In an effort to empower residents in rural areas of Missouri to go back to school and further their education, WGU Missouri has announced it has partnered with the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives to provide $1 million in scholarships to residents who are served by an electric cooperative and are interested in pursuing a degree from the online, nonprofit university. The “Power Your Future” Scholarship is open to new students in rural areas of the state who are customers of, or live in a household served by, one of the more than 40 electric co-ops that power rural Missouri.

“The Missouri Electric Cooperatives are extremely excited to relaunch the ‘Power Your Future’ Scholarships to our co-op members and employees,” said Chris Massman, vice president, member services of AMEC. “This would not be possible without the great people at WGU and the partnership we have built. It is great to work with an upstanding university that has the same goal as we do, which is to improve the quality of life and provide additional opportunities to rural Missourians.”

WGU is a leader in providing fully online, affordable competency-based education to working adults who are interested in furthering their skillset but need the flexibility of online education to fit their busy lives. Through the “Power Your Future” Scholarships, WGU aims to empower Missouri’s rural students who are committed to going back to school to complete their undergraduate or graduate degrees. Each scholarship is valued at up to $3,000 and will be applied at a rate of $750 per six-month term. To be eligible, scholarship applicants must be officially admitted to WGU and enrolled in one of the university’s more than 60 accredited bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in business, information technology, K–12 teacher education, and health professions, including nursing. Students must also complete the scholarship application at wgu.edu/power and be interviewed by a WGU scholarship counselor. Recipients will be selected based on academic records, financial need, readiness for online study and current competency, among other considerations.

 “We are thrilled to partner with the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives to provide this scholarship offering to adults who are interested in furthering their education through WGU Missouri’s flexible, online format,” said Dr. Angie Besendorfer, chancellor of WGU Missouri. “WGU works to expand access to high-quality, affordable college education to busy adults across the state who want to advance their careers and improve their lives, and this partnership will further support that mission. We are excited to continue to grow the number of degreed individuals residing in rural communities across Missouri.”

For more information about WGU or the “Power Your Future” Scholarship, visit wgu.edu/power. For more information about AMEC or Missouri’s rural electric cooperatives, visit www.amec.org.