US Citizenship Should Not Be Required for Entry into the University

[Endercreeper01]

I am aware of Universities such as Western Governors University that require you to be a US Citizen in order to apply to their University. I don't agree with this policy. I would like for Western Governors University to open their University to International Students. 
I am also interested in finding a program here which does accept international students and doesn't require you to be a US Citizen, in order to be a part of the University. I haven't checked out the other institutions yet, besides Western Governors. However: This is certainly an important issue before I proceed.

[Jonathan Whatley]

No, WGU requires students to be resident in the US, or parts of Canada, or potentially US military or embassy personnel abroad. The distinction is residence not citizenship.

[Endercreeper01]

No, WGU requires students to be resident in the US, or parts of Canada, or potentially US military or embassy personnel abroad. The distinction is residence not citizenship.

First off: My keyboard just glitched out. Second: I also don't agree with that, as in: People shouldn't be required to reside in the US, or even a particular location, in order to study at a particular online university.

[NotJoeBiden]

No, WGU requires students to be resident in the US, or parts of Canada, or potentially US military or embassy personnel abroad. The distinction is residence not citizenship.

First off: My keyboard just glitched out. Second: I also don't agree with that, as in: People shouldn't be required to reside in the US, or even a particular location, in order to study at a particular online university.

I suspect WGU might someday, but it takes alot of work to globalize a university.

[SteveFoerster]

No, WGU requires students to be resident in the US, or parts of Canada, or potentially US military or embassy personnel abroad. The distinction is residence not citizenship.

First off: My keyboard just glitched out. Second: I also don't agree with that, as in: People shouldn't be required to reside in the US, or even a particular location, in order to study at a particular online university.

I suspect WGU might someday, but it takes alot of work to globalize a university.

If you mean globalize the content, that's certainly true, but that's not necessary just to accept international students. 

Otherwise, for foreign distance learning students, most of the difference would be accepting payments internationally and foreign transcript evaluation, and in both cases you can basically just make that the students' problem.

Given that WGU started out as a project sponsored by an association of US states, I wonder whether there's some sort of political reason why they won't take international students.

[Endercreeper01]

You know what: For the reason, that it would help to boost the image of the University if I were to graduate from it, had they gotten more international students to be a part of it:
Then, I would still push anyways for them to want to approve such.
Even, though: I can say that I've not always been on favorable terms with "International students" myself: That is, when I was actually attending an in-person institution.
(That's a whole story of itself I could tell you about)
I do have an issue with the fact that they also have been taking up more spots in general inside of companies post-graduation, and that makes the market more competitive, especially for those of us who are US Citizens, and live in this country.
I mean: I would, actually myself, consider, and want to consider, going to other countries myself and trying out the opportunities they offer.
However: When it comes to the nations/countries these international students are from, then they aren't open to foreigners the same way that the United States is to foreigners.
I would myself want to attend a foreign institution and/or work in another country, particularly: China. I have been considering this recently as a way to imrpove my chances in my future career path. However, considering the fact that I have learned more about the ways that these countries are not accepting of foreigners, it makes me question why we should, generally, be so open to foreigners inside the United States.
I would be more open and glad about the exchanges, if there was more exchange going from the United States to other countries. However: The issue now I see, one of them now, is the fact that I see many of my fellow countrymen not getting enough exposure to foreign cultures and countries besides those of Europe. I would like to see more Americans reach out to, and travel to countries beyond the limits of Europe, the United States.

[SteveFoerster]

You know what: For the reason, that it would help to boost the image of the University if I were to graduate from it, had they gotten more international students to be a part of it:
Then, I would still push anyways for them to want to approve such.

For 2023-2024 WGU had 185,015 students, so it seems their image is doing just fine.

Even, though: I can say that I've not always been on favorable terms with "International students" myself: That is, when I was actually attending an in-person institution.
(That's a whole story of itself I could tell you about)

To be honest, there's no way to say that without it coming across like you're the source of the drama.

I do have an issue with the fact that they also have been taking up more spots in general inside of companies post-graduation, and that makes the market more competitive, especially for those of us who are US Citizens, and live in this country.

It's not like "jobs" is some static number that are consumed by job seekers. Immigrants tend to start businesses at a higher rate than native-born Americans, take a look at Silicon Valley for proof.

I mean: I would, actually myself, consider, and want to consider, going to other countries myself and trying out the opportunities they offer.
However: When it comes to the nations/countries these international students are from, then they aren't open to foreigners the same way that the United States is to foreigners.

Sadly, the US has backtracked considerably lately in that regard.

I would myself want to attend a foreign institution and/or work in another country, particularly: China. I have been considering this recently as a way to imrpove my chances in my future career path. However, considering the fact that I have learned more about the ways that these countries are not accepting of foreigners, it makes me question why we should, generally, be so open to foreigners inside the United States.

Unfortunately, it seems you're getting your wish. But just because other countries have been making that mistake hardly means the US should do the same.

I would be more open and glad about the exchanges, if there was more exchange going from the United States to other countries. However: The issue now I see, one of them now, is the fact that I see many of my fellow countrymen not getting enough exposure to foreign cultures and countries besides those of Europe. I would like to see more Americans reach out to, and travel to countries beyond the limits of Europe, the United States.

On this, we completely agree!

[ss20ts]

How do international students improve a university's image? I mean we're not talking about research being conducted at Cornell by students. We're talking about WGU which is a university founded by several conservative states.

[Old Guy]

It has 150,000 students.  When is enough enough?  It's not like there are a shortage of online schools in 2025.

[LevelUP]

CompTIA certifications, for example, are required in some of WGU’s degree programs, and several other degrees are closely tied to professional licensing requirements.

CompTIA introduced online testing on April 15, 2020. Before that, all exams had to be taken in person, and finding an approved testing center outside the United States or certain parts of Canada could be challenging.

These practical limitations help explain why WGU historically restricted admission based on a student’s location.