Talk:Western Governors University

message: The contention that classes can only be added one at a time and existing classes must be completed first is inaccurate.  When I was enrolled at WGU I frequently added multiple classes at a time, and there was no requirement that everything else be finished first.  The following is from the WGU student handbook regarding "Satisfactory Academic Progress" which lays out the minimum requirement for course load:
Enrolled Competency Unit Requirements
Undergraduate students must enroll in at least 12 competency units and graduate students must enroll in at least 8 competency units each term. Students receive a mark of Pass or Not Passed on their permanent academic record for any courses of study for which they enroll in a term, regardless of whether they attempt an assessment. Marks of Not Passed are counted as units that are failed and, as such, are counted against satisfactory academic progress.  A grade of Pass indicates that the student has demonstrated competency at a grade equivalent of “B” or better.
Maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress
SAP is evaluated at the end of every term. To maintain SAP, students must pass a minimum of 67% of the competency units for which they enroll in a given term.  They also must maintain an overall minimum cumulative pass rate of 67% for all competency units for which they enrolled. Students are prohibited from receiving federal financial aid for transferring or enrolling in more than 150% of the number of competency units required in their current academic program.
I couldn't find any reference in the student handbook regarding adding classes during a term, so I can only speak from my personal experience.   —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.238.13.4 (talk) 13:55, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Student Paced Learning

message: I have removed the "" as the page been updated and it is no longer written like an advertisement. (Preceding unsigned comment added by somebody else, not Jerodd)
I've placed the tag back, since the article does still feel like an advertisement. The article has no criticism of WGU yet has plenty of laudatory praise. Most of the links at the bottom are to WGU itself. The article also has sweeping claims. I'll be adding needs citation, etc. links shortly. Joshua (talk) 23:15, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I will proceed to remove it.  First off, criticism sections are to be avoided in articles (this gives the impression of bias AGAINST them).  The entire article should be written neutrally.  Commenting on the fact that they have specific courses, awards, or accreditations is not unfairly laudatory.  If there is relative, negative information it should be included likewise.  So if you know of any verifiable, third-party sources that have this type of info, please feel free to add it. Wikiwikikid (talk) 20:52, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Removing the <nowiki>{{Advert}}</nowiki> tag

message: ok folks, here what I have done so far, as of jan 06, 09
* I added a photo for the university 
* I fixed the Faculty & Staff counter 
* added complete new sections: Academic offerings, Learning Environment, Competency-Based Learning, Rankings and reputation, explain University Accreditation in details
Please help improving this article by giving a better definition for the University.
Best regards  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.123.170.34 (talk) 04:57, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: updates

message: Wikipedia is not an appropriate place to list all the degrees a school offers. The school's web site and marketing materials are the place for that. In this article it is more appropriate to list degree areas, rather than the dozens of specific degrees --Utahredrock 14:56, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Don't list specific degrees here

message: The actual date of NCATE accreditation came at their fall meeting on October 21 or 22nd, 2006. The NCATE press release is dated 10/31 refering to that decision made over a week earlier. The WGU press release came out in early November, after NCATE's. --Utahredrock 18:24, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: The NCATE accreditation

message: I duplicated the entry, as I searched on "Western Governor's University" and recieved no hits. I deleted my entry, and added the content to this entry. Nobuddy  —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 15:32, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Comment moved

message: The references in this article are a mess and could use some cleanup when somebody has the time. 
The good news, however, is that there are plenty of them.--Utahredrock (talk) 13:38, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Article references need work 

message: The opening line as of 7/15/08 seems problematic, even though it's sourced. What is "adult education?" It is not clear in that sentence. The term links to a separate Wikipedia article which itself seems too broad to accurately categorize WGU and WGU's students.
Somebody should re-write/clarify this.--Utahredrock (talk) 05:00, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Specialty of adult education 

message: As of 7/16/08 I cut out the following from the lead:
. . . specializing in adult education.
*http://www.adultlearn.com/western-governors-university.htm, 
*http://www.sloan-c-wiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Western_Governors_University_-_Strategies_for_Mentoring_Online_Adult_Learners_in_a_Competency-Based_Degree_Program, 
*http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=783685
I haven't checked, but suspect some of those might be good references. Calling what WGU does "adult education" as stated above, is just too misleading.--Utahredrock (talk) 16:21, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Removed for now

message: The 2nd paragraph as of 7/15/08 begins with "WGU grants degrees"
This should be rewritten with more clarity, but should still retain brevity in summarizing the offerings of this school. Future editors need to refrain from listing all degrees, which happened on this page at least once before.
It may want to say something like "WGU offers bachelor's and master's programs, teacher licensure, and other teaching certificates" or something along those lines. In other words an editor needs to be more specific without listing every program/degree. Utahredrock (talk) 05:06, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  WGU grants degrees 

message: Since WGU is so unique in its approach to higher ed it seems a longer treatment on what competency-based ed means at WGU would be useful. 
How has WGU been a pioneer in this area?
What external links are relevant to competency-based ed?
A separate and even longer article on competency-based ed in Wikipidia would be good too. There may already be something (probably is).--Utahredrock (talk) 06:51, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  A new competency-based section? 

message: The tag is correct—the article presently reads like an advertisement.  While this is often true for articles about universities, it seems especially blatant in this case.  I suggest that the following passages or sentences be deleted or modified (please discuss on a case-by-case basis):
* from paragraph 2 of intro: "This innovative approach allows students to focus on learning what they need to learn..." "Innovative" and "focus on what they need to learn" are POV. Suggest delete passage.
* from paragraph on aims: "WGU offers an affordable higher education opportunity...."  Replace with "WGU aims to offer...."
* from paragraph on aims: "the University focuses on the needs of individuals...."  Replace with "the University aims to focus...."
* from section on Teachers College: "the WGU Teachers College offers NCATE-accredited, competency-based teacher licensure and master's degree programs designed to produce highly-qualified teachers—teachers who are prepared to meet state and national teaching standards and be in compliance with No Child Left Behind (NCLB)."  Sounds like an advertisement.  Suggest delete except for the part about accreditation.
* from section on online learning and mentoring:  "Unlike other online schools, each student at WGU is assigned...." Comparison to other schools is irrelevant.  Suggest delete "unlike other online schools".
* from section on online learning and mentoring:  "Prospective students should be aware that while they will be able to choose when to work on their studies, degree programs at WGU require self-motivation and are rigorous and challenging."  Advice is inappropriate for an encyclopedia article, and "require self-motivation and are rigorous and challenging" is POV advertising-style copy and not encyclopedia-appropriate.  Suggest delete sentence.
* from section on online learning and mentoring: "When considering adding additional courses, students should keep in mind that processing recent test results, getting a new course added with the assistance of a mentor, and requesting and being approved for an exam all slow the process down somewhat, reducing a student's total available time to devote to any new class."  Advice to the student is irreelevant for an encyclopedia article.  Suggest delete entire sentence.
* from section on competency-based learning: "Colleges and universities traditionally award credit for classroom hours attended...."  This is false; they award credit for a passing grade in a course, based on the same competency-based criteria that this article ascribes to WGU: exams and marked assignments.  From what I can gather from the article, what sets WGU apart is its self-paced nature; if that is correct, the article should mention that explicitly.  Suggest delete indicated passage.
* from section on competency-based learning: "As an online institution that provides its students the convenience of studying and completing coursework outside the classroom...."  POV advertising copy, not appropriate for an encyclopedia.  Suggest delete passage.
* from the section on accreditation: "WGU reports that, in a recent survey of 80 employers, 95% of employers rate WGU graduates preparation for the work force as equal to or better than graduates of other universities, and of the student/graduate population surveyed, 98% would recommend WGU to others."  The citation given is WGU itself, so this is a primary source.  WP: Primary source says "Any interpretation of primary source material requires a reliable secondary source for that interpretation. A primary source may only be used to make descriptive statements that can be verified by any educated person without specialist knowledge."  Since this passage from the article cannot be independently verified, and since it has nothing to do with the topic of this section (accreditation), I suggest the passage be deleted.
* from the section on affordability: "While both traditional and online universities across the country have increased tuition in 2010 by as much as 8%,...."  Mentioning "as much as 8%" instead of "as little as x%" is POV. It's also irrelevant to an article about WGU.  Suggest delete.
* from the section on affordability: "WGU has announced that it will continue to buck the trend by not increasing tuition through the remainder of 2010."  Advertising copy.  Suggest replace with "WGU announced on  [give date and citation] that it will not increase tuition through the remainder of 2010."  Or better yet, delete passage since as soon as 2011 comes it will be out of date anyway.
* from the section on affordability: "This is comparable to tuition for three semesters at many state-subsidized universities where tuition covers less than half the true cost of education."  A vague (which universities?) and unsourced comparison not based on the average university. It's advertising copy, and irrelevant to an encyclopedia article.  Suggest delete.
* from the section on affordability: "Perhaps more importantly from a student perspective, WGU’s competency-based degrees allow well-qualified students to complete their education and graduate more quickly, and therefore less expensively, than traditional systems that insist on prerequisites and a certain number of credit hours regardless of the student’s background."  Again, this passage is basically advertising copy having the effect of putting WGU in a favorable light, rather than just reporting the facts.  Suggest delete.
I believe WGU will still come across as an impressive university if the article just reports the facts in encyclodedic fashion and lets the reader form his or her own conclusions.  75.183.96.242 (talk) 17:33, 22 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: NPOV suggestions

message: This entry still has NPOV problems. The page still reads like a viewbook or advertisement for WGU. Shortening the article to just essential facts may reduce NPOV problems. For example, the discussion of the nonpartisan or bipartisan nature of the governors of the participating states may be true, but it really doesn't signify anything important in this entry. Indeed, it's unclear whether the governors' involvement is much more than ex officio. I agree entirely with the above comment--this is an advertisement, does not take a NPOV, and should be edited.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.190.82.130 (talk) 03:54, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: It's not just that it has positive things written about it, it's the way in which those things are presented. For example, the accreditation section explains how regional accreditation is the 'gold standard'  and then compares this school with a number of other, better recognized, schools on that basis. There shouldn't be a need to explain any of this at all. A simple declaration that it is regionally accredited should be all that is needed. Any additional statements concerning what regional accreditation is, who else is regionally vs. nationally accredited, ect. just fluff and makes it sound like the school has something to prove, something an advertisement would do. We can state all the facts and give WGU all the credit it's due without needless flourish. It would make the tone of the article much better without leaving out any relevant facts. Dojan002 (talk) 06:45, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Still Has NPOV Problems

message: The Wikimedia Foundation has received a letter (Ticket:2011040710017129) from a researcher who indicates that the accreditation of this university with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges could not be verified. This is an extraordinary claim, since the article claims that the subject is the only university accredited by all four. If it cannot be verified and a fact provided, it should be removed. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:08, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: The complainant seems to be correct. WGU's only regional accreditation is by the Northwest Association. The websites of the regional accreditors have up-to-date lists of accredited schools, and WGU is not on the lists for Western or North Central. I deleted the offending text. --Orlady (talk) 13:32, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Thank you very much. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:49, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Accuracy dispute

message: Should WGU Indiana be listed as an orphan now that 5 articles link to it, and it now has 7 categories?--Jax 0677 (talk) 23:56, 20 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Should WGU Indiana be listed as an orphan? 

message: how can i register for masters in education  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 54.236.252.116 (talk) 14:19, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  list of programs offered at westerngovernors university  through distance education and open learning 

message: CBS News claims in a 2012 article that the university had a graduation rate of 6.5%, the worst private university on their list. If true, that statistic would dampen the glowing article.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:E000:3E0B:BA00:A4F2:2AEB:D5F8:C515 (talk) 04:17, 28 March 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: (although this comment is very old) I'll add the graduation rate from 'College Score Board' on the U.S Department of Ed website. It seems more updated than an old cbs article. Its still at 18% though which is not good and well below the national average.https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?433387-Western-Governors-University AlaskanNativeRU (talk) 15:27, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

text: As is stated by the NCES source - "The overall graduation rate is also known as the "Student Right to Know" ... it tracks the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking students to see if they complete a degree or other award such as a certificate within 150% of "normal time" for completing the program in which they are enrolled." FAFSA also reports the same number. This is a standardized metric used for the graduation rate. Other excuses by the university itself are not needed. Multiple editors including myself have removed anything else attempting to muddy the waters of this institutions graduation rate many times already. AlaskanNativeRU (talk) 00:08, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  I understand the validity of the NCES statistic, and I did not remove that statistic. However just because a statistic is standardized does not make it statistically significant. If the statistic only accounts for <1% of the demographic of the school it makes sense to have additional information regarding that fact. This is not an 'excuse' from the University... in fact, even with the reported 49% graduation rate for non-first-time and non-full-time students this is still well below the national average. As I also pointed out the same NCES source lists the 44% rate for non-first-time and non-full-time students... this is also a government statistic that merits consideration. I don't understand how including any of this information muddies the waters. If the intent is to give a person an insight into what the outcome of a WGU education is, then to list and only list the outcome for <1% of students seems to be muddying the waters. It misrepresents outcomes by giving undue weight to a minority circumstance. From other articles on higher education institutions, almost none even mention the graduation rate including UCLA, Harvard, USC, Princeton, Drexel, SNHU, Texas A&M, ASU and Ohio State university, institutions where first-time and full-time students make up a significant percentage if not a majority of students. Why would the rate be not worth mentioning for these institutions, but worth mentioning for WGU - where the statistic only takes into consideration a tiny minority of its demographic. One article I did find that included graduation rate was for Stanford University, but even then the article qualifies the graduation rate by stating "The relatively low four-year graduation rate is a function of the university's coterminal degree program". CrockDoctor (talk) 18:39, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree with you CrockDoctor Paul Smith111977 (talk) 19:56, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Graduation rate 

message: At the WGU team meeting in February, they said that WGU Ohio would start in the next few months.  They have already hired regional affiliates. Should I update it as an upcoming school?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pttplayhouse4 (talk • contribs) 15:41, 13 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: I can't find any sources for this, if it is only internal at this point then it is not yet official CrockDoctor (talk) 19:06, 15 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  Here is a source stating that Governor John Kasich of the State of Ohio is looking to potentially create WGU Ohio.Kaisch pushes for WGU Ohio Paul Smith111977 (talk) 01:48, 16 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  It has been officially announced  CrockDoctor (talk) 17:49, 22 February 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  WGU Ohio 

message: Using the term campus is misleading. WGU does not have a physical presence in any of these states, nor does it host buildings or classrooms for students. As such the term State affiliate or subsidiary are more appropriate. No one is implying that WGU is a public school, and nowhere is the private moniker being contested. Using state subsidiary or affiliate matches the structure of the institutions, considering they are subsidiaries of WGU based in an individual state and is the same wording that WGU uses in it's communications - not campus. It's the same way that a company could have a headquarters and a "Boston" office or a "regional" branch... this does not imply that the company is ran by the city of Boston or by the government of the region. CrockDoctor (talk) 21:21, 15 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually Some of the WGU State Online Universities received state appropriations to get them started.  For instance WGU North Carolina received $2 Million in startup funding from the citizens of the state.Article about one time NC State Appropriation to start WGU North Carolina Paul Smith111977 (talk) 02:01, 16 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  To be very clear and I'm not surprised this is causing so much confusion (which is why I made the edits getting rid of the word State) WGU is a private university, there is no such thing as a 'WGU State Online University', that is giving the impression that it is a public college. There are none. AlaskanNativeRU (talk) 04:12, 16 February 2018 (UTC)

text: I have gone ahead and made the change to 'Affiliates' but the way it was written before was not correct. It made the assumption that WGU was actually a state-college or somehow affiliated as a public college is, which is not the case. As mentioned in my edit notes it is like what the University of Phoenix or DeVry do, it is still a private institution in all respects. Changing the word from 'State-Affiliates' to just 'Affiliates' makes the most sense in order to not muddy the waters of WGU being perceived as a public/state institution. AlaskanNativeRU (talk) 23:09, 15 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: WGU is a non-profit Private University founded and governed by state governors.  The states have built online "competency based" universities to partner with WGU to increase economic opportunities for the citizen of their respective states (I believe they have state based advisory boards).  True no brick and mortar physical locations though. Also note University of Phoenix, DeVry University, Strayer University, Kaplan University have some similarities to WGU but they are For-profit institutions. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 01:39, 16 February 2018 (UTC)

text: There is an actual partnership or compact between the respective states and WGU. For example, NC residents are eligible to use state financial aid and grant programs  that normally are reserved for the community college or sixteen campus  university system. This is not an apples to apples comparison to University of Phoenix or DeVry. Wxm01ced (talk) 14:28, 24 April 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: That is a great point. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 00:27, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  State Affiliate vs Campus 

message: Here is a forbes article showing the high approval ratings by students/graduates based on Gallup PollsForbes article about high approval ratings. In addition their is high approval in the 2017 annual report as well.2017 Annual Report I am sure I could find a number of additional articles that confirm these sources.  So my question is should it be included in the main article? Paul Smith111977 (talk) 00:27, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: It appears that the Gallup Poll you're referring to was something commissioned by the school itself, according to that Forbes article. Polls can be set up to tilt the result in one direction or another – I suggest not putting too much credence in a poll that was designed by the school itself. I also suggest not trusting what the school says about its popularity in its own glossy annual report (although I couldn't find exactly what statements in the annual report you were referring to). —BarrelProof (talk) 19:32, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  High Approval Ratings by current students and graduates - should this be in the main article? 

message: Rankings:
I did some research today and noticed WGU has been ranked in the following.  Should this be included on the main article?
*OnlineDegreeReview.org
**20OnlineDegreeReview.org Ranking
*Collegechoice.net
**13Collegechoice.net Ranking
*Thebestcolleges.org
**11Thebestcolleges.org Ranking
*Collegechoice.net Online Software Engineering
**1Collegechoice.net Ranking
*Bestvalueschools.com best value in Utah
**1Bestvalueschool.com
Wikiproject Western Governors University
I think its time to start Wikipedia:WikiProject Western Governors University.  Is anyone else interested in being part of it?
Paul Smith111977 (talk) 14:19, 24 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: A ranking is only as good as the ranking institution. Are any of those websites considered good, reliable sources of information? Those sites look rather low quality to me. In fact, I suspect they are all published by the same people. All five of those sites have a very similar looking query box that asks the reader to answer the same three questions and then click on a button that has essentially the same label on it. For most of them, there is no clear identification of who publishes them. Several of them seem to be connected to the same person who has some connection to both Seattle and Ottawa. —BarrelProof (talk) 20:11, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rankings and we should consider starting Wikiproject Western Governors University 

message: The WGU WikiProject has now been created. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 11:48, 1 April 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Western Governors University|WikiProject Western Governors University]] was just created on 04.01.2018

message: As part of WikiProject Western Governors University - I would like to try to turn the main WGU page into a Good Article (GA).  I know BarrelProof has already done a fantastic job of cleaning up the citations.  I am somewhat new to Wikipedia and would like some guidance on how we can make the necessary edits to achieve this distinction. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 11:05, 28 April 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: So I think everyone has done a good job of mitigating the neutrality concern and the GA Nomination should not get an immediate failure.  Now for the main article we need to meet the following criteria going forward (1) Everything needs to be well written (2) Verification (3) Broad in coverage (4) Neutral (5) Stable (6) Illustrated - Hopefully the GA Review process can tell us what needs to be remediated to achieve this distinction. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 10:53, 6 May 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Western Governors University Main Article turning to GA Status

message: https://www.acbsp.org/members/default.asp?id=18776342&hhSearchTerms=%22WGU%22
https://utahbusiness.com/wgus-business-programs-now-accredited-by-the-accreditation-council-for-business-schools-and-programs/  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vbnetdev (talk • contribs) 20:23, 9 May 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  ACBSP Accreditation 

message: This article incorrectly names Bob Mendenhall as WGU's first president.  This is incorrect.  I adjusted one of the references to remove that component; however, the other is in the listing of presidents.  I did not adjust that one as I could not remember the name of the first president.  Mendenhall became WGU president in 1999; however, the university was created in 1997 and had a president for that period of time prior to Mendenhall.  I can't remember who it was and I can't find any references to that person anywhere online; however, they existed.
174.79.34.199 (talk) 08:09, 4 December 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: I changed it back, pending reliable sourcing.  JohnInDC (talk) 11:33, 4 December 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Presidents Listing 

message: The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:
* 
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 17:38, 6 July 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion 

message: Wow! Unbelievable negative edits of the Western Governors University article just occurred (I reverted them all as vandalism).  Looks like the negative forces are attacking WGU again simply because it's not prestigious enough for them.  We need to have the Wikiproject WGU reformulated because this is a fine non-profit university with over 120,000 student and over 150,000 alumni and needs to be treated with some respect. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 12:21, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Please be specific about how my edits were "negative." And please review WP:NPOV and WP:COI. ElKevbo (talk) 12:49, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Heavy sigh.  It's obvious that your only attacking this non-profit university because its tremendously successful with enrollment and keeping the costs down.  I do not understand why some feel the need to go after an innovative school that does not rely on an antiquated brick and mortar business model.  Can't you all just be happy for WGU while also defending your antiquated brick and mortar agenda? Paul Smith111977 (talk) 13:36, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Cut out the bullshit ad hominem attacks and focus on the article. To what specific content in this article or edits do you object? ElKevbo (talk) 13:39, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: I did not mean to upset you.  Simply to point out what I feel is an injustice/bias.  Be well and have a good day. Paul Smith111977 (talk) 14:06, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks; I genuinely appreciate that. Seriously, if there is any content in the article or any edits that are concerning then we should know about it so please bring it up. ElKevbo (talk) 15:16, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vandalism of WGU Article 

message: Although more nonprofit universities are coming online, there are still a huge amount of online schools that are questionable and/or for-profit. The resistance to including "nonprofit" in the lede comes off as if there is an effort to hide/bury/make-difficult-to-find the fact that WGU is a nonprofit university. Since stating this fact is not allowed in the first sentence of the lede, would it be acceptable to include it elsewhere in the lede? For example, how about:
Western Governors University (WGU) is a private, online university based in Millcreek, Utah. The university uses an online competency-based learning model as opposed to the traditional, cohort-based class model present at most universities.[6] The nonprofit university was founded by 19 U.S. governors in 1997 after the idea was formulated at a 1995 meeting of the Western Governors Association to expand education offerings to the internet.[7] WGU degree programs are accredited by institutional and professional accreditation bodies such as the NWCCU, ACBSP, CAEP, CAHIIM, CCNE, and the NCATE.[8][9]
....or elsewhere in the lede? If not, why not? — Preceding unsigned comment added by JerryUSAUSAUSA (talk • contribs) 18:10, July 8, 2021 (UTC)
:The practice right now is to not include "non-profit" from the lede of articles about colleges and universities because the vast majority of them are non-profit so it seems to be unnecessary. I expect this practice will change at some point as we do seem to be out of sync with many of the reliable sources that explicitly include this information in their descriptions of colleges and universities e.g., IPEDS, Carnegie Classification. Until this practice changes, I have no objections to this information being included somewhere else in the article. ElKevbo (talk) 22:25, 8 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nonprofit 

message: Is the section about a financial aid audit in 2017 relevant? The section basically says there was a financial aid audit, due to a technicality the auditors recommended qualifying WGU as correspondance education instead of distance education, the Department of Education disagreed, and the auditors eventually agreed with the Department of Education's assessment. Financial aid and the school's status were never affected. Is this information useful? Does it belong in the history section, or is it just cluttering up the article?
My opinion is that the entire writeup about the incident does not provide any useful information about the school or the school's history and should be removed. Userdk (talk) 05:12, 3 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  History Section Overhaul