Celebrating 25 Years: The WGU 2022 Annual Report
Earlier this month, WGU released its 2022 annual report. By gathering data and narratives that show the successes and challenges of the past year, we measure the progress of the university and its students and hold ourselves accountable to our mission of delivering on the promise of higher education.
Student Success Highlights
- Twenty-Five Years of Breaking Tradition. In 2022, WGU celebrated its 25th anniversary and surpassed 300,000 total graduates since the university’s founding. That’s more than 300,000 graduates who possess a measurably valuable credential that opens doors to opportunity. In fact, Gallup’s WGU 2022 Alumni Survey estimates that WGU working learners who graduated between 2017 and 2021 collectively earned over $1 billion more in 2022 than they were earning at the time of their enrollment.
- Factored Graduate Return (FGR). WGU measures student outcomes by monitoring three Key Results: on-time completion, equity in access and attainment, and return on student investment, or FGR. FGR estimates how many times a WGU degree pays for itself over the span of a graduate’s career. As of FY2020, the most recent year for which data is available, WGU graduates can expect a 23X return on their investment in a degree.
- Affordability. In 2022, the average WGU student graduated with approximately half the debt of their national peers--$14,689 vs. $28,400 respectively.
- Employer Satisfaction. In the 2022 Harris Poll Employers Study, 99% of employers say WGU graduates meet or exceed expectations in the workplace.
Features and Resources
- Video Overview. WGU leaders, including President Scott Pulsipher, created a short video overview of 2022 annual report highlights.
- Survey and Poll Results. Gallup, Harris Poll, and National Survey of Student Engagement data has been gathered in downloadable, easily shareable one-pagers.
- State-Specific Data. An interactive U.S. map links to state-specific one-pagers with information on demographics, partnerships, and more.
