WGU Offers $50,000 in Scholarships to Strengthen Utah's Teacher Pipeline

Online, nonprofit, Utah-based university aims to help fill teacher shortage and advance the careers of current teachers

SALT LAKE CITY (March 25, 2019) – Amid a teacher shortage that includes more than 500 open teaching positions statewide, Western Governors University (WGU) will award $50,000 in scholarships to employees of several high-need Wasatch Front school districts and a leading charter school.

Utah-based WGU announced the Designated Utah School District & Charter School Scholarship, worth up to $5,000 per recipient toward one of its Teachers College’s 32 programs in teacher education. Awarded at $1,250 per six-month term for up to four terms, this scholarship is worth 33% or more off WGU’s already-low, flat-rate tuition. Information and application is available at wgu.edu/utahteach.

WGU’s Teachers College is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and offers bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and post-baccalaureate programs that lead to teacher licensure as well as endorsement-preparation and master’s degree programs for already-licensed teachers. WGU is the nation’s #1 producer of STEM teachers and has been named in the top 1% nationwide for quality and value by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

The scholarship is open to current teachers as well as non-credentialed staff in the following school systems:

• Alpine School District
• Canyons School District
• Davis School District
• Granite School District
• Jordan School District
• American Preparatory Academy

“We are so proud to be able to give back to our local community in one of the most profound ways we can: educating our state’s educators,” said Dr. Deb Eldridge, Academic Vice President of WGU’s Teachers College. “Providing a high-quality, flexible path to a teaching degree at a cost Utah’s teachers can afford is what we do best, and this scholarship will allow us to serve even more Utahns.”

Utah-based but nationally available and respected, WGU currently serves 7,600 students across Utah, including more than 1,750 in its Teachers College. More than 2,700 WGU graduates currently work in Utah classrooms. Competency-based and online, WGU’s degree programs are perfect for busy, working adults. In most cases, students complete courses on their schedule, with 24/7 online access to learning materials and the ability to take tests as soon as they know the material well. This means many students graduate well ahead of schedule when they work hard and take advantage of the knowledge and skills they already have.