In the 2026 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), WGU students rated their experience well above students at other institutions. Ninety-two percent rated their entire educational experience good or excellent (86% at other institutions), 82% said WGU provides support to help students succeed academically (74%), and 81% said they acquired job-related knowledge and skills (66%).
That experience is built on a faculty model that divides student-facing work into three roles. More than 4,300 faculty serve as program mentors (1,520+), course instructors (900+), and evaluators (1,200+). Each student has a program mentor from enrollment to graduation who helps build a personalized plan for every six-month term. Instructors provide subject-matter support through written materials, recorded videos, and live forums. Evaluators, who hold doctoral degrees or other post-graduate training or certifications, review assessments to determine competency and have no personal interaction with students, which helps keep assessment free of bias.
Technology extends that support. In a FY26 pilot of WGU’s Academic Virtual Assistant, students who used the tool were nearly twice as likely to connect with a Course Instructor. In FY26, students completed 3.5 million course tasks and passed 2.9 million assessments.