Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, has announced plans to open a campus in Accra, Ghana. The university has received approval from the Ghana Ministry of Education and is awaiting the go-ahead from the U.S. Higher Learning Commission in Chicago. The campus plans to begin classes in January.
Ghana has a large and growing demand for higher education. In 1999 there were only two private colleges and universities in the African nation. Now there are 43. The University of Ghana enrolls less than 40 percent of the students seeking admission.
Webster University enrolls about 3,500 undergraduate students on its St. Louis campus and 15 percent of them are African Americans. The university has nearly 15,000 graduate students. Students at the St. Louis campus will have study abroad opportunities at the new campus in Ghana.
Webster University President Elizabeth J. Stroble, stated, “Our history of meeting unmet needs by taking education to where it is most needed now takes root in Ghana. We look forward to partnering with Ghanaians to build the capacity for individuals and communities there and across the Webster University global network to prosper in an increasingly connected world.”
In addition to Ghana and its North American locations, Webster University also has campuses in Austria, China, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom.