Online, competency-based university will award 400 new students with scholarships
NASHVILLE – Western Governors University (WGU), the parent university of WGU Tennessee, will award $800,000 in scholarships to busy adults who would like to earn a college degree on a schedule that fits their lives. The Back to School Scholarship is WGU’s largest scholarship offering to date.
The Back to School Scholarship is valued at up to $2,000 per student and is open to new students in any of the more than 60 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs offered at WGU Tennessee, including programs in business, information technology, education, and health professions. New students must apply for the scholarship by Sept. 30.
“It’s been our mission at WGU Tennessee to expand access to higher education for working Tennesseans by making it more affordable and flexible,” said Kimberly Estep, chancellor of WGU Tennessee. “Since we began six years ago, WGU Tennessee has awarded more than $2.5 million to Tennesseans, and this scholarship provides another way we can serve students across our state.”
The scholarships will be applied at the rate of $500 per six-month term, renewable for up to four terms. Multiple scholarships will be awarded through a competitive program. Scholarships will be granted based on a candidate’s academic record, financial need, readiness for online study, current competency and other considerations.
“The scholarship changed my life,” said Amanda Ogle, a recent WGU scholarship recipient. “It allowed me to get my teaching degree, and inspire my children, current students, and future students to follow their dreams, persevere, and experience the success that comes from determination.”
Launched in 2013 as part of the “Drive to 55” initiative, WGU Tennessee is an online, accredited, nonprofit university established to meet the needs of working adults who wish to complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree and advance their careers. Students from all 95 counties are enrolled in WGU Tennessee, which was created through a partnership between the state of Tennessee and nationally recognized Western Governors University. With every Tennessee county represented in its student population, more than 2,000 Tennesseans have graduated since the university’s inception, and 4,000-plus are currently enrolled.
To learn more about WGU’s Back to School Scholarship, or to apply, visit www.wgu.edu/B2S.
WGU Tennessee is an online, nonprofit, competency-based university established to expand Tennesseans’ access to higher education throughout the state. Formed through a partnership between the state of Tennessee and nationally recognized Western Governors University, WGU Tennessee is open to all qualified Tennessee residents. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of business, K–12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.
Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
In addition to WGU Tennessee, there are seven other WGU state-based, state-endorsed universities: WGU Indiana, established in June 2010; WGU Washington, established in April 2011; WGU Texas, established in August 2011; WGU Missouri, established in February 2013; WGU Nevada, established in June 2015;WGU North Carolina, established in October 2017; and WGU Ohio, established in February 2018.
