WGU Impacts Nursing & Expands BSN Prelicensure Program Across VA

WGU Impacts Nursing Workforce: Expands BSN Prelicensure Program to Virginia

Western Governors University commits to adding more nurses amid workforce shortage; expands hybrid prelicensure program for nursing aspirants

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (August 14, 2024) – Western Governors University’s (WGU) Michael O. Leavitt School of Health (LSH) has expanded its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Prelicensure) program to Virginia. The hybrid degree is an entry-level program for students that helps meet the nursing licensure requirements. The expansion comprises offering clinical placements in Virginia, thereby improving access to high-quality nursing education statewide.

WGU, a nonprofit and regionally accredited university follows a competency-based model of education, which measures mastery of skills rather than time spent in a classroom. For more than 25 years, WGU’s competency-based programs have removed barriers to education — and increased access to careers such as nursing — by filling the gap for students with existing work or caregiving obligations, among others.

“Thousands of nurses, already registered and practicing in Virginia, have earned advanced degrees from WGU. They’re in local hospitals, doctor’s offices, care facilities and elsewhere, taking great care of Virginians and their loved ones today. Expanding our programs to include prelicensure means that WGU can now offer flexible, affordable education to aspiring nurses across the state. It’s truly a game-changer for the workforce,” said Northeast Regional Vice President K.L. Allen, representing WGU in the state of Virginia. “Closing the nursing shortage starts with education. WGU’s role is to do what we do best: provide a pathway to the profession for aspiring nurses — especially people already living in communities across Virginia — through competency-based education.”

There are an estimated eight nurses per 1,000 residents in Virginia — one of the lowest ratios in the nation. Recognizing the state’s nursing shortage, and to facilitate community-based employment, WGU aims to add hundreds of new nursing graduates to the state by the end of 2027. The accredited BSN Prelicensure program is one of the only degree paths that adds new nurses to the workforce.

With no prerequisites for enrollment, this hybrid program is approximately 60 percent online, with the remaining 40 percent as hands-on clinical and lab time. Students undertake nursing skills and clinical simulation training at WGU’s nursing simulation labs and complete multiple in-person clinical rotations in Virginia hospitals and community-based settings for each clinical course. The completion of this program prepares students for the registered nurse (R.N.) licensing exam, National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN Exam). Over the last five years, WGU’s first-time NCLEX-RN average pass rate has been 89.21 percent, which is above the national five-year average of all BSN programs as reported by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). The university has also been at or above the national average for more than five years.

WGU’s nursing prelicensure program is now available in 24 states across the nation and counting. The university will work to partner with healthcare employers across the state to offer clinical experiences. WGU has existing partnerships with HCA Healthcare, Sentara Health, and Chesapeake Regional Healthcare. Click here to read about the program specifics.

Virginia is the first state in WGU’s Northeast region to offer BSN Prelicensure. Nearly 2,600 nurses in Virginia have graduated from WGU’s R.N.-to-BSN program. Additionally, around 900 nurses in the state have earned a master’s degree from the university.

About Michael O. Leavitt School of Health (LSH): The school, named in honor of the former governor of Utah and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, was established in 2006 with the mission to make a difference in the fields of healthcare, nursing, and higher education through competency-based education. The school conferred 5.4 percent of all bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing across the country during the 2021-2022 academic year. According to the Utah Foundation Research Brief, LSH represents more than 170,000 jobs in the healthcare industry and the school produced a whopping 17 percent of the nation’s registered nurses earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2021. The school has also been recognized for its impact by Platte County, Missouri. ###a name="_Hlk169624823">With more than 100,000 graduates and over 118,000 degrees already conferred by LSH, the school presently serves nearly 25,000 students nationwide. Learn more at

About Western Governors University (WGU): A nonprofit, online university established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, WGU now serves more than 174,000 students nationwide and has awarded over 376,000 degrees to nearly 336,000 graduates in all 50 states.Driving innovation as the nation’s leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In less than 30 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today’s rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News and CNN and in The New York Times. Learn more at wgu.edu and wgu.edu/impact.

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