Enrollment Checklist: It's Easy to Get Started

2. Request and submit official transcripts.

If you have prior college experience, your transcripts will help with admissions decisions for some programs, and for transfer credit evaluation. At WGU our goal is to award you with as much transfer credit as possible, which reduces your time to graduation and the cost of obtaining your degree. To do so, we need to review official transcripts for all possible transferable credit you have earned at a college or university, or via college-level testing (e.g., AP, CLEP, Dante [DSST], etc.).

If you have not attended college before, please submit a final, official high school transcript.

At WGU we are committed to decreasing the barriers to starting school. That is why we are working with a large group of education institutions to request and gather transcripts for you, free of additional fees and time.

The process is simple—during the application you will:

1. Add in all the information about your previous education institutions.

2. The free transcript service will let you know if any of your institutions do not participate in their program. If an institution does not participate, you will need to request that transcript independently. Currently several thousand institutions do participate in the free transcript service, but there may be some that do not.

3. You will then be asked if you would like to use the free transcript service to gather transcripts from previous institutions.

4. You will check “yes” if you are interested in this service.

5. For participating institutions, your transcripts will be gathered and submitted to WGU with no additional work or cost on your end.

6. If you opt out or have a previous institution that does not participate in the  free transcript service, you will need to arrange to have your official transcripts sent to WGU. This can be done electronically or by mail. Plan ahead, because it can take a few weeks to process your request. Transcripts should be submitted by the first day of the month before your intended start date.

• If your prior school offers official electronic (secure PDF) transcripts, this will be your fastest method. Request that a copy be sent to: transcriptinfo@wgu.edu
• If mailing a hard copy is the only option offered, have your official transcript sent to:

Western Governors University
ATTN: Transcripts Department
4001 South 700 East, Suite 300
Salt Lake City, UT 84107-2533

3. Create your WGU student account and apply for financial aid.

Once you have applied to WGU, you’re ready to create your WGU account. This will give you access to the WGU Student Portal, which you will need to access in order to complete the financial aid process and/or make your first tuition payment.

4. Complete your Commit to Start Documents.

Once your official transcripts have been received, an admission decision will be made. At this point you can complete a self-guided, web-based experience or speak with an EC to submit your Commit to Start documents. This process will finalize your enrollment and officially set your program start date— it will likely take 20-30 minutes.

5. Satisfy your first tuition obligation.

Your first tuition payment is due by the 22nd of the month prior to your intended start date. We strongly encourage you to make tuition arrangements or finish the financial aid process sooner.

6. Complete your orientation.

Once you have completed the steps on this checklist, you will be ready to begin your WGU orientation. This course is designed to help you:

• Understand WGU’s competency-based approach to education.
• Identify your learning style.
• Gain skills in online research.
• Review time management and study skills.
• Gain practice using online communication tools such as threaded discussions and chat.
• Connect with peers and mentors online.

7. Begin your personalized WGU experience.

During orientation, you will begin working with your Program Mentor to draft your individualized degree plan. This plan charts your path toward earning your degree. It will include timelines, benchmarks, and learning opportunities.