WGU launched its Responsible Borrowing Initiative (RBI) in 2013 so students can make informed decisions about paying for college. Each student receives a personalized Financial Aid Plan that breaks down actual costs and recommends borrowing only what is truly needed.
Students can also use an interactive Student Loan Scenario Calculator to adjust competency units per term, terms to graduate, and loan amounts, and see how those choices change out-of-pocket costs and future repayments.
The results: average annual borrowing has dropped by more than 23% since 2013, nearly half of students now borrow less than they are offered, and 1 in 5 decline loans altogether, twice as many as in 2013 (WGU data, July 2024 to June 2025). In FY26, 58% of undergraduates borrowed the recommended amount, and the median student loan balance at graduation for undergraduates who borrowed was $11,900, down from $12,615 the year before. WGU’s competency-based model supports the same goal, because students who demonstrate mastery sooner often finish faster and pay less.
The initiative has been recognized with the 2021 NASFAA Gold Star Award, the 2020 Ellucian Impact Award, the 2016 WCET WOW Award, and the 2016 American Association of University Administrators Exemplary Models Award.