Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Alex Slobodkin
Western Governors University, a non-profit online college, is now reporting enrollment of over 10,000 students. This sometimes controversial school allows students to prove their knowledge through writing assignments and exams.

Deseret News reports:

"Western Governors University, which was founded just over 10 years ago, has reached enrollment of 10,000 students.

Skeptics of the nonprofit, online university founded by 19 U.S. governors, didn't believe the day of high numbers would come, let alone that the school would survive without state financing and in competition with similar, for-profit online schools.

"Our success thus far is primarily because of our intense focus on the student learning experience," WGU President Robert Mendenhall said in a statement. He expects significant enrollment growth to continue, despite the lack of state support...

"A key part of our mission is to expand access to higher education," Mendenhall said. "A great education doesn't have to be expensive and saddle our graduates with a heavy burden of student loans."

At just $5,800 tuition per year, WGU is a competitive deal for many non-traditional online students.