HARRISBURG — To help remove rural barriers to higher education, accredited nonprofit and online Western Governors University (WGU) announced Tuesday the new Learn Where You Live Scholarships exclusively for residents of rural communities.

The scholarship, valued at up to $3,000 and awarded at $750 per six-month term for up to four terms, is available to new or returning WGU students living in rural areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition, for those Pennsylvanians who live in a T-mobile service area for internet service, WGU offers the Online Access Scholarship, which provides students with a laptop, internet service and a webcam to pursue their education studies.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 27% of Pennsylvania’s population lives in rural areas, making it the third largest rural population in the nation. Although many rural residents seek to further their college education, they face barriers of distance, time and money. In fact, only 33% of Pennsylvanians aged 25 and older have earned a bachelor’s degree.

“For many Pennsylvanians, it’s just not feasible to drive an hour or more to a college campus, especially if they have work and family obligations,” said Rebecca Watts, who oversees operations in Pennsylvania as regional vice president for WGU. “Completing a degree program can change lives, families and communities, and WGU is doing what we can to remove the barriers of distance, time and cost.”

WGU 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. WGU has more than 60 online bachelor’s and master’s degree program in business, IT, education and healthcare. WGU serves more than 2,800 students and 5,800 alumni in Pennsylvania.

Both scholarship application deadlines are June 30 and more information is available at www.wgu.edu/learnwhereyoulive and www.wgu.edu/access.