LoryAnne Daugherty of Rock Port, Missouri, has received her Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction degree from Western Governors University (WGU). The online, nonprofit university held commencement ceremonies earlier this year to celebrate the recent graduation of more than 15,000 students from across the country.
WGU has recognized 8,938 undergraduate and 6,734 graduate degree recipients who have completed their degrees since January 1, 2018. Their areas of study include business, K-12 education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. The average time to graduation for those earning a bachelor’s degree was two years, four months, while the average time to degree for graduate programs was one year, seven months.
WGU pioneered competency-based education, which measures learning rather than time spent in class. Designed to meet the needs of working adults, students study and learn on their own schedules with individualized, one-to-one faculty support. They complete courses as soon as they demonstrate that they have mastered the subject matter, enabling them to move quickly through material they already know and spend more time on what they still need to learn. As a result, many WGU students are able to accelerate their studies, saving both time and money.