Western Governors University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474365018
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Phone
8013233305
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,684,644,684
Expenses
$1,527,430,486
Assets
$852,320,868
Liabilities
$471,801,532

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SCOTT PULSIPHER (TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT)
  • STACEY LUDWIG JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORK-BASED PATHWAYS)
  • KIMBERLY ESTEP (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RICHARD BENBOW (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TONYA DRAKE (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SCOTT PULSIPHER (TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT): $2,131,084 total reported compensation
  • DAVID GROW (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $1,029,671 total reported compensation
  • NADEEM SYED (CFO & TREASURER): $850,850 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Changing Lives for the Better by Creating Pathways to Opportunity. The WGU Institutional Catalog contains detailed descriptions of WGU's colleges and degree programs, including information on accreditation, regulatory compliance, admission requirements, courses associated with each degree program, and course descriptions. It also details university support systems, governance, faculty, and other academic and administrative topics. Information found in the catalog can also be found on various pages throughout the WGU website. Current Edition WGU Institutional Catalog - June 2026.

What it reported doing in 2024

Wgu is an online, nonprofit, competency-based university with more than 193,000 students nationwide and more than 480,000 graduates in all 50 states, as of february 2026. Wgu was originally established in 1997 by 19 u.s. Governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education. Wgu is accredited by the northwest commission on colleges and universities and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, information technology, healthcare/nursing and k-12 education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.3%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 44.7% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 44.7% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 43.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 84.3% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2.1M · 33 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $229.8M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.