Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

astrogeek

petedude wrote: »

Understood, but you don't really expect that level of personal data do you?

Only if they aren't paid very well maybe It's just that I'd like to know how valuable a WGU degree really is. Obviously experience is a big influence on pay which is why I asked that too. I'm not asking for anyone's soc #, just if you drive a BWM or a Honda Civic

bwcarty

YuckTheFankees wrote: »

i have a quick question. say I get a bachelors degree at WGU, would a state university accept the bachelor degree to get into their masters program?

The lack of a published GPA is the biggest issue I've had with the WGU degree. Employers may rule you out because of it, but with a graduate program, you usually have other ways to boost your candidacy. A solid resume, good references, and above average GRE scores go a long way when combined with the WGU diploma.

I've worked at a fairly large state university for about a year now. I still had to apply to the graduate program like anyone else would, and I got in. I had no questions about my WGU degree, but I also came in with references within the university, nearly 15 years of professional experience, and GRE scores that would qualify for top tier universities.

erpadmin

astrogeek wrote: »

I'm not asking for anyone's soc #, just if you drive a BWM or a Honda Civic

You don't want to judge me on what I drive.....and for what it's worth a BWM [sic] and a Honda Civic are pretty good cars, in their own rights so I don't see the relevance in what somewhat drives (or some cases DOESN'T drive....because you may live and/or work in NYC where driving a car is impractical.)

I see your point though, but put it like this...whether you graduate from Harvard or WGU, it's all about how you can sell yourself in the end. So far, I have been able to do that WITHOUT a degree...the WGU degree is just so that I can (potentially) land other opportunities (both related to employment and otherwise.)

There is anectodal evidence of folks getting jobs with a WGU degree...however, as with life, YMMV.

drew726

Got a quick question for folks who completed IWT1 Task 2. How did you guys find artwork that you could relate to in IT? I'm like totally lost in that part.

petedude

erpadmin wrote: »

Experience in lieu of degree is becoming an extinct phrase...it's not there yet...but it will be.

What he said.

NickDog

Hey all,

Short question today. How long did you study for the Leadership and Principles of Management courses? I took the preassesment for both and passes with a 60% and 70%. Not really looking forward to the classes but none the less want to get them out of the way.

Thanks!

PostScript: I passed my Sec+ Friday Looking for a new job next week!

petedude

erpadmin wrote:

You don't want to judge me on what I drive.

Judge me not by drive, for my ally is the Ford.

Thank you, we're here every night. Please don't forget to tip your server. Anyhoo--

Something I've learned from my wife is that what you drive can be completely different from what you earn. There are extremely frugal people out there who drive beat up Toyotas forever but have significant savings. There were many people who, during the housing boom, used their homes like a credit ATM and drove flashy cars only to become underwater financially now.

I guess the better question might be: are WGU alumni better off financially after earning their degrees? We'd all certainly hope, but that might not be the only measure of their successes.

nhpr

drew726 wrote: »

Got a quick question for folks who completed IWT1 Task 2. How did you guys find artwork that you could relate to in IT? I'm like totally lost in that part.

I haven't done it yet but the deeper you get into artsy things, the easier it is to bullspit (don't know the language policy on this board) it.

Example

As long as you make an argument, which is the whole purpose of the exercise, it seems like they'd have difficulty telling you "no." For example: "Painting X has a lot of straight lines with few organic curves making it appear artificial and governed by concrete laws. IT is much the same because..."

astrogeek

erpadmin wrote: »

You don't want to judge me on what I drive.....and for what it's worth a BWM

I was joking about the car thing, and not slamming Civics either but more of my own personal day dreaming of what I'd rather be driving

But back to WGU, what do you think about the mentor thing? Are they helpful, or more of a roadblock? What kind of interaction, if any, is there with other students? Do you ever do any projects with groups of others or is everything done on an individual basis?

I've also read about some people taking some tests at a physical location, are these just for the finals and where can I find where the closest location to me would be? Are completing the Comptia+ and/or Microsoft certifications a requirement for class completion? (not that I wouldn't want as many certs as possible)

nhpr

astrogeek wrote: »

But back to WGU, what do you think about the mentor thing? Are they helpful, or more of a roadblock? What kind of interaction, if any, is there with other students? Do you ever do any projects with groups of others or is everything done on an individual basis?

You do have to get approval for just about everything from mentors, so in that way they're an extra layer of bureaucracy to go through. In the end, they're supposed to be there to help you and make sure you get what you need, so they're more helpful than harmful. For example, I'd requested vouchers three times in as many weeks and the scheduling department just never responded to me. My mentor took care of it for me.

I think there may be a task or two that uses groups in some capacity in KUT1 -- the OOP class? That's certainly not the norm though.

I've also read about some people taking some tests at a physical location, are these just for the finals and where can I find where the closest location to me would be? Are completing the Comptia+ and/or Microsoft certifications a requirement for class completion? (not that I wouldn't want as many certs as possible)

For the IT classes, the certs are the final exams. For those, you have to go to your local testing center. For the general education/liberal arts classes, you either just stay at home in your jammies and take a test while being monitored over a webcam or turn in a paper you've written.

erpadmin

nhpr wrote: »

I think there may be a task or two that uses groups in some capacity in KUT1 -- the OOP class? That's certainly not the norm though.

Actually, there is one other type of class that isn't the programming ones where you must use at least one other person to assist you: LUT1. You are required to have "audience participation" to make your presentation. This can be anyone (in this case this was my fiancee).

Every other class in WGU though (that is non-programming) is 100% solo: be it a taskstream assignment, sitting in front of a webcam for a non-cert exam, or going to a Prometric (or Vue) testing center for a cert exam. I'm in Network Design and Management, so no Java classes for me.

sheckler

NickDog wrote: »

Hey all,

Short question today. How long did you study for the Leadership and Principles of Management courses? I took the preassesment for both and passes with a 60% and 70%. Not really looking forward to the classes but none the less want to get them out of the way.

Thanks!

PostScript: I passed my Sec+ Friday Looking for a new job next week!

I just reviewed the material for a few hours before the tests. You only need like a 52% to pass plus the material is pretty straightforward.

Thxlbx

astrogeek wrote: »

I was joking about the car thing, and not slamming Civics either but more of my own personal day dreaming of what I'd rather be driving

But back to WGU, what do you think about the mentor thing? Are they helpful, or more of a roadblock? What kind of interaction, if any, is there with other students? Do you ever do any projects with groups of others or is everything done on an individual basis?

I've also read about some people taking some tests at a physical location, are these just for the finals and where can I find where the closest location to me would be? Are completing the Comptia+ and/or Microsoft certifications a requirement for class completion? (not that I wouldn't want as many certs as possible)

Another factor is that it depends on which mentor you get. I got a really good mentor who listened to me right off the bat, and since I had a reasonable sounding plan of how I wanted to attack things, she encouraged me to do it my way. I backed up her trust in me by getting everything done this term for 100% SAP, and as a result she will approve just about anything I want in terms of taking what class when, how many at once, etc. Some mentors, from what I have heard, make you jump through hoops before approving you taking a final exam, etc. I would say if you do not think you will work well with your mentor, then do not hesitate to request another one.

veritas_libertas

Anyone have a CIW Database Design book they would like to get rid of?

coty24

Does anyone have a "recommended set of classes to start with at WGU? I made a list of classes I got transferred, and needed in my sig. Thanks in advance

demonfurbie

Tsv1, tpv1, orc1, mgc1

petedude

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Anyone have a CIW Database Design book they would like to get rid of?

Are you kidding? You won't be able to pry it out of my cold, yada yada. . .

I actually want to keep mine around for a reference, alongside the one or two other related books I bought while studying for it.

I'll have to look up the name of the book I bought chapters from on cEngageBrain. Worth the $$.

YuckTheFankees

do you need only one or more than one (x>2) certs to meet their admissions?

veritas_libertas

petedude wrote: »

Are you kidding? You won't be able to pry it out of my cold, yada yada. . .

I actually want to keep mine around for a reference, alongside the one or two other related books I bought while studying for it.

I'll have to look up the name of the book I bought chapters from on cEngageBrain. Worth the $$.

Well if anyone is interested in getting rid of their book let me know

Lemonade727

petedude wrote: »

Are you kidding? You won't be able to pry it out of my cold, yada yada. . .

I actually want to keep mine around for a reference, alongside the one or two other related books I bought while studying for it.

I'll have to look up the name of the book I bought chapters from on cEngageBrain. Worth the $$.

If you could list all of the books you ended up purchasing I would greatly appreciate it. I'll be looking into those study materials to start going through it before the start of my 2nd term.

nhpr

YuckTheFankees wrote: »

do you need only one or more than one (x>2) certs to meet their admissions?

Just one (x >= 1) works.

hiddenknight821

Hey guys. I am pretty new to this whole WGU thing, and have been doing a lot of research lately since my school recently has been hitting me bad financially. I realized that I may not be able to return in the fall since I owe school a little under 1K by the end of the summer. I do not come from a wealthy family at all, and I have been looking for jobs (even applied at McDonalds) for the last three weeks. I predict that I may will have to take out huge loans (unsubsidized and subsidized) for the next two years since I have used up my 4-year partial scholarship. The tuition is approximately $3,700 per quarters, which is $11,100 each year. That's not the only expense I have to worry about but I also have a car and apartment that I have to look after on my own. So I figured if I enroll in WGU, then I would save tons of money. The only downsize of this is that I probably would not get the same credibility or accommodation that I would get if I continue to enroll in my current school.


So, I only have questions regarding accommodations they may have for disabled students at WGU. I am hard-of-hearing, and I don't hear as well as probably most of you could. I rely on sign language interpreter most of the time when I am learning stuff at my school. I have been considering enrolling in the IT:Security track here at WGU, and I need to know if I will encounter a dialect on the webcam or have to view a couple of non-captioned videos in order to accomplish the tasks online. I have planned to ask the enrollment counselor the same questions, but I heard stories about how they are not giving in full details or don't know squat about what I am looking for. I also planned to ask if they can enroll me in their specialized ESL program since English isn't technically my first language. Any helps would be appreciated. Thanks.

uhtrinity

petedude wrote: »

Are you kidding? You won't be able to pry it out of my cold, yada yada. . .

I actually want to keep mine around for a reference, alongside the one or two other related books I bought while studying for it.

I'll have to look up the name of the book I bought chapters from on cEngageBrain. Worth the $$.

I have the one that came with the course, you might ask your mentor about it. Other than that I used generic "learn SQL in so many days" books.

uhtrinity

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Hey guys. I am pretty new to this whole WGU thing, and have been doing a lot of research lately since my school recently has been hitting me bad financially. I realized that I may not be able to return in the fall since I owe school a little under 1K by the end of the summer. I do not come from a wealthy family at all, and I have been looking for jobs (even applied at McDonalds) for the last three weeks. I predict that I may will have to take out huge loans (unsubsidized and subsidized) for the next two years since I have used up my 4-year partial scholarship. The tuition is approximately $3,700 per quarters, which is $11,100 each year. That's not the only expense I have to worry about but I also have a car and apartment that I have to look after on my own. So I figured if I enroll in WGU, then I would save tons of money. The only downsize of this is that I probably would not get the same credibility or accommodation that I would get if I continue to enroll in my current school.


So, I only have questions regarding accommodations they may have for disabled students at WGU. I am hard-of-hearing, and I don't hear as well as probably most of you could. I rely on sign language interpreter most of the time when I am learning stuff at my school. I have been considering enrolling in the IT:Security track here at WGU, and I need to know if I will encounter a dialect on the webcam or have to view a couple of non-captioned videos in order to accomplish the tasks online. I have planned to ask the enrollment counselor the same questions, but I heard stories about how they are not giving in full details or don't know squat about what I am looking for. I also planned to ask if they can enroll me in their specialized ESL program since English isn't technically my first language. Any helps would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have never encountered a task that should be an issue with your disability. However some learning resources could be an issue such as videos. There are also resources that use recorded speech, but they usually have a text component as well.

try2pingit

All right! I'm on board to start in June. I can't wait! Check out my new sig.

erpadmin I'm coming after you! lol

Thxlbx

try2pingit wrote: »

All right! I'm on board to start in June. I can't wait! Check out my new sig.

erpadmin I'm coming after you! lol

Congrats! Welcome aboard the WGU train!

try2pingit

Thanks Thxlbx!

I'm planning to get a head start by doing some CLEP/DSST for IWT1 and ORC1
The rest will mostly be completed by CIW certifications.

sheckler

try2pingit wrote: »

Thanks Thxlbx!

I'm planning to get a head start by doing some CLEP/DSST for IWT1 and ORC1
The rest will mostly be completed by CIW certifications.

Did you end up getting that NOC job?

drew726

NOC job and WGU is a match made in heaven.

try2pingit

sheckler wrote: »

Did you end up getting that NOC job?

No cigar. The HR Manager said I wasn't qualified for that position (Associate Network Operations Technician). They want a one man band to cover their NOC overnight shift. I couldn't take an overnight job even it happened to work out. The interview went fantastic, but I did realize after they explained everything that I wasn't going to be prepared. I'm not sure why it's considered associate level actually, it seemed more advanced. They have the same position available during the day with a lower pay grade which they're considering me for however.

That's why I want to go to graduate school, I need some serious specialization to do.