Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

erpadmin

fendral wrote: »

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

I learned to have notification(at)taskstream.com emails go straight to my cell phone by way of "filters" via the WGU (gmail) email settings (yourphonenumber(at)cellcarrier.com) . I'd do a task, move on to the next thing and would get happy when I'd see Evaluation Complete (or whatever) or sad when I'd see (Revision Needed). But I was not going to be a slave to Taskstream.

[Admittedly, I couldn't help but do it a couple of times...but it was definitely less frequent then without it.]

N2IT

Good idea. The first task went right through for me the second not so much. Finally got it on the 3rd revision. Now I am working on a decent sized presentation, which will wrap up HRM. Can't wait to get into eBusiness, I already started reading the material. Marketing and eBusiness|B2B etc is way more exciting that HR, even though I must admin succession planning is really cool. The formulas to figure out the staffing level in the future aka forecast is really insightful. I have that information in my managers portfolio.

Soundz2gd

erpadmin wrote: »

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.

So are the tests for some of these classes the actual certification test?

erpadmin

Soundz2gd wrote: »

So are the tests for some of these classes the actual certification test?

Yes. Upon completion of a pass for a Microsoft exam related to the WGU "course." The "course" being a pass of the MS exam.

BKBroiler

Hi,

I've been reading this thread for more info on WGU, as I'm planning on obtaining a BS - Informaton Technology degree. It will be several months before I can apply and enroll. In the meantime, I would like to CLEP out of as many GedEd classes as I can in order to conserve time and money. I've been searching the Internet for info on which CLEP exams map to WGU courses - no luck. Even the CLEP web site doesn't show course mapping for WGU, unlike other schools, so I can't determine which CLEP courses I should take. Is anyone aware of a list that shows which CLEP exams will allow one to test out of the GenEd requirements for WGU?

TLeTourneau

BKBroiler wrote: »

Hi,

I've been reading this thread for more info on WGU, as I'm planning on obtaining a BS - Informaton Technology degree. It will be several months before I can apply and enroll. In the meantime, I would like to CLEP out of as many GedEd classes as I can in order to conserve time and money. I've been searching the Internet for info on which CLEP exams map to WGU courses - no luck. Even the CLEP web site doesn't show course mapping for WGU, unlike other schools, so I can't determine which CLEP courses I should take. Is anyone aware of a list that shows which CLEP exams will allow one to test out of the GenEd requirements for WGU?

Have you called WGU and asked? That's what I would recommend.

natv

I'm starting in June. If I recall I did read somewhere that WGU doesn't accept Clep.

You can get credit though for certain IT certifications you may have.

itsgonnahappen

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".

I find myself in a similar situation. I've been doing extensive research on WGU the last week and everything ultimately comes back to what the outside perception of employers and peers would be in regards to earning an online degree.

It appears that when people tell others they obtained a degree through an online institution they go from impressed to...less than impressed.

Personally, having completed a degree from a brick and mortar institution by taking both online and in-person classes... the online classes were far more difficult by a large margin. I intentionally took what I deemed as easier classes online thinking that I wouldn't need extra direction that you get from an in-person class to only find out that I earned grades lower than I originally anticipated.

The online version of the class has always been harder. Always.

In my opinion, in an in person class you have the benefit of the teacher throwing out the book and telling you directly what you need and what you don't need. It's easier this way. I've had an instructor fully review an exam right before the exam. In some cases I've had teachers curve grades and provide extra credit. I've seen classmates simply show up and pass the class and got through it unscathed.

In an online class... the complete opposite... you either put in the work to learn interdependently or you'll pay the price. There's no hand holding here. You either know it or you don't. It is MORE difficult.

This all being said... knowing from my own experiences about the difficulty of an online program... I'm still fighting how others may perceive the degree to be less than what it is.

Do government agencies look down on WGU? Does the DoD discount a degree from WGU or not consider it? Will employers see WGU on my resume and question why they should consider it to be an equal to a brick and mortar an in interview?

Like some before me, I simply want to maximize my dollar and know that my degree in WGU will not be discounted or an some extreme scenario... WGU will somehow become un-accredited and my money, time, and sweat will be a wash.

How do you all feel about these concerns?

In my current situation, obtaining a bachelor's degree online is the only realistic way to achieve my goal and WGU appears to have the best IT program on the market.

erpadmin

itsgonnahappen wrote:

Personally, having completed a degree from a brick and mortar institution by taking both online and in-person classes... ...snip....

I feel my earlier response to Mr. RouteThisWay was more than adequate. So I'll just address parts of your post.

I am in 100% agreement with you with face-to-face vs. online classes in regards to a B&M setting [not even going to touch WGU for now.] Many people are under the mistaken impression that online courses delivered at a B&M is cake, compared to a face-to-face setting. I was given one example from someone about how people can tag-team a course to take the non-proctored exams and they get their A that way. Personally, I would find that a literal waste of time. I can tell you that those non-proctored exams, even if one reads the chapter are much harder than a proctored, closed-book quiz. A proctored exam, you have the benefit of knowing what "exactly" will be on the exam. The non-proctored exam, it's anything and everything on a particular chapter, so you spend time looking at the index for a particular term and finding out what's what. Also, there's no going back either...once you're done with a set of questions, you can't go back to them. 30 questions to do in 1 hour. That's two minutes per question...no way I was going to bother with a classmate to give me questions simply because it would have been a waste of my time and his/her's.

As for your question about the DoD...the military sends their students there and military students get funding through GI Bill, etc. to attend there. Barack Obama had an education roundtable in which the WGU President attended. Education Secretary Arne Duncan specifically mentions Western Governors University by name when mentioning ways for colleges to cut costs.

Now I will tie-in why I went to WGU and earned my BS there. All I cared about was a piece of paper that states that a regionally accredited university has conferred upon erpadmin the degree of Bachelor of Science Information Technology with all the rights yadda-yadda-yadda. My WGU degree allowed me to enroll in a graduate certifcate program (as well as properly matriculate into a Masters) at a B&M school (that was by my choice; I wanted to make sure I could handle 6 credits at the graduate level.) Thanks to WGU, as well as how I did in past B&Ms when I was sober enough to attend them, I have finished the semester with As in both classes. Mind you, I started out the semester shooting for Bs. The As were just doing the basic stuff like handing in assignments on time, conforming to the format the professor wanted and in the case of one of my classes doing extra credit. The funny thing about the extra credit...if I didn't bother doing the extra credit at all, I would have had a B+.

So yes, as a WGU graduate who also is attending a B&M online, I am more than qualified to state that a WGU degree is worth it. I only went the B&M route ONLY to counter notions that a WGU degree would not count. It not only counts, but it is a tremendous confidence booster. I will be able to apply for jobs of my choosing based on both my own work experiences and the "piece of paper" that is my Bachelor of Science degree.

WGU...it counts.

Psoasman

I agree with this. I've found the open-book exams more difficult than proctored exams. For my project management course, the instructor's expected answers were 1/2 page direct quotes from the textbook.

The work I've done at WGU so far has been challenging and rewarding. I am planning on doing the M.S. in Networking in the future. There are 2 reasons I enrolled at WGU: 1) The solid accreditation and 2) I won't be up to my eyeballs in debt. I will graduate from WGU in the next year or so, with zero debt and be more qualified for higher-level positions.

natv

Quick question about the calculators allowed for the Finite Math classes.

According to the WGU KB page at https://kb.wgu.edu/display/2/index.aspx?c=12&cpc=3041r5ddxF0IetxgscnfYq4KF2b&cid=3&cat=&catURL=&r=0.259233593940735

WGU says:

Permitted Calculators
You may use one basic, scientific, or graphing calculator, unless it has a built in computer algebra system (CAS). For example, the TI-82, TI-83, TI-83+, TI-84, TI-84+, TI-85, TI-86, and TI-Nspire (non-CAS) are acceptable. Calculators with paper tape are allowed if the tape is removed and they are not prohibited for other reasons.

Prohibited Calculators
The following types of calculators are prohibited:

• Calculators that include a computer algebra system (CAS) are not allowed. For example, the TI-89, TI-92, and TI-Nspire CAS are not allowed.
• Computers and PDAs are not allowed.
• Calculators with an electronic writing pad, pen-input device, or QWERTY (typewriter) keyboards are not allowed.
• Calculators that are part of electronic communication devices are not allowed. For example, cell phone calculators are not allowed.

So it says that the

TI-Nspire (non-CAS) is ALLOWED, and that does look like a sweet [FONT=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]calculator[/FONT] (any of these will take me days to learn, I've never really used a scientific calculator before. My last math class was 15 years ago and I'm sure I had one but didn't use it much.).

Anyway, so I like the

TI-Nspire (non-CAS) model, but the part I'm confused about is:

When I look up the calculator on the Texas Instruments web site (which even has a graphic stamp that says it's approved for ACT AP IB), it clearly has a keyboard:

TI-Nspire™ with Touchpad by Texas Instruments - US and Canada


It's not a QWERTY keyboard, but it's still a keyboard.

I also found this link on the ACT site (https://www.actstudent.org/faq/answers/calculator.html) that says:

Prohibited: "calculators with a typewriter keypad (letter keys in QWERTY format)—Note: Letter keys not in QWERTY format are permitted."

So - it can have a keyboard as long as it's NOT QWERTY? Am I missing something or is this the oddest regulation ever?

Can anyone confirm if there are really no issues in using the TI-Nspire (non-CAS) (TI-Nspire™ with Touchpad by Texas Instruments - US and Canada)



Thanks
Nat

TLeTourneau

I have the TI NSpire (non-CAS), no problem with WGU. I've used it for a few tests.

erpadmin

My $20 TI-86 I got from eBay worked just as well...quadratic equations were easy. TI-86 was a legal calculator.

pcgizzmo

Let's say I get my Bachelors from WGU and then I decide I want to go into nursing and get my Bachelors degree. Will a local school take my Bachelors and apply it and then I would only need to take the classes I need for the nursing part of their course? This is the way it would work if I had a Bachelors from a traditional school.

I like the WGU concept but I wonder if you wanted to change careers that caused you to have to go back to school locally would the way they only do pass/fail mess you up from that perspective?

erpadmin

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WGU does offer a Nursing program. As long as you take 24 CUs or more, you should be able to enroll in it.

If you wanted to do a second bachelor's at a B&M, it would depend. Many schools would honor the WGU BS and allow you to take the 60 credits required for a BS/BA in whatever. But there may be programs that require that you have certain classes as part of your undergrad.

The WGU degree can be honored because it is a regionally accredited degree. But it will depend on the individual school's policy about a second BS.

Jasiono

I've been looking into this WGU vs Penn State World Campus and for the money it looks like WGU has a lot to offer. My only problem is I don't have any certs but 050-696 Novell.

This is tough haha.

a.a.!4life

Greetings TE, been a lurker for about 3 weeks and thought it's about that time to cross-over to the greener pastures and introduce myself. This forum is solely the reason for me finding out about and enrolling in WGU. You guys have been extremely helpful and motivating. I've read just about 78% of the posts in this thread and the other WGU thread and think I have a good understanding of how this all works. I'm planning on enrolling in WGU either July or August for their BS IT databases program. I have my A.A. in Liberal Arts and several other courses from various universities, which I think should cover some if not all of the GE's required for this degree leaving me with the certifications and their respective courses, technical writing, capstone. I just requested to have my official transcripts sent to WGU and am eager to see which courses transferred and what I have left. If it's just the cert courses then there may be a possibility for me to finish in either 1,2, or 3(yikes) terms. I have a web development background and passed my A+ and Sec+ just last month. Currently studying for Network+ and just began reading up on Project+ , I hope to take the cert tests for both once enrolled to get those outta the way.

Couple questions I had, I noticed in reading the bs_it_data program pdf that some courses require hard copy books (eg. Microsoft SQL server 2008 step by step. ISBN: 9780735626041) and some courses simply have learning resources available online (eg. CIW), now will I have to purchase the hard copy course books myself or are they covered by tuition and be mailed to me? As for the CIW courses (CIW Web Foundations Associate, CIW Web Design Specialist, CIW JavaScript Specialist, CIW Database Design Specialist), since I don't have access to the WGU online resources atm can anyone recommend any online alternatives which I could start using to study for now? I want to pump out those CIW's cert tests as early as I can to give some room for the MS MTA's and the MCITP: Database Developer. One other question, how would you differentiate the Comptia N+ vs. Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Networking Fundamentals and Comptia S+ vs. Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Security Fundamentals? Would you say the Microsoft exams are more difficult than the Comptia, same, or easier? Thank you.

Last one, I notice a majority of posters here are in network or security, anyone else in the database emphasis?

erpadmin

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I just checked WGU Skillport site and the Step by Step book is available online. If you're one of those people who needs to smell paper and feel the pages turn in your hands to read [I'm teasing... ], then this might not help you, but it is available for free on Books 24x7. Alternatively, the book is also available in Kindle format as well.

Since you read 78% of the threads, I guess the 22% you didn't read must've included posts about the CIW Web Foundations exams... Go to mcmcse.com and find the study guide for CIW 1D0-510 exam. Between reading that, and taking the uCertify demo for 1D0-510, you should be good to go (someone with at least A+ and Network+ should be able to pass this exam with hardly any studying. You do have to brush up on the HTML, but the HTML will not make or break you.

Lastly, I didn't graduate with the database emphasis, but I am a SQL Server (2000-2008 R2) DBA. I didn't go with that emphasis because it focused more on developing than administration and at the time I enrolled, it was in the Oracle DB (which would have been fine, but I would have rathered done the MCITP:EA route than Oracle.) They switched from Oracle to Microsoft, but again, stayed in the development side.

Welcome to TE and best of luck in your studies.

a.a.!4life

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Thanks for the CIW resources! Yes, I guess that's the old school in me, I need that hard copy just for when I need to get away from my desk and buckle down and read chapters at a coffee shop, no email, no sports scores, no social network media.

Congrats on graduating btw, I hope to be there someday.

RouteThisWay

Another question Thanks for the info here guys...

I went through each of the of the different degrees they offer. How does the general BS in IT degree make up the classes that the focused one (such as Databases) will have to take? Is it a much broader scope? Thanks!

Edit: Another question... do all of the degrees say the same thing or do they tack on the route you went? I would assume they all just say BS in IT- but, you never know. Just wondering if it really matters which track I pick

demonfurbie

RouteThisWay wrote: »

Another question Thanks for the info here guys...

I went through each of the of the different degrees they offer. How does the general BS in IT degree make up the classes that the focused one (such as Databases) will have to take? Is it a much broader scope? Thanks!

Edit: Another question... do all of the degrees say the same thing or do they tack on the route you went? I would assume they all just say BS in IT- but, you never know. Just wondering if it really matters which track I pick

the gen degree is very broad thats were it makes up the classes
and all degrees just say bs - it

dmac17

Does anyone know if they let you evaluate more then one degree for transfer. I obviously want as much transfer credit as possible for my previous degree. I have an A.S. In computer science and went for the MIS direction. I don't really enjoy programming so I am tending to stay away from anything but the basics. I am interested in the CCNA as well but could do that on my own time. I am leaning towards the BS IT - Network Admin degree.

I also enjoy business and had considered the BS Business - Information Technology Managment. However I dont feel this would be the quickest way to go. I would prefer to limit my expenses as I will most likely need loans for alteast part of my education. Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks

jmasterj206

I had 2 different schools I went to and they took transfers from both. It isn't an issue.

dmac17

jmasterj206 wrote: »

I had 2 different schools I went to and they took transfers from both. It isn't an issue.

I rephrase that. I meant transfer into thier program. IE BS-IT vs BS-Net Admin.

Thanks

petedude

[QUOTE=Jasiono;635083 My only problem is I don't have any certs but 050-696 Novell.
[/QUOTE]

Time to hit those books, then.

The 050-696 ought to be worth something. I can't remember at the moment who to send you to to ask.

jmasterj206

dmac17 wrote: »

I rephrase that. I meant transfer into thier program. IE BS-IT vs BS-Net Admin.

Thanks

If you just want to get done just do the standard degree unless you have MS certs already. As far as the evaluation you would have to talk to the enrollment counselor. You always have the option to change emphasis once you get started.

astrogeek

Hi all, I'm looking to start WGU's Bachelor of Science, IT - Security program but I want to knock out the basic courses at Straighterline to keep the cost down - but I'm a little unsure if about courses I'll need at SL.com to. Below is a list I've matched up from Straighterline's site:

MAT101 --> AGC1
ENG101 --> BBC1 and LAE1
ENG102 --> QBT1
CHEM101 --> INC1
BIO101L --> INT1
MAT201 --> QLT1
CIV101 --> BVC1

So the above classes are what I'll most likely need from Straighterline, however, I can't find any classes that match up with theses below classes that WGU requires:
CLC1 (Reasoning and Problem Solving)
LUT1 (Language and Communication: Presentation)
GAC1 (Finite Mathmatics)
HHT1 (Finite Mathmatics Applications)
IWC1 (Literature, Arts and the Humanities)
IWT1 (Literature, Arts and the Humanities: Analasys and Interpretation)

I understand these courses may simply not be available through Straighterline - but looking at their name I would assume they would offer them so I just wanted to ask around here first. I also haven't yet had WGU look at my transcripts, but other than MAT101 I don't think any other basic courses will transfer.

Hopefully that's not too detailed of a question, as I was writing this I was thinking how I probably should have WGU see my transcripts first - but I'll do that soon

djfunz

Hi guys. Quick question. My program start date is June 1st and I was wondering if I can get a head start somehow with some of the courses. I completed my Education Without Boundaries orientation and was just wondering if it's possible to get a head start. I'm excited to get going. Any recommendations?

natv

djfinz - yes you can already access some things. For example, a few days ago I started the DTV1 course as I was able to access the course book through CourseSmart - go to the COS page and DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION OF THE COS. This is what worked best for me, there are links in there (for coursesmart, login with your wgu email/pw, that worked for me)

Also, I had my first call with my Mentor yesterday and he opened up the learning resources for that course for me (Learnkey, Ucertify).

djfunz

Thanks for the tip natv. I have my first call with my mentor tomorrow. I downloaded the pdf and it appears that one must be "enrolled" prior to accessing most of the learning material associated with a given course. I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow when I speak with the mentor and perhaps she enrolls me allowing access to the material beforehand.