, experienced faculty, and additional certifications and credentials all help students get the specific education they need for their career.
Digital divide.
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Lifelong learning.
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Programs designed with the future in mind.
All of our degree programs are carefully chosen with employment and success in mind. We look to the future to create programs that are tailored to helping students be ready for whatever comes next.
College of Business
WGU's College of Business utilizes unique micro-credentials to help upskill the workforce, giving them valuable résumé boosting experiences before graduation. Job focused curriculum helps ensure graduates are ready for work.
Teachers College
The Teachers College focuses on helping students be prepared for educational careers both inside and outside the classroom. From teaching licensure to learning technology, there are all kinds of options that benefit the workforce.
College of Health
The College of Health utilizes advanced virtual technology to help students get better hands-on experience for their careers. The programs are designed to prepare students for actual patient and healthcare work and interactions.
IT College
The IT College features advanced courses and certifications that allow students to be as prepared as possible for their careers. These programs help students boost their résumé before they even graduate, enabling them to make workforce contributions right away.
About WGU.
Learn more about what makes WGU such a unique institution to partner with in your efforts to expand education and align your workforce to career needs.
Learning business model.
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Digital divide.
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Curriculum development.
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University leadership.
Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University.
Scott Pulsipher has served as president of nonprofit Western Governors University (WGU), the nation’s first and largest competency-based university, since April 2016, leading all academic, operational, and organizational functions.
Pulsipher blends a personal drive for making a difference in the lives of individuals and families through education and a passion for technology-powered innovation. At WGU, he is driving continuous innovation to improve student outcomes by focusing on rapidly advancing curriculum quality, new faculty models, data-driven learning, and a different cost model. In 2020, EdTech Digest named him one of the Top 100 Influencers in EdTech.
Before coming to WGU, Pulsipher had more than 20 years of leadership experience in technology-based, customer-focused businesses, including Amazon, Sterling Commerce (now part of IBM), and two successful startups that traverse retail, supply chain, banking, payments, and manufacturing sectors. Pulsipher holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Harvard University.
WGU Governance.
WGU is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of educators, industry leaders, and state governors. In addition, WGU continues to draw support (although no ongoing state funding) from the Governors of the Member States that were instrumental in the founding of WGU.
Board of Trustees
Dr. Charles Sorenson, Chairman
President and CEO Emeritus
Intermountain Healthcare
John W. Bluford III
President
Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute
Cole Clark
Executive Director, Higher Education Client Relations
Deloitte Services, LP
Joseph B. Fuller
Professor of Management Practice and Co-Director of the Managing the Future of Work Project
Harvard University
The Honorable Jim Geringer
Director, Policy & Public Sector, ESRI
Governor of Wyoming (1995 – 2003)
The Honorable Eric Holcomb
Governor
State of Indiana
Tammy Johns
CEO
Strategy & Talent
Lenny Mendonca
Former Chief Economic and Business Advisor
Governor of California
Talia Milgrom-Elcott
Co-Founder and Executive Director
100Kin10
The Honorable Jared Polis
Governor
State of Colorado
Scott D. Pulsipher
President
Western Governors University
David Simmons
President
Simmons Media Group
Dr. Samuel H. Smith
President Emeritus
Washington State University
Jane Swift
President and Executive Director, LearnLaunch
Former Governor of Massachusetts
Jessie Woolley-Wilson
CEO and President
Dreambox Learning
Governors of Member States
Jim Geringer, Chairman
Governor, Wyoming 1995–2003
Michael O. Leavitt, Chairman Emeritus
Governor, Utah 1993–2003
Alaska
Governor Mike Dunleavy
Arizona
Governor Doug Ducey
California
Governor Gavin Newsom
Colorado
Governor Jared Polis
Guam
Governor Lourdes Aflague Leon Guerrero
Hawaii
Governor David Ige
Idaho
Governor Brad Little
Indiana
Governor Eric Holcomb
Montana
Governor Steve Bullock
Nebraska
Governor Pete Ricketts
Nevada
Governor Steve Sisolak
New Mexico
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
North Dakota
Governor Doug Burgum
Oklahoma
Governor Kevin Stitt
Oregon
Governor Kate Brown
South Dakota
Governor Kristi Noem
Texas
Governor Greg Abbott
Utah
Governor Gary Herbert
Washington
Governor Jay Inslee
Wyoming
Governor Mark Gordon
Frequently Asked Questions.
How is WGU different from other universities?
For more than 20 years, WGU has focused on unlocking opportunities and removing barriers to quality, access, and outcomes across the education-to-opportunity lifecycle. WGU is known for its flexible learning architecture, learning support systems, and job-relevant curriculum, all of which provide a better experience for working learners. Because our programs are designed around the realities experienced by a “21st century learner,” in which work, family obligations, and life events are in constant motion, employees together with their employers see higher levels of satisfaction and better outcomes in their learning and development goals.
Do WGU employer partnerships focus on a certain employee population?
WGU’s offerings create pathways to opportunities for all employees—from frontline employees to senior leaders. Our college-readiness programs prepare employees academically, socially, and emotionally to enter or re-enter postsecondary learning. Our advanced graduate programs are geared to seasoned leaders.
Our approach is built on the concept of stackability—the ability of credentials to build on each other as part of a career-long learning loop. Stackable credentials allow a learner’s education to accumulate incremental value along the learning journey, improving access to both upskilling and reskilling opportunities.
What is the process for developing a partnership?
At WGU, we design programs that are scalable, industry relevant, and flexible with little out-of-pocket cost to employees that allow them to focus on their immediate job responsibilities while also pursuing their program.
Our approach involves an initial assessment of your organization’s learning and workforce development objectives coupled with the identification of needed career development pathways and the associated WGU programs supporting these pathways.
We have an experienced team of advisors dedicated to helping your employees find the right program for their professional goals as well as program specialists providing implementation, internal communication, and reporting and monitoring support to your organization’s learning and development division.
What organizations have we worked with, and in what industries are our graduates employed?
As digital transformation continues to accelerate the pace of change across virtually all industries, investing in the learning and development of employees is becoming a universal business imperative. An organization’s future growth potential, customer experience, service quality, and ability to innovate and thrive are now more than ever inseparably tied to the pace by which executives close the skills gap among their workforce though upskilling and reskilling.
For this reason, WGU works with organizations that span the private and nonprofit spectrum—from large retailers to large school districts, from multi-state healthcare systems to large community college systems, from local government to key financial institutions.
Here are a few of the organizations we work with:
Retail (Kroger, Best Buy); Health Care (HCA Healthcare, Sentara, University of Vermont Health Network, Providence Health & Service); Airlines (Alaska Airlines, JetBlue); State & Local Government (City of Dayton, City of Memphis, Las Vegas, State of Texas); Finance & Insurance (Nationwide Mutual Insurance, Farmers Insurance, First Merchants Bank); Community Colleges & Systems (California Community College System, Ivy Tech Community College, Kentucky Community & Technical College System ); School Districts (Cincinnati Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools)