WGU Launches New Scholarship for IT Professionals

Online university to award scholarships of up to $2,000 to help IT professionals earn a bachelor's degree

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Online, nonprofit Western Governors University (WGU), www.wgu.edu, has launched a new scholarship program for working IT professionals, the Go Further in Information Technology Scholarship. WGU will award up to 10 scholarships valued at up to $2,000 each to students with associate's degrees who enroll in any of WGU's bachelor's degree programs in Information Technology or Health Informatics.

This new scholarship is aimed at providing a flexible, affordable way for working IT professionals to advance their careers by completing a bachelor's degree. WGU uses a competency-based approach to learning that is ideal for working adults because it allows students take advantage of prior education and work experience to move quickly through material they already know so they can focus on what they still need to learn. Students earn their degrees by demonstrating mastery of subject matter rather than accumulating credit hours for time spent in class. In addition, WGU's accredited online IT degree programs include industry certifications at no additional cost.

The Go Further in Information Technology Scholarship is a competitive program. Recipients will be selected based on their academic records and readiness for online study at WGU. To be eligible, candidates must be admitted to WGU, submit transcripts showing they hold an associate's degree, have IT career experience, and be able to demonstrate financial need. Scholarship recipients will be eligible to receive $500 per term toward tuition, renewable for up to four terms. Eligible programs include:

• 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          

Tuition for all of WGU's online IT degree programs is charged at a flat rate of $2,890 per six-month term; students may complete as many courses as they are able during each term. Students may begin their terms on the first day of any month. For more information about the Go Further in IT scholarship, go to www.wgu.edu/gofurtherIT.

About Western Governors University

Now with more than 35,000 students in all 50 states, WGU offers competency-based bachelor's and master's degrees in business, K–12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.

Featured on NPR's "All Things Considered," The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNN's "Schools of Thought," and in The New York Times, WGU is the only university in the U.S. offering accredited, competency-based bachelor's and master's degree programs. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges. WGU's Teachers College is the first and only exclusively online provider of teacher education to receive accreditation for its teacher licensure programs from NCATE, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.  The WGU bachelor's and master's nursing degree programs have been 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).

On June 11, 2010, WGU Indiana was created by Governor Mitch Daniels as Indiana's eighth state university. WGU Washington was established by the Washington State Legislature on April 22, 2011.  On August 3, 2011, the state of Texas created WGU Texas. WGU Indiana, WGU Washington, and WGU Texas are state-endorsed and offer degree programs that are accredited through Western Governors University.

The university has earned the support of more than 20 leading corporations and foundations. They include institutions such as 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.

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Contact for media inquiries:
Joan Mitchell – Director of PR
801-428-5463
[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:
866-225-5948
www.wgu.edu

SOURCE Western Governors University