Grace Holdreith, a resident of St. Louis, recently graduated from WGU Missouri with a Master of Science in Management and Leadership. On Saturday, June 2, Holdreith was among 1,500 graduates who participated in WGU’s commencement ceremony in Las Vegas, Nev., as WGU continues its commitment to providing opportunities for personal interaction among its online student body, while growing the number of college graduates across the country.
For the past four years, Holdreith has worked as an enrollment manager for WGU Missouri. She began working on her master’s degree in September 2016. Before joining WGU, Holdreith served as a 2nd grade classroom teacher and a swim instructor, but she enjoys the experiences that come from being part of a fun and engaged staff at the innovative university. “It’s hard to say I ever have a standard day,” she said. “I really love the excitement that comes from that.” Between mixers, events and graduations, Holdreith felt an instant sense of community amongst everyone at WGU Missouri and was surprised to have such a closely bonded group from an online institution.
The graduates participating in the recent commencement celebration came from 47 states, the District of Columbia, military installations overseas and Canada and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in 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. The average age for those graduating is 38 years old.
WGU pioneered competency-based education, which measures learning rather than time spent in a classroom. Designed to meet the needs of working adults like Holdreith, 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 Missouri students can accelerate their studies, saving both time and money.
About WGU Missouri
WGU Missouri is a competency-based, online university created to expand access to higher education for Missouri residents. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. WGU Missouri faculty members provide one-on-one guidance, support, and instruction.
Established through a partnership with nationally recognized Western Governors University, WGU Missouri is open to all qualified Missouri residents. The university is nonprofit and self-sustaining on flat-rate tuition of about $6,000 per year for most programs.
Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*).
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