The Teachers College at Western Governors University (WGU)’s School of Education will mark American Education Week (Nov. 13-19, 2023) by announcing its WGU Loves Teachers and Become a Teacher scholarship programs for current and future education professionals who wish to pursue bachelor’s or master’s degrees. WGU is an accredited online university with more than 1,400 graduates and 957 current students in Mississippi.
Each WGU Loves Teachers and Become a Teacher scholarship is valued at up to $4,000 and is designed to help current teachers improve their skill set in the classroom or move into administration, and to support future teachers in obtaining the required credentials to start a rewarding career as an educator. The accredited, nonprofit college’s commitment to keeping costs lowered reduces the need for student borrowing, resulting in average graduate debt that is about half the national average. As a nonprofit school, WGU’s tuition is around $8,000 per year, and students can accelerate at their own pace with the approval of their program mentor.
According to teachershortages.com, Mississippi had 3,619 K-12 teaching vacancies across the state for the 2022-2023 school year. That equates to about 59 vacancies for every 10,000 students, placing the Magnolia State in the fourth quartile nationally for teacher vacancies. Additionally, Mississippi had 1,520 underqualified teachers last academic year, representing individuals who were not fully certified to state standards (e.g., provisional, temporary or emergency certification, long-term substitutes, etc.).
“At a time when the need for inspiring and innovative educators continues to grow, we want to help educators and aspiring educators pursue their academic dreams,” said Kimberly K. Estep, WGU Southeast Region vice president. “We’re incredibly honored to support the continued learning and hard work of the next generation of teachers and leaders.”
In the last 20 years, WGU’s Teachers College has conferred more than 70,000 degrees to educators across all 50 states, and has currently enrolled approximately 35,000 students. The college provides a broad portfolio of dozens of degree pathways in a student-centered, competency-based model with flexible scheduling to learn where and when students want within each six-month term. This enables students to progress through their courses as soon as they demonstrate skills mastery.
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 wgu.edu/aew.
WGU’s Teachers College programs have been continuously accredited since 2006. They are currently 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 www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees.