Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

ilikebike

It will depend on the college you'll be doing your Masters at. Since WGU is a pass/fail, your GPA at graduation will be a flat 3.0.

WGU does keep a list of places their alumni have transferred to for Masters programs.
https://alumni.wgu.edu/s/1110/16/site/wide.aspx?sid=1110&gid=1&pgid=1246

JDMurray

What online tools, libraries, and services are made available to WGU students and alumni? Is access to commercial services, such as Pluralsight, Grammarly, and Office 365, licensed to WGU students?

ilikebike

Just off the top of my head, some the resources you have access to:

• Office 365 subscription
• Pluralsight
• Lynda.com
• CBT Nuggets (some classes)
• Boson labs and practice tests (some classes)
• OnTheHub access to copies of Windows, VMWare, Norton, etc...

Having a .edu email anywhere also gets you:

• Jetbrains IDEs
• Spotify Student
• Amazon Prime student
• Basically anything on /r/StudentResources
  

NEODREAM

Looking at re-enrolling in April to begin my Masters in their Data Analytics program. Anyone have experience going through this degree and can shed some of the pros/cons?

PCTechLinc

As an alumni, there are various resources available if you are no longer a student.  They are listed here:

https://alumni.wgu.edu/PERKS

For IT training, I use Skillport and Pluralsight.  You also get Lynda, but I don't use that.

Noctilum

Hi everyone, 

I am looking to pursue Bachelor's in IT Management from WGU but not sure if this style of college is right for me.

I work 40 hours, have a family (new born on the way too).  I know the whole premise is to cram as many classes in as you can during a term.  Is there a certain expectation the school wants for how many classes taken in a term? I am curious what the workload is like though and average length for a class.  Is it actually online classes with a lecture done by a teacher?  Are you just reading books and watching videos?  And then when you are comfortable with the content you try to test out of it?  

Basic85

I would like to enroll in most likely cyber security and assurance bachelor program, however I'm not sure if employers pay for this?  Has anyone ever gotten your employer to pay for your WGU degree?  or is it all of your pocket/loans?  

cyberguypr

Well, that's totally dependent on your employer's policy. You need to check with your HR peeps. For most the requirement is a regionally accredited college. Others are old school and only accept B&M colleges. I personally 

LarryTR

Basic85 said:

I would like to enroll in most likely cyber security and assurance bachelor program, however I'm not sure if employers pay for this?  Has anyone ever gotten your employer to pay for your WGU degree?  or is it all of your pocket/loans?  

That would depend on each employer.  Whether or not I or others have had their tuition paid in whole or in part by an employer is irrelevant to whether or not you employer will pay a dime for your tuition. 

ilikebike

Noctilum said:

Hi everyone, 

I am looking to pursue Bachelor's in IT Management from WGU but not sure if this style of college is right for me.

I work 40 hours, have a family (new born on the way too).  I know the whole premise is to cram as many classes in as you can during a term.  Is there a certain expectation the school wants for how many classes taken in a term? I am curious what the workload is like though and average length for a class.  Is it actually online classes with a lecture done by a teacher?  Are you just reading books and watching videos?  And then when you are comfortable with the content you try to test out of it?  

The goal isn't to "cram classes", the goal is to go at your own pace. That depends on how much time you have available. For some people that feel comfortable accelerating, then you can finish very quickly. If you don't have the free time, then you can go at a slower pace. The mentors won't try and push you faster, they will schedule one or two classes for your 6 month term and as you approach en end of your classes if you feel comfortable enough you can have a discussion about adding more classes. The school requires 12 units to be considered to have on-time progress. Classes are anywhere from 3-6 units each, so for regular classes that's 4 classes in a 6 month term minimum where the harder classes will only be 2.

The class structure is self-study. They will provide materials, often books and video series. Sometimes there are co-horts with the instructors where you can have discussions. Usually there is a pacing guide that helps you estimate how much time it should take to complete the class. I would usually take the study guide and halve the time, so if I needed to read chapters 1-4 in two weeks I would aim for one instead. At the end of the class there is usually a test or project or paper that is graded that evaluates your total knowledge learned in class. Testing out of that will pass the class.

ilikebike

ilikebike said:

It will depend on the college you'll be doing your Masters at. Since WGU is a pass/fail, your GPA at graduation will be a flat 3.0.

WGU does keep a list of places their alumni have transferred to for Masters programs.
https://alumni.wgu.edu/s/1110/16/site/wide.aspx?sid=1110&gid=1&pgid=1246

As a follow up to this I was accepted into a Masters program at Georgia Tech with my WGU degree.

advanex1

Hey guys, I have a little bit of a question here and I need your actual experience with the school. 

I'd like to attend WGU, but I currently work 3 months on and 2 months off. For those 3 months, I only have access to normal internet on a government network which means no webcams, test taking, cannot go to a pearson vue, etc. Do you think that it would be feasible to still attend WGU? Enroll in a few classes within those 3 months, take the tests while I'm off, and repeat the cycle?

I ask this because when I spoke to WGU over a year ago, they wouldn't enroll me due to my situation but if the students think it can be pulled off I'd rather trust them.

Just curious.. thanks for any input I can get.

JDMurray

How can knowing the opinions of a few WGU students get you admitted to WGU if WGU has already refused to admit you?

advanex1

JD,

It's not about your opinions for admittance. It’s if that type of schedule can be done. Has it worked for others? Have students been able to take 2-3 classes at a time and study for a few months before testing without much hassle? If so, then I’ll find a way to work out the admittance with the school.

JDMurray

I am currently  34% of the way into WGU's MBA-IT program, so I can weight in on this.

You are only allowed to take one course at a time. The "accelerated" feature of WGU is that if you already have the knowledge required for a course you could finish the performance assessment requirement (i.e., written papers) or the objective assessment requirement (i.e., proctored Webcam exam) in just a week or so. This means it may be possible for you to finish an entire WGU degree plan in only one term (i.e., 12-14 courses in six months or less) if you already know the subjects in the course materials well enough to complete all of the course assessments with a passing grade. If not, you are expected to take 6-8 weeks to complete each course.

Yes, you are able to start the next course in your degree plan before completely finishing your current course, but it's not close to taking multiple courses simultaneously as in a typical college semester. Also, this overlapping of courses stops at the end of each term when you must have completed all the courses in your current term before being allowed the start the first course in your next term.

From your description, it seems that your problem is being unable to use a WGU-provided Webcam to take the proctored exams in courses that have an objective assessment requirement while you are in your 3-month work stage. Your program mentor should be able to adjust your degree plan so your only have objective assessment courses in your 2-month windows when you can use the Webcam. While you are at work, you can take courses that require written performance assessments, which require only normal Internet access to the WGU Website.

Were you able to talk to anyone at WGU other than an admissions counselor about your special schedule requirement?

advanex1

JD,

Thanks for that write up. Very informative. I haven't been able to talk to anyone other than an admissions counselor and that was my next step. I wasn't under the assumption that it was only one class at a time that you could enroll in/take. That's very helpful. My plan was to call them and see about a work around. Possibly bypassing the admissions counselor that just kind of "noped" me and moved on. I'm going to send an email to the school asking for more information on it. I'm not a big college person to begin with and so the allure of WGU is the certifications that come along with it - it's part of the reason I haven't bothered to go back to school anywhere else. I have about 96 credit hours sitting doing nothing currently.

Thank you.

JDMurray

No problem! There are many admissions counselors at WGU. If you get one that's not working for you then try to get another one. They all follow the same rules, but they are not all as equally helpful.

I hope you can get some WGU courses waived with your current certs and transcripts. There might also be some other helpful features in the degree program you choose that aren't in mine.

powerfool

Has WGU started offering instructor-led courses?  I see job postings for instructors.

EANx

They've always had instructors. They don't lead individual courses, instead they answer questions about courses, (presumably) guide any adjustments to the courses and lead periodic web sessions where they present and answer questions.

john.m.jones123

I'm assuming not, but figured I'd ask... If you have your previous transcripts assessed and they give you credit for some of the IT courses on the degree plan, can you still get a voucher to take the certification exam? I already have the MS-ITPM through WGU, asking for my son who's considering, already has most of an associates through El Paso Community college completed... so wondering about those technical courses as he has no certs at this point... thanks in advance!

Basic85

Can't decide between a 2nd bachelors in cyber security vs computer science?