NASHVILLE, TN – For the fourth consecutive year, WGU Tennessee, a state-endorsed nonprofit university, will award $10,000 scholarships to up to 10 Tennesseans as part of its “Tenn-K” Scholarship campaign.

“Cost is often the biggest barrier adults face when deciding whether to go back to school,” said Dr. Kimberly K. Estep, WGU Tennessee chancellor. “Our scholarship offerings, and especially the Tenn-K Scholarship, help us in our mission of expanding Tennesseans’ access to quality, affordable higher education.”

Last year, nine Tennesseans earned Tenn-K Scholarships, WGU Tennessee’s largest annual scholarship. With WGU’s already-low tuition of about $3,500 per six-month term for most programs, the Tenn-K Scholarship covers approximately 70 percent of a recipient’s tuition costs, on average. The application deadline is March 15, 2019.

With the cost of college consistently rising across the country, WGU Tennessee aims to alleviate the financial burden of higher education for its students. Since launching in 2013, WGU Tennessee has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to Tennesseans, with more than $225,000 resulting from Tenn-K awards.

Tenn-K Scholarships are awarded based on the applicants’ academic records, readiness for online study, and demonstrated financial need, as well as other considerations. Recipients are awarded four installments of $2,500 per six-month term, disbursed over their first four terms.

Launched by Gov. Bill Haslam in July 2013 as part of his “Drive to 55” initiative, WGU Tennessee is an online, accredited, nonprofit university established to meet the needs of working adults who wish to complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree and advance their careers. Students from all 95 counties are enrolled in WGU Tennessee, which was created through a partnership between the state of Tennessee and nationally recognized Western Governors University. With every Tennessee county represented in its student population, more than 2,000 Tennesseans have graduated since the university’s inception, and 4,000-plus are currently enrolled.

To learn more about the Tenn-K Scholarship, visit tennessee.wgu.edu/TennK.

WGU Tennessee is an online, nonprofit, competency-based university established to expand Tennesseans’ access to higher education throughout the state. Formed through a partnership between the state of Tennessee and nationally recognized Western Governors University, WGU Tennessee is open to all qualified Tennessee residents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of business, K–12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.

Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

In addition to WGU Tennessee, there are seven other WGU state-based, state-endorsed universities: WGU Indiana, established in June 2010; WGU Washington, established in April 2011; WGU Texas, established in August 2011; WGU Missouri, established in February 2013; WGU Nevada, established in June 2015; WGU North Carolina, established in October 2017; and WGU Ohio, established in February 2018.

For more information, visit the WGU Tennessee website, tennessee.wgu.edu.