WGU offers two six-month terms a year, and students can start their school year on the first day of any month. The next term starts on Dec. 1.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2018, WGU Tennessee students will pay $3,190 per term for undergraduate programs, and from $3,190 to $3,750 per term for graduate programs that award master’s degrees. Additional fees may apply.

The cost of most textbooks is covered in a $145 per term resource fee that includes e-textbooks.

When students pay for a term of tuition, they may take as many courses as they want and earn as many credits as they can within that single six-month period.

Most course work is done online, but WGU offers site-specific instruction such as student teaching, as required by the program. There’s often an additional fee for these experiences.

Courses are pass-fail, based on mastery of subject matter (competency-based education).

Average cost of a bachelor’s degree, according to WGU’s 2016 annual report: $15,000.

Average time to bachelor’s degree: 2.5 years, WGU’s 2016 annual report states.

Four years after earning a degree, WGU graduates’ earnings have risen by about $19,000 per year, the 2016 WGU Tennessee annual report states, citing a Harris Poll online survey of 1,403 new college graduates nationwide with a survey of 1,207 WGU graduates.

WGU is highly rated in student satisfaction and by employers.

Source: Information furnished by WGU in interviews or on web site