Rebecca Watts, the new chancellor of Western Governors University Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Western Governors University, an online university that hopes to make college more affordable and attainable for students, is officially launching in Ohio.

The university has already graduated 2,736 Ohioans and has 2,189 enrolled. The Ohio General Assembly approved the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education's endorsement last year.

But a Thursday morning ceremony at the statehouse officially established WGU Ohio, the eighth state to partner with the institution. WGU Ohio also announced its first chancellor, Rebecca Watts, who worked at Ohio's Department of Higher Education for four years.

She's returning from a job at the University of Wyoming to lead WGU Ohio.

"It's really important for adults who have some college but no credential to be able to complete that work and to advance their careers," Watts said. "(I'm looking forward to showing that) WGU Ohio is really meeting, getting to know and listening to the needs of the people of Ohio."

WGU's Ohio offices will be in Columbus. Ohioans who choose to study at WGU are eligible for the Ohio Opportunity Grant, an income-based award from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

WGU has more than 98,000 students and 111,000 graduates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also serves military personnel working overseas. The university will be self-sustaining on tuition.

What does WGU offer?

The university allows students to enroll in bachelor's and master's degree programs in business, K-12 teacher education, information technology and health professions and nursing. Courses are online and competency-based, meaning focused on concrete skills.

WGU serves many nontraditional students. The average age of a WGU student is 36 years old, with 86 percent 26 years old or older. Nearly half are first-generation college students.

Tuition for WGU is typically less than $6,500 a year for most undergraduate programs and about $7,500 for graduate programs. Each term is six months.

Clevelander Crystal Stewart graduated this year with her master's degree in nursing from WGU.She's a 29-year-old first-generation college student who found out about WGU while working as a clinical instructor.

"It was convenient for me because at the time I was a nurse manager," said Stewart, who was drawn to the affordability of the college. "I was able to come home after work and get my work done."

Stewart said she felt like WGU didn't try to rush her through the program like many traditional colleges might do. She also had a mentor to walk her through the program and She completed it in about two years.

What do officials hope WGU will help the state accomplish?

Ohio wants 65 percent of Ohioans between the ages of 25 to 64 have a degree, certificate or credential beyond high school by 2025.

According to a 2018 report from the Lumina Foundation, 44.1 percent of Ohioans had attained this goal in 2016.

In 2016, Ohio's community colleges partnered with WGU, setting up a transfer program in nursing and offering discounted tuition to community college graduates and employees.

Gov. John Kasich approved recognizing WGU as an Ohio institution in the state's budget for fiscal 2018 and 19, saying that he asked Ohio universities to develop a similar program and they didn't.

He added that WGU was a "glimpse of the future."

"In Ohio, we have been working to better align education and workforce-training systems to help more people get on a path to a rewarding career," Kasich said in an emailed comment through a spokesman. "We're happy to have WGU in Ohio - offering competency-based education to help adult learners looking to develop the skills they need for the jobs of the future."