WGU Washington celebrates opening of Kent headquarters

Western Governors University (WGU) Washington kicked off summer with an open house last month at its new headquarters in Kent.

The online university relocated its office from Seattle’s financial district to Kent’s CenterPoint Office Park, 20435 72nd Ave. S., Suite 301, in April and spent the last couple of months customizing the new space.

The new location is convenient and more accessible than the Seattle office, said WGU Washington Chancellor Jean Floten.

“It was really exciting to have the urban vibe for five years, but when you really look at who our students are and their values, we looked at how much it would cost to come visit us to pay for parking to come visit us in downtown Seattle,” she said. “While we enjoyed being there, we thought it would be a lot more accessible to students if we had a location that wasn’t as traffic congested, wasn’t as expensive (to park) and wasn’t as hard to navigate.”

WGU Washington has about 110 employees statewide, and four permanent employees work out of the Kent office.

Western Governors University was started in 1997 by 19 governors wanting more higher education opportunities in their states. The model they developed addressed obstacles often encountered by students trying to obtain a degree, including affordability and accessibility.

WGU Washington was established five years ago when state leadership wanted the state-endorsed, not-for-profit university to have more presence in Washington.

“The whole purpose was the reach out to students who are more underserved by higher education like rural first generation students people of color but mainly mid-career working adults,” Floten said.

WGU Washington’s enrollment has increased by more than 1,000 percent to more than 9,200 full-time students, since 2011. In the past five years, more than 5,600 students have graduated. About 150 students from Kent attend WGU, and 86 have graduated from the university.

WGU offers more than 50 bachelor, master and post-baccalaureate degrees in business, information technology, education and health care.

Students pay a flat-rate every six months and can complete competencies at their own pace.

“We have this process where we pre-assess a student for this competency and we say you already know these four out of these ten,” Floten said. “You can study them again if you want but if you don’t want and you want to accelerate your learning you can go to the six you don’t know and focus on them. When you are ready, you take an assessment that covers all ten so you have to demonstrate to us that you really indeed have learned that, know that and mastered that to move on.”

Although it is online, WGU tries to connect with students in person, by hosting events such as mixers, pizza parties and annual commencement ceremonies.

“Most four-year universities are trying to figure out how to put their stuff online, Floten said. “We are working the other way.”

In April, nearly 1,900 students — including 30 from Kent — graduated from WGU Washington and about 450 participated in a ceremony at Seattle’s KeyArena.

Kent City Councilwoman Dana Ralph graduated from WGU Washington with a bachelor’s degree in 2015 and a master’s degree in 2016. She spoke at the 2015 commencement ceremony, sharing the challenges of being a mom, running a business and being in politics.

“The amount of grit that she has is pretty indicative of the student body at large,” said Jake Riddell, WGU Washington’s senior public relations manager. “She is an excellent example of the type of mid-career adult that chooses WGU.”

BELOW: WGU Washington Chancellor Jean Floten, left, presents Dan Geiger of Issaquah a diploma during an impromptu ceremony at WGU Washington’s open house last month. Geiger received his Master of Business Administration in information technology management from the online University. Heidi Sanders, Kent Reporter