WKU began offering courses in Hardin County in 1965, providing graduate classes for teachers and school administrators in local high schools, then began offering extended campus classes at Fort Knox in 1973. The Fort Knox program is coordinated with the Army Continuing Education System and must meet military standards in addition to university, site, and accreditation standards. Western established an administrative office at Elizabethtown Community College in 1987 and in 1991 the Elizabethtown program was granted "Center" status by the Council on Higher Education. The Radcliff Regional Education and Development Center opened in 2008 with several classrooms to serve additional students, primarily related to the growth occurring at Ft. Knox.
The Fort Knox and Elizabethtown programs have grown steadily since inception. A majority of public school teachers in the eight county Lincoln Trail region receive graduate degrees through the Elizabeth-town/Radcliff/Fort Knox Center. Students can now complete bachelor and master degrees in several areas without leaving Hardin County through operative arrangements between Western Kentucky University and the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.
Programs are developed at Fort Knox to address educational needs of active duty military personnel and family members, as well as the general community needs. Service members can enroll in the WKU SOCAD-4 Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with an area of emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences, or they can enroll in other programs offered by the University. Servicemembers interested in graduate degrees are particularly attracted to the Masters in Public Administration degree. Army counselors work closely with WKU to assist soldiers who wish to enroll in this or other degree programs of their choice. Tuition assistance is available for Soldiers through the Army Continuing Education System office located in the Fort Knox Education Center near the WKU office.
Classes are taught in the Education Center at Fort Knox, at the Central Regional Post–Secondary Educational Center in Elizabethtown, at the Radcliff Regional Education and Development Center in Radcliff. Some courses are taught through one of the WKU Interactive Video Service classrooms on post, in Radcliff, or in Elizabethtown. Others are taught in the traditional on-site professor modality. Internet and Independent Learning options are also available.
