Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

erpadmin

sheckler wrote: »

Legitimate power is someone with formal authority over others, and none of the employees have any authority. Only the marketing manager and accounting manager do.

While the accounting manager does have legtimate power, you have to also show why he does and for the task at hand, you want to focus on just the marketing manager. The accounting manager is more relevant for the other base of power and that's for his "expert" employee.

erpadmin

nhpr wrote: »

A race with yourself... and erpadmin.

Remember, when I started back in August, there were a number of guys who were pulling 50-124 CUs in one term. There is no way I could have ever pulled that, personally, even if I wanted to.

Also, I'm hoping that I'm not being read as "bragging" about completing CUs. My purpose is two-fold:

1) Show fellow TE students that WGU work is possible and you can still have a life/classes are not impossible.

2) Document my progress so that I can go back to it. That will be useful later on.

I'm shooting to finish at the end of year...it's gonna depend on how well I can do the MCITP:EA exams.

try2pingit

erpadmin wrote: »

Considering I've always said it's not a race....I guess I welcome that....


Best of luck in your WGU studies....remember, it's only a race with yourself.

Of course it's not a race! If I could pull off 8 classes in 1 WGU semester like you I could be done this summer. I'm shooting for that.

erpadmin

try2pingit wrote: »

Of course it's not a race! If I could pull off 8 classes in 1 WGU semester like you I could be done this summer. I'm shooting for that.

I was under the impression I wasn't the only one doing that though....I haven't even broken 30 CUs in one term yet, but I'm pretty sure jmasterj206 did. (Ok, I was shy of 2 CUs...but still )

The only thing I am proud of is that I've done my initial 12 CUs in one month AND my initial 12 CUs in the start of my second term in six days (though I had worked on LET1 for a good 3 weeks off and on prior to the start of my term.)

My whole thing I just don't want to see this as a competition...stuff could come up where I might need a term break or something. Hopefully that won't be the case.


Good luck with your java programming classes....from what I have read, those are not cake.

jmasterj206

erpadmin wrote: »

I was under the impression I wasn't the only one doing that though....I haven't even broken 30 CUs in one term yet, but I'm pretty sure jmasterj206 did. (Ok, I was shy of 2 CUs...but still )

The only thing I am proud of is that I've done my initial 12 CUs in one month AND my initial 12 CUs in the start of my second term in six days (though I had worked on LET1 for a good 3 weeks off and on prior to the start of my term.)

My whole thing I just don't want to see this as a competition...stuff could come up where I might need a term break or something. Hopefully that won't be the case.


Good luck with your java programming classes....from what I have read, those are not cake.

I did 33 last term pretty easily, but this term I only have 11 done in 3 months. A lot of it depends on the classes you have. First term the only certs I took were the CIW classes and the rest were general ed. The current term I have done the CCENT and 70-680 which take considerable more time, thus my low numbers. This term I may only see 20 credits or so. I had about 38 credits transfer in with an associates and I should be done in a year and a half.

Pishof

To anyone who has completed IWC1 or ORC1; (erpadmin?)

These are my next two classes I had my mentor add today. I see they are objective based and thus proctored with the webcam.

Any advice for these? I have a copy of the textbook for both classes but would like input on the more effective method to study and get them out of the way. Thanks.

try2pingit

Pishof wrote: »

To anyone who has completed IWC1 or ORC1; (erpadmin?)

These are my next two classes I had my mentor add today. I see they are objective based and thus proctored with the webcam.

Any advice for these? I have a copy of the textbook for both classes but would like input on the more effective method to study and get them out of the way. Thanks.

I haven't taken it but could offer advice on testing out of it. I took CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature (6 Credits) and it ended up covering the whole Humanities requirement (IWC1 & IWT1). As for ORC1, you could ask your mentor for approval to take a DSST Organization Behavior and perhaps DSST Principles of Supervision. I'll be asking mine about this in the following days. The reason I mentioned 2 DSST is because ORC1 is 4 credits, each DSST is 3. Hope this may help you.

erpadmin

Pishof wrote: »

To anyone who has completed.... ORC1; (erpadmin?)

Any advice for these? I have a copy of the textbook for both classes but would like input on the more effective method to study and get them out of the way. Thanks.

1) Take preassessment.

2) If you get a good passing score, go to AAP and schedule the exam. Make sure you let your mentor know so he can approve it.

3) Pass ORC1.

4) Call it a day.


ORC1 is basically common sense stuff if you have ever worked in a corporate environment. MGC1 is basically the same stuff, though TPV1 (Project+) will be a good help for that one. You could do both in one day, or back to back (personal preference but others have done it in one day).

erpadmin

try2pingit wrote: »

I haven't taken it but could offer advice on testing out of it. I took CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature (6 Credits) and it ended up covering the whole Humanities requirement (IWC1 & IWT1). As for ORC1, you could ask your mentor for approval to take a DSST Organization Behavior and perhaps DSST Principles of Supervision. I'll be asking mine about this in the following days. The reason I mentioned 2 DSST is because ORC1 is 4 credits, each DSST is 3. Hope this may help you.

That's interesting. It was my understanding that, you could not transfer stuff in (including CLEPs) once you were enrolled in WGU. Otherwise, I would have done a bunch of my GEs through straighterline.com.

Though ORC1 really doesn't need any prepping if you've had a job anywhere...

try2pingit

erpadmin wrote: »

That's interesting. It was my understanding that, you could not transfer stuff in (including CLEPs) once you were enrolled in WGU. Otherwise, I would have done a bunch of my GEs through straighterline.com.

Though ORC1 really doesn't need any prepping if you've had a job anywhere...

I see. I understood that they didn't accept transfer credit during the semester. I haven't started yet though, I start June 1st. So from here until June, I'm going to try to test out anything I can and submit before May 25th.

erpadmin

try2pingit wrote: »

I see. I understood that they didn't accept transfer credit during the semester. I haven't started yet though, I start June 1st. So from here until June, I'm going to try to test out anything I can and submit before May 25th.

Now that is allowed: as long as you're not enrolled, you can do whatever you want and have credit for it; so long as it's done before the 25th of the preceding month.


Yes, that is correct.


Oh one other thing....be mindful that you have to complete 24 CUs at WGU.

nhpr

I just started my first TaskStream class, and I've submitted a task. How do I know when it's been graded? Do I get an e-mail notice, or do I have to check TaskStream on my own?

(And if this was in EWB, yes you have permission to heartily ridicule me for missing this).

sheckler

You get an email that lets you know if it needs revision or if its good. Then you can log in and read the comments.

erpadmin

nhpr wrote: »

I just started my first TaskStream class, and I've submitted a task. How do I know when it's been graded? Do I get an e-mail notice, or do I have to check TaskStream on my own?

(And if this was in EWB, yes you have permission to heartily ridicule me for missing this).

A notification is sent to your WGU email account. I have two filters set up in my WGU account. One is to forward any and all mail to my regular account (including the TaskStream emails). The second one invokes whenever I get a Notificztion from taskstream to go to the email address of my cellphone (dumbphone with email over SMS). This way, I can immediately work on revisions if I need to or just now ASAP if I'm done with a Task/Course.

drew726

Does anyone know if you have to wait till the end of your term to officially graduate and receive your diploma or do you get your diploma as soon as you finish your capstone project?

petedude

drew726 wrote: »

Does anyone know if you have to wait till the end of your term to officially graduate and receive your diploma or do you get your diploma as soon as you finish your capstone project?

IIRC, your mentor has to officially recommend you for graduation.

Everyone

I just finished reading a good chunk of the WGU threads here and decided to join and ask a couple questions of my own. I'm even more excited about this after reading what everyone here has to say.

I have 12 years of IT experience, and 72 credit hours towards an Associates in Information Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. I also have my CompTIA Security+ certification. I currently work 40+ hours a week as an Exchange Administrator for a hospital (my 1st Healthcare IT gig, I was in the Defense sector for most of my career). I have 2 kids and a 3rd on the way, and I'm in the Air National Guard, so no time to go to a traditional school.

I contacted WGU last week with some questions, but so far I'm not getting much back besides canned sales pitch e-mails, which is a little discouraging.

I was home schooled, and don't have a high school diploma, so my main question was whether or not I could get in using just my existing college credits. The 1st person I spoke to on the phone told me that the application asks if you have a high school diploma or GED, but they don't ask you to send in proof. That wasn't really a good enough answer for me. She then transferred me to an enrolment specialist in the IT program. This guy said he'd find out for me, but was pretty sure it was a strict requirement.

I asked if I'd be better off finishing my Associates, and if I'd be let in with a completed Associates degree. He still thought I'd need a high school diploma. That doesn't make sense to me. Plenty of other Bachelors programs will let you in if you already have an Associates. They don't (and shouldn't) care about your high school records once you're that far along in your education.

I've only needed 12 general education credits to finish my associates for about the last 8 years now. I'd like to be able to just go straight into the BS IT Networks Design and Management program, finish those 12 credits 1st to complete my CCAF, then continue on to finish my BS.

So I guess my question is, when you apply, did they require you to submit proof of your high school diploma?

If not, I think I'll look for someone to give me a referral so I can waive the application fee and get started.

veritas_libertas

LOL, I was home schooled and I don't remember having that much trouble. Try calling again and see if you get someone smarter. Recruiters at most universities don't know that much. If you keep having troubles send me PM and I will see what I can do by talking to my Mentor.

earweed

You complete the Capstone (and everything else) fill out an application for graduation and they mail you your diploma. It doesn't have to wait til the end of your term.

nhpr

They never ask for proof of high school, so just lie. Home schooling is the same as high school anyhow whether or not you have a magical little piece of paper associated with it.

Also, the enrollment people are pretty overworked and often wrong, so don't take them as an example of how well everything else runs.

Lemonade727

Another student and one of my friends is currently enrolled and taking classes at WGU now and he was in a similar situation with no high school diploma or GED since he was home schooled. As far as I know it provided no problem whatsoever for him to get started and maybe he'll even chime in.

Edit: Nevermind, he actually does have a state of FL certified HS diploma but I'd just go ahead and lie and say you have one since you have previous college credits. They'll probably assume you have it since you've been taking college courses already.

Everyone

veritas_libertas wrote: »

LOL, I was home schooled and I don't remember having that much trouble. Try calling again and see if you get someone smarter. Recruiters at most universities don't know that much. If you keep having troubles send me PM and I will see what I can do by talking to my Mentor.

Thanks for all the quick responses! I hope I didn't screw myself by asking them before applying. :P

Did you have a GED or anything from the state saying you completed high school? I have neither. I enlisted in the Air Force at 19 with just a written statement that says
"I was taught home school instruction by my mother, she taught all classes, tested, and graduated me in 1999". That doesn't seem like a very good sentence, can't remember who made me write that, but that's word for word minus my mom's name what my enlistment paperwork said, lol. It doesn't even have my parents signature on it, just mine. That's pretty much the only document I have that says I completed high school.

I've had good jobs since leaving the USAF, including working for Lockheed-Martin for a couple years. I've had no problem getting interviews and finding employment (been with my current employer for 2 years now) based on my experience alone. However I'm starting to feel like the closer I get to the 15 years in IT mark, the more I will need a degree if I want to stay competitive or move up.

earweed

I'm sure you'll be fine as far as the high school part. It's true that the degree will probably help you to advance your career.
Good Luck

erpadmin

For what it's worth, my high school no longer exists. The only proof I ever graduated high school are with my parents. They have all of my diplomas (kindergarten, 8th grade and high school). The only time I needed to provide my high school transcripts was with my first college I attended. After that, it was just from the colleges.

I would probably have to contact my local archdiocese if I needed my high school transcripts...but the diploma is in my family's posession.

I think you'll be fine with just the college level stuff, as I was not asked to provide high school information to WGU.

ThePrimetimer

Hey Guys,
Got a real quick question for anybody who may know off the top of their heads. I've also sent an email to my mentor, but thought I would try here also.

Does anybody know if you can change the degree path you want? I started reading the thread here on why we work in IT and I started to really think of where I want to be. I ultimately want to be in Networking as I fell in love with the Cisco classes.

With that, what BS IT degrees would you guys think has the most focus on Networking?

Any and all comments appreciated.

Thanks!

veritas_libertas

BS:IT Security is your best course of action if you like Cisco

Thxlbx

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

Hey Guys,
Got a real quick question for anybody who may know off the top of their heads. I've also sent an email to my mentor, but thought I would try here also.

Does anybody know if you can change the degree path you want? I started reading the thread here on why we work in IT and I started to really think of where I want to be. I ultimately want to be in Networking as I fell in love with the Cisco classes.

With that, what BS IT degrees would you guys think has the most focus on Networking?

Any and all comments appreciated.

Thanks!

From what I understand, you can change programs, but only at the beginning of a term. So if you are currently in a term, you could not change until it ends.

ThePrimetimer

veritas_libertas wrote: »

BS:IT Security is your best course of action if you like Cisco

That's what I was thinking. But what is keeping me away from that are the Java courses and I am not one to call my self a programmer. I am taking the JavaScript class right now and I find it a bit challenging. The reason is I have no background in programming of any sort and it's a little difficult to wrap my head around.

Thanks for replying.

sheckler

I wouldn't worry too much about them. There's not a test like with Javascript, there is just work to be turned in. And there's plenty of help available.

jtoast

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

That's what I was thinking. But what is keeping me away from that are the Java courses and I am not one to call my self a programmer. I am taking the JavaScript class right now and I find it a bit challenging. The reason is I have no background in programming of any sort and it's a little difficult to wrap my head around.

Thanks for replying.

I passed the two Java classes last term. I hated them...but I didn't hate them enough to change my program.

It took me longer than I thought it would (about 2 months per class in the background while working on something else also) but I got through them with help from several online forums.

I personally would stick with them; not really to learn java, but to learn to think like a coder. There aren't many IT jobs past the helpdesk level that don't require at least a minimal level of coding/scripting skills.