Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

I did a thread search in TE for all WGU related content, and much to my surprise I found numerous threads with WGU at least mentioned in them. For that reason I have decided to start this thread to bring them together and also provide a dedicated thread to future WGU questions, and comments.

I hope this of use to those curious about Western Governors University, and interested in sharing your experiences at the WGU.

Many are willing to help you out with the Refer-a-Friend (used to avoid paying the application fee,) and you can ask for help with this on the following thread: Refer-A-Fried Thread

About Western Governors University:

Western Governors University is an online university driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs. WGU has flourished into a national university, serving over 17,000 students from all 50 states.
The university continues to open doors for adult learners who need flexibility to achieve their education and career goals. WGU’s innovative competency-based academic approach makes it possible, allowing individuals to fit their education into their lives, not the other way around.

History of Western Governors University:

WGU was founded by the governors of 19 U.S. states. At no other time in the history of higher education have the governors of several states joined together to create a university. WGU is also supported by over 20 major corporations and foundations who believe in WGU’s commitment to producing highly competent graduates.

Western Governors University - Indiana

Press Release

WGU Indiana is an online, competency-based university established by the state of Indiana through a partnership with Western Governors University to expand access to higher education for Indiana residents.

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Comments

jcole4lsu

Looks like I am going to forgo the AAS at my community college since they are not offering the courses I need next semester. I dont really plan on spending 2 semesters to finish it. So I'll be looking to enroll at WGU asap after this semester ends. Anyone have any thoughts on which of the certifications that qualify for entry are the "easiest"? I'll definitely be taking the Net+ after this semester, and I know that one counts, so I will need one more. I've heard the CIW Web Foundations Associate is pretty easy. Its also cheap ($150) which is a plus. I thought about the Sec+ exam, since a lot of that information overlaps the Net+, but I'm afraid I would really be pushing it to study for both and pass the exams on such a short schedule (I would like to enroll at WGU in July). Anyone have any thoughts on that?

KeithC

jcole4lsu wrote: »

Looks like I am going to forgo the AAS at my community college since they are not offering the courses I need next semester. I dont really plan on spending 2 semesters to finish it. So I'll be looking to enroll at WGU asap after this semester ends. Anyone have any thoughts on which of the certifications that qualify for entry are the "easiest"? I'll definitely be taking the Net+ after this semester, and I know that one counts, so I will need one more. I've heard the CIW Web Foundations Associate is pretty easy. Its also cheap ($150) which is a plus. I thought about the Sec+ exam, since a lot of that information overlaps the Net+, but I'm afraid I would really be pushing it to study for both and pass the exams on such a short schedule (I would like to enroll at WGU in July). Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Take the CIW Web Foundations exam on Monday (exaggeration).

Study from CIW Foundations Study Notes and use http://www.ciwcertified.com/_resources/objectives/1D0_510.pdf as a guide if anything is missing from mcmcse.com.

swild

Nobylspoon wrote: »

Have any of you obtained a student membership to ISACA? Just curious what you submitted for your proof of full time enrollment.

I sent in my transcript from WGU, but they didn't accept it because they only wanted to know the classes that I am currently enrolled in.

After sending a couple of other things, they finally accepted a screenshot of the "My Degree Plan" page that showed that I had at least 12 hours currently enrolled in this term. That was kinda tricky since the courses get removed from the current term once you pass them. Luckily at the time I was waiting on TaskStream to approve a class and was about to take BNC1 and MGC1 in addition to the other 2 classes I was working on at the time. Just make sure you have 12 hours in term 1 showing.

jcole4lsu

KeithC wrote: »

Take the CIW Web Foundations exam on Monday (exaggeration).

Study from CIW Foundations Study Notes and use http://www.ciwcertified.com/_resources/objectives/1D0_510.pdf as a guide if anything is missing from mcmcse.com.

Thanks for the link. Is that really all the certification entails? I've taken regular exams (not midterms or finals) that covered more material that that

Are any of the other CIW exams as simple as the Foundations one?

Nobylspoon

swild wrote: »

I sent in my transcript from WGU, but they didn't accept it because they only wanted to know the classes that I am currently enrolled in.

After sending a couple of other things, they finally accepted a screenshot of the "My Degree Plan" page that showed that I had at least 12 hours currently enrolled in this term. That was kinda tricky since the courses get removed from the current term once you pass them. Luckily at the time I was waiting on TaskStream to approve a class and was about to take BNC1 and MGC1 in addition to the other 2 classes I was working on at the time. Just make sure you have 12 hours in term 1 showing.

I just sent the enrollment verification PDF that erpadmin mentioned. If that isn't enough I will go ahead and send all the things you mentioned as well. Thanks.

KeithC

jcole4lsu wrote: »

Thanks for the link. Is that really all the certification entails? I've taken regular exams (not midterms or finals) that covered more material that that
Are any of the other CIW exams as simple as the Foundations one?

Yes if you know all the items under each domain that is it. I felt it was pretty easy material and low passing score (I believe you need 54 out of the 85) I passed the exam while in WGU using their supplied material. Actually I took the pre-assessment without even knowing what I was taking then I just refreshed up on the HTML portion.

erpadmin

KeithC wrote: »

Yes I agree but for example I contacted the Math department because of a rejection in one of my QLT1 task. I performed the work but I would get caught up in one little error. For LAT1 I have been calling & chatting because I feel the course is a little less structured. Maybe because it's tailored for the different learning types. Like for my rough draft did I need to paraphrase or synthesis.

I feel that I am paying for these classes and as such if I am stuck or need a clarification I won't waste a ton of my time when I could be completing the class.

In the end their are professor type people for each class (some course mentors even watch over a few classes that are relevant like the BOV1 course mentor).

In the end, it's all about the course mentor. Some of them are useless (INx1 comes to mind....except for one...that course mentor helped me out a lot for my last task....was willing to put in some time to make sure I would get a pass on the final task. I wasn't given the answer, but was pointed in the right direction. As opposed to the main course mentors who just hid behind the competency model and expected students to figure it out on their own. Not for nothing, but folks still have a job to do.) In the end, folks are gonna get through their tasks one way or the other.

KeithC wrote: »

Yes if you know all the items under each domain that is it. I felt it was pretty easy material and low passing score (I believe you need 54 out of the 85) I passed the exam while in WGU using their supplied material. Actually I took the pre-assessment without even knowing what I was taking then I just refreshed up on the HTML portion.

That 54 out of 85 was all the motiviation I needed to knock WFV1 out. I spent good time refreshing on the HTML, but in the end, my knowledge of IT is what got me to pass this course. It was more of a comprehensive exam of everything I did for the past twenty years of personal computing.

KeithC

erpadmin wrote: »

In the end, it's all about the course mentor. Some of them are useless (INx1 comes to mind....except for one...that course mentor helped me out a lot for my last task....was willing to put in some time to make sure I would get a pass on the final task. I wasn't given the answer, but was pointed in the right direction. As opposed to the main course mentors who just hid behind the competency model and expected students to figure it out on their own. Not for nothing, but folks still have a job to do.) In the end, folks are gonna get through their tasks one way or the other.

I totally agree some course mentors are the pits. After my first fail of CLC1 like always a student has to have a chat with the course mentor. I just picked the male one and oh boy was that a quick non-stop him talking and almost putting me to sleep. It was like he was only reading from a script. It was no surprise I failed my second attempt. The female course mentor was so personal and nice because she helped apply the concepts instead of reading definitions. This was ~ eight months ago and I definitely spoke my mind when it came to last evaluations of the course. I do understand different learning styles but the tactics of the course mentors wasn't my only gripe with CLC1.

natv

Pishof - who is your mentor? I am currently in the process of enrolling at WGU and if it's possible to request a particular mentor, yours sounds exactly like who I'd be looking for.

Thanks

Pishof

natv wrote: »

Pishof - who is your mentor? I am currently in the process of enrolling at WGU and if it's possible to request a particular mentor, yours sounds exactly like who I'd be looking for.

Thanks

He was a great mentor who provided freedom to do what I wanted. Unfortunately, he just resigned due to health problems in his family. I haven't spoken to my new mentor yet but I'm so closed to finished in my final term so it doesn't matter at this point.

Nobylspoon

Nobylspoon wrote: »

I just sent the enrollment verification PDF that erpadmin mentioned. If that isn't enough I will go ahead and send all the things you mentioned as well. Thanks.

Just got my approval email. That form all that I needed.

erpadmin

Nobylspoon wrote: »

Just got my approval email. That form all that I needed.

You're welcome.

Glad I was I was able to help...I really love that new clearinghouse feature. They had to have started that sometime this year.

I still have my original two transcripts, that are unopened...but I just can't bring myself to part with them. You get two transcripts for free along with the diploma.

Raidersfan81

BOV1 Assessment(JavaScript)

I've read that there is a lot of questions with Code examples and you have to figure out what code is doing.

My question is, are there straight forward questions like for example "What is a Method? or "Who created the JavaScript Language" Also, I'm not looking for specific questions being asked, just format.

Basically, are there any Ask a question and then choose between a set of answers? Or is it mostly just Code example type questions?

Thanks.

RouteThisWay

With my realization of the importance of a Bachelor's degree, I have begun to look around for a good program that I can use to obtain it. I currently hold an Associates and a few certifications.

I have a few worries with WGU.

My biggest one overall is name recognition. This is an employer's market right now and they can choose to be picky. When they ask for a Bachelor's degree- does this exclude online education? For some reason I always think that these places will see your degree is from WGU, do a quick google to reveal it is an online school, and dismiss you.

I know it is both Nationally and Regionally accredited- however, I am a bit nervous that I will be spending money on a degree that is essentially viewed as worthless. The cost isn't that bad at all. My work will reimburse 50% therefore I can pretty much pay cash every term without sweating. I just don't want to invest the money into something that won't be viewed as a "real degree"/

Basically, I don't want to go from "you don't have a degree" to "you don't have a real degree".

natv

"Not a real degree" = a school that is not Regionally accredited. Regionally accredited means that even if you decide during your program to go to a different school - your credits can be transferred.

Regionally accredited also means you are going to a real, recognized school.

As for online vs offline, online education is become increasingly common, especially for older adults. Also, if I was hiring, I'd likely prefer someone who has taken online vs. offline school as it shows self-discipline and good time management.

I think any employer who looks up WGU and sees what the programs have to offer would be impressed with the program. I'm not sure I'd want to work for someone who isn't open enough to see the value in online education and that fact that times have changed and this is now pretty common.

Hypntick

briandy81 wrote: »

BOV1 Assessment(JavaScript)

I've read that there is a lot of questions with Code examples and you have to figure out what code is doing.

My question is, are there straight forward questions like for example "What is a Method? or "Who created the JavaScript Language" Also, I'm not looking for specific questions being asked, just format.

Basically, are there any Ask a question and then choose between a set of answers? Or is it mostly just Code example type questions?

Thanks.

Trying not to break an NDA here, you'll see examples of code as well as generalized questions. However it is a full multiple choice test, if you've had any C++ or other object oriented language learning in your background you'll do fine.

erpadmin

RouteThisWay wrote: »

With my realization of the importance of a Bachelor's degree, I have begun to look around for a good program that I can use to obtain it. I currently hold an Associates and a few certifications.

I have a few worries with WGU.

My biggest one overall is name recognition. This is an employer's market right now and they can choose to be picky. When they ask for a Bachelor's degree- does this exclude online education? For some reason I always think that these places will see your degree is from WGU, do a quick google to reveal it is an online school, and dismiss you.

I know it is both Nationally and Regionally accredited- however, I am a bit nervous that I will be spending money on a degree that is essentially viewed as worthless. The cost isn't that bad at all. My work will reimburse 50% therefore I can pretty much pay cash every term without sweating. I just don't want to invest the money into something that won't be viewed as a "real degree"/

Basically, I don't want to go from "you don't have a degree" to "you don't have a real degree".

My favorite counter argument to WGU not being a real school is when I compare WGU to a state school in your state that is considered bottom tier. That school is just as "real" as WGU because when that graduate moves to an out of state area like New York City, chances are no HR personnel is going to have heard of that state school (unless of course he/she was from that area himself and even then...might have opinions, but that's neither here nor there.) Bottom line though is that the bottom-rung alumni will ALWAYS say he/she is a college graduate.

The same can be said for any and all WGU alumni.

That's why many WGU alumni will do a B&M program...to both legitimize the degree and show employers that he/she does have a "real" education...both WGU and the B&M.

fta2net

Remote assessment - web cam

hi all
would anybody please explain to me when i will be using the web cam in IT program at WGU ?

In my IT program . and i have confusion about the web cam assessment, would all the exams be web camed or just few ?

thank you

Raidersfan81

fta2net wrote: »

Remote assessment - web cam
hi all
would anybody please explain to me when i will be using the web cam in IT program at WGU ?

In my IT program . and i have confusion about the web cam assessment, would all the exams be web camed or just few ?

thank you

Just some. The assessments that can be taken from a web cam are Objective Assessments, that has a pre-assessment next to it to take. The other objective assessments will be taken at a testing center such as Pearson or Prometric. Which are pretty much all your Certification tests.

The number of web cam assessments that you will have will vary depending on what you transfer in from previous college work. My whole degree path with is Software has 9 total assessments that one could've taken via Web cam if I didn't transfer in any courses from previous college work.

Raidersfan81

Anybody know the how the ABV1 - Windows 7(Exam 70-680) assessment is scored?? I can't seem to find out how many questions there are or the minimum score you need to pass.

Any help will be appreciated.:D

erpadmin

briandy81 wrote: »

Anybody know the how the ABV1 - Windows 7(Exam 70-680) assessment is scored?? I can't seem to find out how many questions there are or the minimum score you need to pass.

Any help will be appreciated.:D

TS: Windows 7, Configuring
Microsoft Certification Exam Registration Questions l Exam Preparation FAQ l Exam Policies

In a nutshell, you need 700 to pass this exam, much like all the other ones. It's typically 50 questions (at least it was with me using the student voucher) but it could be more. Books 24x7 will have the updated Windows 7 MS Press guide that should be plenty to pass, coupled with Technet. (And Kaplan's Selftestsoftware.com practice exams.)

Hope that helps.

N2IT

So far WGU has been real challenging. It's not joke and you learn quite a bit. It's always up to the student to take it as far as one needs. For instance there are 4 courses that I am going to take REALLY serious while the rest I will take serious. Bottom line is the course material is not easy and graded accordingly.

I think the MBA program while not top 25, is a solid business program.

natv

Do pre-assessments need to be taken with the webcam?

ie - a pre-assessment to determine if you are ready to get a voucher for a certification exam (A+, Microsoft, Sec+, etc), is this pre-assessment proctored?

Thanks

fendral

Well, Today is my official start date at WGU and have a few questions to those that have been down this path already:

How long should it take for my taskstream login to appear?
How long should it take for my webcam to show up?
How long after accepting AAV will my degree plan allow me to schedule the exam (currently the schedule button is missing)

For those that have done gen-ed objective classes with preassessments, If I pass the preassessment, is it worth taking time to go over all of the learning resources or should I just schedule the exam? (or how close to the preassessments are the exams?)

Like:
CLC1 cut:70 score:92
INC1 cut:58 score:70
GAC1 cut:73 score:84
BNC1 cut:51 score:74
IWC1 cut:55 score:82
MGC1 cut:52 score:74

If the preassessments are very close to the actual exams, that's 18CU that can be done in as long as it takes to schedule the exams.

Hypntick

fendral wrote: »

Well, Today is my official start date at WGU and have a few questions to those that have been down this path already:

How long should it take for my taskstream login to appear?
How long should it take for my webcam to show up?
How long after accepting AAV will my degree plan allow me to schedule the exam (currently the schedule button is missing)

For those that have done gen-ed objective classes with preassessments, If I pass the preassessment, is it worth taking time to go over all of the learning resources or should I just schedule the exam? (or how close to the preassessments are the exams?)

Like:
CLC1 cut:70 score:92
INC1 cut:58 score:70
GAC1 cut:73 score:84
BNC1 cut:51 score:74
IWC1 cut:55 score:82
MGC1 cut:52 score:74

If the preassessments are very close to the actual exams, that's 18CU that can be done in as long as it takes to schedule the exams.

How long should it take for my taskstream login to appear? Took about 24 hours or so for me
How long should it take for my webcam to show up? A bit over a week, maybe longer
How long after accepting AAV will my degree plan allow me to schedule the exam (currently the schedule button is missing) - Usually 24 hours or so.

Also to schedule a test, you need to do it 5 days in advance and give them a date/time range of 3 options.

Psoasman

natv wrote: »

Do pre-assessments need to be taken with the webcam?

ie - a pre-assessment to determine if you are ready to get a voucher for a certification exam (A+, Microsoft, Sec+, etc), is this pre-assessment proctored?

Thanks

You take the pre-assessment without webcams or proctoring, they are for your assessment only. uCertify has pre-assessment exams, too.

fendral

So does the compulsion to bash refresh on Taskstream/Email ever go away?

I'm sitting on waiting for 2 Taskstream tasks, 2 voucher requests, and one mentor test approval and have nothing else (officially) to work on.
guess I'll start poking around at DFV1 while I wait.

jmasterj206

fendral wrote: »

So does the compulsion to bash refresh on Taskstream/Email ever go away?

If you are waiting for KET1 to be graded expect to be waiting about 3 days. I just recently turned in task 1 and it took a little over 3 days. Generally speaking 3 days is usually average. I've had a few that took up to 5 days and a few back in 24 hours. I just depends on the graders workload at the time.

Hypntick

fendral wrote: »

So does the compulsion to bash refresh on Taskstream/Email ever go away?

I'm sitting on waiting for 2 Taskstream tasks, 2 voucher requests, and one mentor test approval and have nothing else (officially) to work on.
guess I'll start poking around at DFV1 while I wait.

It took 4.75 days for IWT1 task 2 to come back as complete. Trust me, the urge never goes away until you're finally done with taskstream I imagine.

natv

Question for those that have taken the Finite Math courses...

GAC1 Finite Mathematics
HHT1 Finite Mathematics Applications

I'm starting WGU in June and before I start my first semester I want to find some online resources to get a better idea of the topics in these math classes (and ideally a head start on trying to understand the concepts).

I found a few web sites with online video tutorials or lectures that seem to deal with Finite Math, for example:

Math 1313 - University of Houston Department of Mathematics
Math 105 videos
Video Store powered by MindBites

But there are a lot of topics (especially that 2nd podcasts link above) and I don't know what topics in finite math the WGU courses actually covor. Does anyone have a course outline or list of topics for these courses?

Or has anyone found some good video lecture/tutorials to compliment the book/mathlab in the course. I know I will need all the extra help I can get, and I can't afford to get a tutor.

Thanks