Nearly 10,000 Ohioans have earned an accredited bachelor’s or master’s degree at online-only, career-focused WGU Ohio since its affiliation with the state in 2020
Five years might seem like a long time to some. But in my world – higher education and career preparation – the past five years have passed in a flash. For much of that time, America’s colleges and universities were racing to respond to three daunting threats: the Covid pandemic, an unsettled economy, and the fast-changing needs of students preparing for 21st-century careers.
Ohio educators had an additional challenge, which was helping the state close its pervasive skills gap, a damaging lack of well-educated workers to meet the economy’s growing need for a skilled and credentialed workforce. In June 2018, five challenge-filled years ago, Ohio made an impressive step toward closing that gap by becoming the 8th state to align with Western Governors University. An accredited, nonprofit online university initiated by 19 U.S. state governors specifically to help tackle the skills gap, WGU had already pioneered an innovative learning approach and affordable tuition structure.
Now, five years after becoming Ohio’s newest accredited university, WGU Ohio can point to an impressive role in helping address the growing need for highly skilled, credentialed workers required for today’s in-demand jobs. That was apparent almost immediately after the pandemic’s first major impact on our daily lives. In January 2020, as traditional, classroom-based colleges and universities struggled to deal with classroom closures and develop their own online learning proficiencies, WGU Ohio saw a remarkable 13 percent surge in enrollment.
To me, this was solid proof that WGU Ohio’s approach to learning was meeting the needs of COVID-era students, even at a time of job losses and layoffs. The same pandemic challenges that were steering some Ohioans away from classroom-based learning were also motivating others to seek a degree or certificate in order to advance their careers or to open new opportunities when better times returned. Among these were Ohioans facing financial pressures that placed many higher-education options out of reach. Others had job and family obligations that made traditional campus-based studies impossible. As a result, WGU’s enrollment surged because our unique approach to online higher education, low flat-rate tuition costs, and broad range of financial aid are designed to meet the particular needs of today’s adult learners.
WGU Ohio applies a competency-based approach to higher education, one that allows students to take advantage of their knowledge and real-world experience in order to move quickly through material they already know. A particular focus is adult learners: professionals with work and family obligations but also a wealth of experience who are looking to advance their careers. These are Ohioans with upgraded skills and credentials who are poised to make huge new contributions where they work and, in their communities, make a better future for their families at the same time.
Today, interest and enrollment in WGU Ohio remain high, even as the pandemic itself is much less a menace. As we celebrate our fifth anniversary in the state, we’ve already seen nearly 10,000 Ohioans graduate from WGU Ohio with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in high-demand career fields such as health and nursing, business, teaching, and information technology. Currently, about 5,000 students are enrolled in our programs from all 88 counties, developing career skills and earning their degrees.
As Ohio’s economy continues to diversify with high-tech employers such as Intel, Amazon Web Services, Amgen, and others, we have an even greater need to bridge our skills gap and recover economically from the state’s Rust Belt past. In order to thrive in Ohio, employers of all types and sizes must be able to recruit more career-minded workers with the high-level skills and education that today’s in-demand careers require. At WGU Ohio, my colleagues and I are proud of the positive impact we and our workforce-ready graduates are having on our state, its employers, and our fellow Ohioans.
Dr. K. L. Allen is chancellor of WGU Ohio, the state affiliate of online, nonprofit Western Governors University.