DURHAM — According to the NC Rural Center, more than 4.1 million North Carolinians live in a rural area. Although many rural residents seek to further their education, they face barriers of distance, time, and money. To help remove these barriers, accredited online WGU North Carolina has announced new Learn Where You Live Scholarships exclusively for residents of rural communities.
As broadband extends to remote areas of North Carolina, more residents have access to WGU’s more than 80 online bachelor’s and master’s degree program in business, IT, education, and healthcare. The Learn Where You Live Scholarships are valued at up to $3,000 and are awarded at $750 per six-month term for up to four terms. These scholarships are available to new or returning WGU students living in rural areas (defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as communities with approximately 2,500 or fewer people).
The scholarship application deadline is June 30 and more information is available at www.wgu.edu/learnwhereyoulive.
WGU North Carolina is an affiliate of nonprofit Western Governors University, founded in 1997 to expand access to education and help fill states’ workforce needs. Tuition is around $4,000 per six-month term for most undergraduate degree programs, and students can accelerate at their own pace. Each student is assigned a Program Mentor from their field of study who will work with them from day one through to graduation.
More than 4,300 WGU students are currently enrolled in North Carolina, and more than 7,000 alumni live across all 100 counties in the state.
“For many rural residents, it’s just not feasible to drive an hour or more to sit in a college classroom or take an exam, especially if they have work and family obligations,” said Ben Coulter, Ed.D., Chancellor of WGU North Carolina. “Our online, competency-based model lets students log in whenever and wherever they have good internet access, and to accelerate at their preferred pace toward a bachelor’s or master’s degree in an in-demand, workforce-aligned field. WGU is doing what we can to remove the barriers of distance, time, and cost.”
For more information about WGU North Carolina, visit nc.wgu.edu.
