McLeod Health partners with WGU for staff educational opportunities

FLORENCE, SC – McLeod Health has signed a collaboration agreement with online nonprofit Western Governors University (WGU) that will provide personalized pathways to higher education through affordable bachelor’s and master’s degrees. As part of the agreement, McLeod Health employees will be eligible to apply for up to $2,500 in scholarships through the WGU Healthcare Partners Fund, disbursed in increments of $625 per six-month term for up to four terms.

WGU is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Tuition is around $4,000 per term for most undergraduate degree programs, and students can take as many classes within a term as they wish with the consent of their assigned program mentor. WGU offers degrees in healthcare, IT, business, and K-12 education. WGU currently has more than 2,500 students and 6,500 graduates throughout South Carolina.

“Our people represent the greatest asset of McLeod,” said Charity Gerald, Director of Workforce Development and Recruiting. “We value the people doing the work as much as the work being done. We encourage our employees to build their career ladder and we appreciate the support WGU will provide by offering scholarships.”
“As a leader in healthcare in South Carolina, McLeod Health is also taking the lead in providing postsecondary education opportunities to its employees,” said Kimberly K. Estep, Southeast Regional Vice President at Western Governors University. “We are extremely pleased to partner with them to help upskill their staff through our more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, that in turn will improve patient care and operational efficiency.”

Designed to meet the needs of adult learners, WGU’s online, competency-based learning model allows students to take advantage of their knowledge and experience to move quickly through material they already know, so they can focus on what they still need to learn. Students complete their programs by studying with schedules that fit their lives, advancing as soon as they demonstrate mastery of the subject matter.

For information about McLeod Health, visit www.mcleodhealth.org. To learn more about WGU, visit www.wgu.edu .