WGU online program offers career boost for local students, scholarships

Western Governors University Missouri (WGU) is an accredited, nonprofit, online university that began in 2013 and is paving the way to success for several local, non-traditional students.
Bailey (Hixson) Mazur, a registered nurse at North Kansas City Hospital, describes herself as a 27-year-old wife and a mother of four amazing children, with a master’s degree in a profession that she loves, thanks to WGU.
“WGU is not a typical online program,” Bailey says. “I never imagined I would be able to do school online because I am the world’s greatest at procrastinating and really like lecture and hands-on learning, but I did it!”
WGU Missouri has been credited with helping individuals who couldn’t easily complete or afford a traditional college program to finally earn their degrees.
“I worked full-time while I was going to school through WGU,” says Bailey. “I also got married and raised children along the way. All of that was attainable because WGU is designed for the working parent. I can’t discredit my amazing support system from my family and friends, but my school experience was phenomenal.”
With the average student age at 36, more than 70% of WGU students come from underserved population areas or are first-generation college students, and nearly 77% work full-time while pursuing their degree. These grads are quickly seeing a difference in their lives as more career opportunities become available.
Bailey applied to WGU six months after she finished her Associate Degree in Nursing through North Central Missouri College at Trenton in July of 2015. She began at WGU in February 2016 and by June 2019, had obtained her Master of Science in Nursing, specializing in leadership and management. She did an Associate Degree in Nursing to Master of Science in Nursing bridge program, so she also obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing along the way.
WGU is competency-based and flexible.
“One of the many things that WGU offers the working individual or parent is the ability to take some time off between semesters,” says Bailey. “I was able to take three months off to plan for my wedding, get married and take a honeymoon; but after that three months, I got right back into it.”
WGU Missouri faculty members serve as mentors, working one-on-one with students, offering guidance, support, and individualized instruction.
“WGU is very user friendly and they have excellent support through all of their departments, whether it’s the course instructor, financial, technical, writing, or the WGU library,” says Bailey. “The most helpful part going to school through WGU is that they assign you a student mentor when you first get accepted. The mentor is someone who has completed the exact same program as you are and therefore has firsthand knowledge of the workload. I had my student mentor, Jessica, all three years. We spoke every one or two weeks about resources to use, progress made, difficulties experienced, goals for the next week, and what was to come next. I can honestly say, she was a major support and motivator to get my degree.”
The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.
When the university was founded, less than 500 Missouri students were enrolled in a Western Governors University degree program. Since then, the university has grown year after year, which is significant considering enrollment at many other universities has been declining or merely holding steady in recent years. WGU Missouri currently has more than 3,270 enrolled students, an increase of more than 16 percent over last year. The university has conferred degrees to 3,704 graduates, a third of whom graduated in the past 12 months. Across the state, WGU Missouri employs 217 staff members and has awarded more than $2.9 million in scholarships. WGU has built partnerships with more than 75 businesses, institutions, and organizations in effort to create new opportunities for their employees to pursue higher education at an even lower cost and advance their careers.
Bailey adds that thanks to WGU and its accreditation, she is yet again furthering her education through another school to become a Nurse Practitioner.
“Going to school through WGU was a great experience and I would recommend it for anyone looking to further their education,” Bailey says.
Scholarships offered
In celebration of WGU Missouri’s 7th anniversary, the nonprofit, fully accredited, online university is offering 50 scholarships valued at $7,000 each to new students interested in furthering their education.
To be considered for WGU Missouri’s 7th Anniversary Scholarship, new and prospective students must be Missouri residents, be admitted to WGU Missouri, and submit a scholarship application by Dec. 31, 2020. Scholarships will be awarded based on the student’s academic record, previous college experience, readiness for online study, current competency, as well as other considerations. The scholarship will be applied at the rate of $1,750 per six-month term, renewable for up to four terms toward WGU’s already-low tuition of approximately $3,500 per six-month term for most programs. For more information about this scholarship, visit missouri.wgu.edu/7th.
About WGU Missouri
WGU was stablished in 2013 through a partnership with nationally recognized Western Governors University.
More information is available at missouri.wgu.edu or by calling 855.948.8493.