DURHAM — WGU North Carolina, an affiliate of accredited online nonprofit Western Governors University, and the Teachers College at Western Governors University’s School of Education will mark American Education Week (Nov. 14-19, 2022) by announcing the WGU Loves Teachers and Become a Teacher scholarship programs for current and future education professionals who wish to pursue bachelor’s or master’s degree programs.
Each WGU Loves Teachers and Become a Teacher scholarship is valued at up to $4,000. It is designed to help current teachers improve their skill set in the classroom, move into administration, or support future teachers in obtaining the required credentials to start a rewarding career as an educator. In addition, the accredited, nonprofit college’s commitment to lowering costs reduces the need for student borrowing, resulting in average graduate debt that is about half the national average.
New and enrolling WGU students may apply by Dec. 31, 2022, for the WGU Loves Teachers scholarship or the Become a Teacher scholarship by visiting www.wgu.edu/aew.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics, all states and the District of Columbia collectively report an unmet need of approximately 377,400 teachers for the 2022-23 school year, including elementary, secondary, and special education. North Carolina has more than 13,000 teaching positions currently open.
“WGU’s Teachers College has a history of maintaining remarkably affordable, flat-rate tuition that allows students to pursue their professional passions without the burden of student loan debt,” said Dr. Stacey Ludwig Johnson, Senior Vice President of WGU and Executive Dean of the School of Education. “With these scholarships, we continue our commitment of offering accessible educational opportunities focused on the individual so that every student, regardless of circumstances, can see themselves on the path to a degree.”
As part of a solution to this teacher shortage, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, WGU’s Teachers College has graduated more than 32,700 students nationwide between Jan. 1, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2022, who have launched as licensed teachers or advanced in their school-leader roles.
“WGU is helping to recruit and train more teachers in North Carolina through various partnerships with local school districts and organizations like Teach for America North Carolina and Teach North Carolina,” said Ben Coulter, Ed.D., Chancellor of WGU North Carolina. “There are more than 1,200 WGU Teacher College graduates in North Carolina, and that number continues to grow every month as more
WGU’s Teachers College programs have been continuously accredited since 2006. They are accredited by both the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), a prestigious combination of accreditations. To learn more about WGU’s Teachers College and its academic programs, visit wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees.
