Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

earweed

That's why most people do more. I haven't really busted butt and I've gotten 18-21 CU's every term.

earweed

fly351 wrote: »

WGU confirmed that:

BGV1 = CCNA, replacing Network+
BLV1 = CCNA:Security, replacing 70-298

My mentor said the new program guide should be available sometime early April.

bwcarty

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Its silly that I could bust rear and do 12-15 CUs in a month (easier classes) and then sit there for 5 months and wait for a new term. Granted, its only putting money in WGUs pockets and out of mine, but one could do that if they wanted.

You seem to be under the impression that WGU is out to suck every penny you have out of your bank account.

Truth is, you'll get assigned 12 credits worth of classes at the start of each term to qualify you for full time status. Your mentor can add classes as you're ready for them. If you only want to do 12 credits worth of classes, finish them in a month, and take then next 5 months off, I'm sure they won't mind keeping you enrolled for 10+ semesters, but that isn't their goal.

I started with 12 hours assigned in my first semester, and I ended up with 31 finished by the end of the term.

They do have one restriction in that they won't let you register for a new class in the 5th month of the term. Their goal is to keep a number called "Satisfactory Academic Progress" as high as possible, and all that is the percentage of credits attempted vs. the number completed. If you have an unfinished class at the end of a semester, it drops your SAP.

Hyper-Me

bwcarty wrote: »

You seem to be under the impression that WGU is out to suck every penny you have out of your bank account.
.

I dont think they are trying to steal money from me, but they are certainly out to make money.

They are better than most schools, by offering a deeply discounted price over pretty much any other college out there, but that doesn't negate the fact that they make money doing it.

I don't wanna start the whole "but some universitys are state funded and are not-for-profit" discussion again because its beaten to death and moot.

earweed

My school is paid for by the VA so I have to take 17 hours to be F/T. I have to work and I've got a wife and daughter who take up time or I'd be doing more. The mentors encourage you to do as many as you can but they only want you to initially sign up for 12 CU's as it looks bad on the mentor when their students SAP isn't met.
So you do your 12 hours, add more and get them done. WGU wants you to finish quickly because the longer it takes you, the more likely you wont finish and that looks bad for WGU to have a low graduation percentage.

cablegod

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I dont think they are trying to steal money from me, but they are certainly out to make money.

Actually, they are non-profit.

Hyper-Me

earweed wrote: »

My school is paid for by the VA so I have to take 17 hours to be F/T. I have to work and I've got a wife and daughter who take up time or I'd be doing more. The mentors encourage you to do as many as you can but they only want you to initially sign up for 12 CU's as it looks bad on the mentor when their students SAP isn't met.
So you do your 12 hours, add more and get them done. WGU wants you to finish quickly because the longer it takes you, the more likely you wont finish and that looks bad for WGU to have a low graduation percentage.

Their graduation rate is only at like 56% as it is, I don't know if thats a good thing or bad thing. It could mean the school is difficult/challenging and therefore weeds out the bad eggs. On the other hand it could mean that the distance learning model is a failure and a large amount of people can't adapt to it. It could even mean people arent satisifed with the experience and leave WGU for greener pastures. Who knows? Not me.

Hyper-Me

cablegod wrote: »

Actually, they are non-profit.

Nevermind. I said i wasn't getting into this discussion again. But i do know what a NFP organization is and what it isnt.

earweed

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Who knows? Not me.

Only the Shadow knows..lol

A lot of the reason for the low grad rate may be that it does define f/t as 12 C/U's and most people are satisfied doing that. But doing only 12 C/U's makes the degree take close to 6 years which makes a lot of people drop out. Also a lot of people aren't good self learners, they have to have the weekly quizzes and homework assignments you get at the B&M's. On-line education is different from B&M's by one big factor, you don't have the teacher to ask questions of and you don't have as much interaction with other students. I tried doing the WGU messenger thing and joining study groups but most people don't participate. I uninstalled the messenger from my computer a year ago and haven't missed it.
The only time WGU Chat messenger was useful was that the english class mentors actually had chat sessions once or twice a week which were very helpful.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

. . .I tried doing the WGU messenger thing and joining study groups but most people don't participate. I uninstalled the messenger from my computer a year ago and haven't missed it.
The only time WGU Chat messenger was useful was that the english class mentors actually had chat sessions once or twice a week which were very helpful.

I didn't know they had such a utility. If I had to suffer math through them, that might actually be useful.

earweed

petedude wrote: »

I didn't know they had such a utility. If I had to suffer math through them, that might actually be useful.

Most of the course mentors have weekly scheduled chat times but I've found that most are not really utilized. The mentor will sit there for a while with his messenger open and no one will join the chat session.
Part of EWB is installing your chat messenger.

fly351

Question, are all courses "Proctored"? For example..

Language and Communication: Foundations (LAC1)
Proctored, computer-based objective exam
Language and Communication: Essay (LAE1)
Proctored, computer-based essay exam
Language and Communication: Research (LAT1)
Performance assessment that includes writing a research paper
Language and Communication: Presentation (LUT1)
Performance assessment that includes an oral presentation

I would assume, given the above, it would be quite OBVIOUS that only 2 of the 4 courses are Proctored, but WGU tells me all courses are proctored.

edit: To clarify, from past experiences assessment doesn't always mean an "exam"...

earweed

Performance assessments are done online, submitted to a grader, usually several assignments. Objective assessments are proctored, taken at a testing facility.

The performance assesments are NOT proctored. The presentation, btw, is supposed to be given in front of a group. For mine I had 4 people in my living room and recorded it with my webcam > uploaded it.

fly351

earweed wrote: »

Performance assessments are done online, submitted to a grader, usually several assignments. Objective assessments are proctored, taken at a testing facility.

The performance assesments are NOT proctored. The presentation, btw, is supposed to be given in front of a group. For mine I had 4 people in my living room and recorded it with my webcam > uploaded it.

Thanks earweed, that is exactly what I assumed...

earweed

Language and Communication: Research (LAT1)
Performance assessment that includes writing a research paper
Language and Communication: Presentation (LUT1)
Performance assessment that includes an oral presentation


Those performance assesment classes used to be combined into 1 when I took them.

Hyper-Me

Well as of today I am officially a college student!

I can access the communities now,and my AAP is populated finally.

It's got me wanting to click "Pre Assessment" for everything

earweed

Yeah
EWB awaits first. Should take 1 or 2 days to complete.

veritas_libertas

Okay you two, announce yourself on the the TE thread at WGU IT community !

earweed

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Okay you two, announce yourself on the the TE thread at WGU IT community !

Just one. I was cheering for Hyper me starting finally. I'm already over there.
Has anyone else noticed a WGU Banner ad on here lately, I saw one yesterday but haven't seen it since.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

Just one. I was cheering for Hyper me starting finally. I'm already over there.
Has anyone else noticed a WGU Banner ad on here lately, I saw one yesterday but haven't seen it since.

Saw the banner ad here recently too. I've seen those all over, including a few places that surprised me. It's good WGU is getting the exposure, though.

b1tbuck3t

petedude wrote: »

Saw the banner ad here recently too. I've seen those all over, including a few places that surprised me. It's good WGU is getting the exposure, though.

I think it may also be a result of the ad targeting programs keying off thing like your email in gmail and cookies from going to the WGU site.

Way two much of a coinsidance that all of a sudden ads for WGU, Villonoma, etc. are popping up when I visit unrelated websites.

fly351

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Well as of today I am officially a college student!

I can access the communities now,and my AAP is populated finally.

It's got me wanting to click "Pre Assessment" for everything

Nice, when did you start?

Hyper-Me

fly351 wrote: »

Nice, when did you start?

Yesterday.

Im done with the EWB tasks, just need to do the 2 assessments.

chmorin

I'm considering moving from University of Phoenix because of the perks of certifications and it being 1/3 the price.

How does WGU deal with previous credit hours and certifications, and applying them to your current program?

fly351

chmorin wrote: »

I'm considering moving from University of Phoenix because of the perks of certifications and it being 1/3 the price.

How does WGU deal with previous credit hours and certifications, and applying them to your current program?

If they are within the past 5 years, depending on the class, they should accept most general ed classes providing they apply to the degree you are working towards. But IT classes probably won't unless your certified in that course/material.


http://kb.wgu.edu

veritas_libertas

Not necessarily. If the classes title is for instance, "A+ - Computer Maintenance" there is a good chance it will waive both IT Fundamentals II and III. This will work with other classes as well.

chmorin

Is a humanities class general education?

jahsoul

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Yesterday.

Im done with the EWB tasks, just need to do the 2 assessments.

How is that administered? My mentor is out of town so I'm just here with my EWB finished. *shrug*

earweed

chmorin wrote: »

Is a humanities class general education?

The gen ed are pretty much everything not IT related. Humanities is part of gen ed, along with math, science.
What concentration are you planning on? (Security, network design, or general IT)

chmorin

I will be doing Network Administration. I wish I had found WGU sooner, It would have saved me thousands of dollars.