Western Oregon University (WOU) has created a dedicated team to support Concordia students with WOU employees from areas including Graduate Programs, Admissions, Academic Advising, Financial Aid, Housing and more. WOU is striving to be the most affordable transfer opportunity for Concordia students and offers personalized support to help students find pathways to graduation.

Any current undergraduate or graduate Concordia student who can show current attendance and any student admitted for fall 2020 who can provide a Concordia acceptance letter will be automatically admitted to WOU after completing the application; the application fee will be waived. Any undergraduate student transferring from Concordia or who had been accepted for fall 2020 admission to Concordia will receive at least $1,000 toward WOU tuition. Students must add WOU’s school code (003209) to their FAFSA/ORSA and/or scholarship application (March 1 deadline) and may be eligible for more financial assistance.

“At Western, we understand that Concordia students might be feeling uncertain and worried about the future. WOU is a good fit for Concordia students because of our many similarities, from our academic programs to our average class size,” said WOU President Rex Fuller. “This is why we have created a dedicated team to support these students through this transition. We want to assure Concordia students that we will create a path for them to achieve the education they envisioned.”

For students interested in transferring from Concordia, there are conversions that translate Concordia’s semester schedule to WOU’s quarter schedule. Plus, any Concordia student from Washington or other western states will qualify for the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) rate, which provides students from specific states a special tuition rate of 150% of WOU’s in-state tuition. The WUE rate is lower than Concordia’s tuition and WOU does not require a WUE application. The university does not restrict academic programs that the WUE rate can be used toward.

Of Concordia’s 15 undergraduate majors and five graduate programs, WOU offers many of those undergraduate majors and two graduate programs, including biology, business, elementary education, secondary education, exercise and sport science, psychology, Master of Arts in Teaching and Master of Education. WOU offers several minors in the same areas as Concordia, as well as an A.B. in Liberal Studies degree for adult degree completion. WOU’s criminal justice program would work well for Concordia’s students interested in homeland security, and the new master’s in organizational leadership may be a good fit for some of their Master of Business Administration students.

In addition to similarities in academic offerings, there are numerous commonalities between WOU and Concordia:

• We are the only two NCAA Division II universities in Oregon.
• Both universities are of a similar size, which leads to similar faculty-to-student ratios.
• WOU and Concordia have a long history of training educators and offer extensive teacher education programs.
• The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits both WOU and Concordia.
• Both universities offer extensive services to support students.

A major area where the universities diverge is in cost. WOU is among the most affordable universities in Oregon with tuition and housing for Oregon residents at about half the total cost of Concordia’s sticker price.

“For Concordia graduate students, particularly those in teacher education programs, Western Oregon University will waive the transfer credit restriction,” said Dr. Linda Stonecipher, interim dean of graduate studies and research. “In addition, WOU will waive the application fee and provide a $1,000 award to graduate students, just as we are for undergraduates.”

WOU operates with rolling admissions, so Concordia students can apply at any time. The dedicated Admissions team members who are supporting Concordia students will process applications quickly to ensure the students have time to complete a scholarship application for fall 2020. Scholarship applications are due March 1 and can be completed after a student has been admitted.