SUNY Niagara creates new path to 4-year degrees with Western Governors University

SUNY Niagara Press Release 

SUNY Niagara has increased options for its graduates to earn a bachelor’s degree by signing an agreement with Western Governors University. As a result, SUNY Niagara students will be able to transfer seamlessly to WGU upon completion of predetermined coursework in one of 11 academic disciplines: accounting, business administration, liberal arts and sciences, childhood education, nursing, surgical technology, medical assisting, psychology, health sciences, computer information systems and computer science.

WGU officials joined SUNY Niagara President Lloyd Holmes at SUNY Niagara’s Sanborn campus Sept. 24 to celebrate this new option for students.

“We know that many students choose SUNY Niagara as their first step on the path to a bachelor’s or higher degree,” Holmes said. “Our agreement with WGU expands the range of choices for students’ second step and takes the guesswork out of the transfer process. It affirms the value of a SUNY Niagara associate degree, so our graduates can move on with confidence.”

Dr. K.L. Allen, Northeast regional vice president at WGU, added that the colleges’ agreement will remove barriers that students sometimes face as they advance toward careers.

“This partnership with SUNY Niagara strengthens our shared commitment to workforce readiness and educational access,” Allen said. “By streamlining the path to a bachelor’s and master’s degree, we’re helping a diverse range of learners upskill efficiently, and supporting the growth of a highly qualified talent pipeline across New York.”

SUNY Niagara will join 16 colleges in New York whose students can take advantage of WGU’s “Onward With Learning” (OWL) transfer program, which aims to help students reduce the time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree. Students who earn an associate degree and then move on to WGU through the “OWL” transfer program are guaranteed admission into select majors. Their earned degrees transfer seamlessly into a bachelor’s degree program in the business, health care, education or IT field.

Founded in 1997 by the governors of 19 states, WGU is a private, online institution based in Millcreek, Utah. WGU offers over 110 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs across schools of business, technology, education, and health and nursing. The university is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and serves more than 190,000 students nationwide. Its competency-based education model allows students to demonstrate mastery as they progress through programs at their own pace.