New WGU Scholarship Helps CompTIA Certification Holders Further Education with Online IT Degree Programs

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Western Governors University (WGU), www.wgu.edu, and information technology industry association CompTIA have created a new scholarship for IT professionals who want to advance their careers by earning a bachelor's or master's degree.

The WGU CompTIA Scholarship, valued at $500 per term up to $2,000, is open to new WGU students enrolling in one of the online university's nine competency-based IT degree programs who have earned at least one CompTIA certification in the past five years. The eligible bachelor's and master's degree programs are:

• B.S. Information Technology
• B.S. Information Technology—Network Administration
• B.S. Information Technology—Network Design and Management
• B.S. Information Technology—Security
• B.S. Information Technology—Software
• B.S. Health Informatics
• M.S. Information Security and Assurance
• M.S. Information Technology—Network Management
• MBA Information Technology Management

WGU recognizes industry certifications as an important component in the development of a well-rounded, highly educated IT professional poised to thrive in a competitive job market. As part of their degree programs, students working toward degrees from WGU's College of Information Technology also earn a number of highly respected industry certifications, at no additional cost, including seven CompTIA certifications. Additionally, incoming students who already hold industry certifications may have some of their course requirements toward a bachelor's degree waived. The list of transferable certifications includes nine from CompTIA.

All WGU degree programs are competency-based, a learning model that focuses on student learning rather than time spent in class. Designed for busy adults who need a bachelor's or master's degree to further their careers, competency-based learning allows students to study independently, with individualized faculty support, and advance through coursework as soon as they are able to prove what they have learned. As a result, students move quickly through material they already know so they can focus on what they still need to learn. This allows many students to accelerate, and with WGU's flat-rate tuition of about $3,000 per six-month term regardless of how many courses are completed, it can also save money.

WGU will award a number of CompTIA scholarships, but it is a competitive program, and scholarships will be awarded based on a candidate's academic record, readiness for online study at WGU, current competency, and other considerations. For more information on the WGU CompTIA Scholarship, visit www.wgu.edu/comptia_scholarship.

About Western Governors University
Recognized by President Obama as an innovative university that "awards credits based on learning, not seat time," Western Governors University is the only university in the U.S. offering accredited, competency-based bachelor's and master's degree programs at scale. Named one of  Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies for 2013," WGU has been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered," NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNN's "Schools of Thought," and in The New York Times.

WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. WGU's Teachers College is the first exclusively online provider of teacher education to receive accreditation for its teacher licensure programs from NCATE, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The WGU bachelor's and master's nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*), and its B.S. in Health Informatics is accredited by CAHIIM (Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education).

Western Governors University has partnered with five states to establish state-based universities aimed at adding affordable capacity to state higher education systems. WGU Indiana, WGU Missouri, WGU Tennessee, WGU Texas, and WGU Washington are key elements in their states' strategies for increasing the percentage of adults with bachelor's or master's degrees. These state-endorsed universities offer degree programs that are accredited through WGU.

The university has earned the support of more than 20 leading corporations and foundations, including AT&T, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lilly Endowment, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, SunGard Higher Education, and Zions Bank. More information is available at www.wgu.edu or by calling 866.225.5948.

*Western Governors University offers nursing programs that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 5380, Washington DC 20036, 202-877-6791).

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SOURCE Western Governors University