Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

natv

The CourseSmart book (which is most of the course really) I was able to access before being enrolled for the learning resources, in case that helps and you want to start on that today.

Psoasman

@djfunz - You can have your mentor open up the community forum for your classes. Some of them have videos / tutorials you can work with.

djfunz

I'm not sure what you mean by a 'coursesmart' book because I'm just seeing 'mylabsplus' for most of the first few courses which require a special login beyond the typical WGU portal login.

natv

It's the Microsoft book listed for the course. Somehow I had found my way to wgu.coursesmart.com , and logged in with my wgu email/pw.

NB4L

Good information.

breannaall

Anyone know anything about the Teacher's college?

Darthn3ss

Took COV1 today - officially have my first class done! CQV1 in a couple of weeks, and then on to CSV1 and CUV1.

I know what to expect for CSV1 but I know nothing about CUV1. I never even heard of CIW certifications until i enrolled at WGU. Are they 'worth' anything when it comes time to put a resume together and start looking for a job?

Also, does anyone know if WGU will let me take a course i've already transferred over? (actually it just says requirement satisfied, not transferred) I want to get my A+ just to tailor my resume towards some of the entry level jobs, but I don't really have a $400 bucks sitting around and even if I did, i'd much rather use that money to add to my lab :P) (i know it sounds silly - A+ could be the difference between getting a job and not getting a job. hell maybe i'll just do it *sigh*)

a.a.!4life

Hi Guys, I'm looking to purchase a tablet for WGU. I have never owned one but expect to use it primarily for school, I'm not looking to break the bank so I'm looking at the ipad2 16gig, asus transformer, or kindle fire. Anyone find one tablet works better with course-ware provided by WGU over the other? Or is it simply up to the individual? I'm sort of leaning towards the asus because of the ease of file transferring. Thoughts? Experiences?

Iristheangel

If you want a decent WGU tablet, you'll need something that'll run flash. I bought a HP Touchpad for about $150. It's a dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, and 32GB HD. I stuck Ice Cream Sandwich on it and it's AWESOME for WGU

demonfurbie

is say a 7in android tab ... it has flash for alot of the resources and its read from books24x7 off of

swild

Yeah, you will need Flash. I have an iPad for work and I can't use it for most things.

kgb

I just bought the new Asus Transformer TF300 - 32gb. Was $400.00 off amazon.com.

It seems to runs everything I've thrown at it so far. From reading books on coursesmart or watching videos on LearnKey. The only thing I've come across is certain highly interactive questions (in uCertify) didn't work. But, all the multiple choice and like works great.

I have a color nook, but I personally find the 7" (I think that's what size it is) is just too small.

foofighters

Iristheangel wrote: »

If you want a decent WGU tablet, you'll need something that'll run flash. I bought a HP Touchpad for about $150. It's a dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, and 32GB HD. I stuck Ice Cream Sandwich on it and it's AWESOME for WGU

I find I work much better with a dual screen computer setup, however I do own a HP touchpad that I purchased for ~$150 last year from craigslist. I loaded an Cyanogenmod (android) on it and it works quite well for reading. I'm currently going through a couple of straighterline courses and the "lesson presentation" files don't load, but they don't load on my wife's ipad either. While I am quite happy with the touchpad, if I had a bigger budget, I'd definitely go for the Asus Transformer for $400. I personally think a 7" tablet is too small, but that is my own personal preference.

a.a.!4life

Thank you for the responses.

@Iristheangel Thanks for the heads up on flash, I'll definitely look into the HP Touchpad as a cost-friendlier alternative.

@swild You would think for the price you pay for an ipad you would expect it to work for most thinggs.

@kgb I'm leaning more towards the Asus Transformer, I've seen some good deals online for 16gig refurbs for $239.00. Did your tablet come installed with ice cream sandwich or honeycomb? But I might just look into spending the extra more to get the higher version.

demonfurbie

really most of what youll need it for is reading text so either will do imo

i tend to like the 7in ive tired reading for long spans with a 10 in and my arms got tired, but to each there own sure beats buying books just so you can have some portability

kgb

a.a.!4life wrote: »

@kgb I'm leaning more towards the Asus Transformer, I've seen some good deals online for 16gig refurbs for $239.00. Did your tablet come installed with ice cream sandwich or honeycomb? But I might just look into spending the extra more to get the higher version.

Yep, brand new, everything installed.

I do recommend to get a nice cover for it though. Mine, I can have it tilted @ 3 different angles, so when I'm sitting on the couch/recliner, I can have it resting on my lap/stomach tilted towards me. I wouldn't want to actually hold it and work with it.

moreland11

Would you guys recommend doing core classes (math/science/english/speech) at a community college and transferring those to WGU or just do everything at WGU? I was going to do the B.S. that included MCITP since I already have MCITP:EA, Security+, and sitting for the CCNA in week or two.

kgb

moreland11 wrote: »

Would you guys recommend doing core classes (math/science/english/speech) at a community college and transferring those to WGU or just do everything at WGU? I was going to do the B.S. that included MCITP since I already have MCITP:EA, Security+, and sitting for the CCNA in week or two.

I think it depends on how fast you want to start. Community college, I'm assuming is..12-16week semester? Best case, you take all the classes in 1 semester. I don't think the cost would be that much different than 1 term (6months) @ WGU. But, you could very well knock out more than just those classes in 1 term depending on how fast you learn, etc.

My opinion is if you are set on WGU, I don't see the sense in taking a lot of classes at a community college. I'd just take them at WGU and accelerate through them.

foofighters

moreland11 wrote: »

Would you guys recommend doing core classes (math/science/english/speech) at a community college and transferring those to WGU or just do everything at WGU? I was going to do the B.S. that included MCITP since I already have MCITP:EA, Security+, and sitting for the CCNA in week or two.

I would recommend doing your core classes at straighterline.com before transferring to WGU. I'm hoping to knock out 5-6 courses in the next couple of months and start at WGU in the fall. I just finished an english class at SL, it was pretty good. Cheaper than community college if you can do the courses fast.

Valsacar

ALEKS is good for the math credits, and really cheap. Not sure if WGU accepts them (ACE approved) but since they take SL I don't see why they wouldn't.

htebazile

I am considering enrolling in WGU for my MS-ISA. I completed the admission assessments, and requested my transcripts this weekend. I haven't gotten a real human response to my emails yet, but I'm still trying.

I need to identify the actual costs in order to request reimbursement from my employer. I won't get reimbursed until after the semester ends.

(At this point I am still uncertain whether I am going to follow through, but I want to complete all the steps necessary in order to enroll with a start date of July 1st.)

To anyone who has recently enrolled, maybe you can help here?

Cost of Tuition: (on the website it says IT Degrees are $2890 - is it safe to assume that includes Master's degrees?)

Cost of Registration: $145 (I'm assuming this is the Resource fee of $145 listed on the tuition page, hopefully that's correct)

Cost of Required Text Books: (not clear on how this works, is there a discount for buying through them? does anyone know? or do I need to find them online myself? if so, i can put together this cost easily.)

Other Costs: are there any other hidden costs that aren't obvious from the website?

I have to list everything up front or else I won't be reimbursed.

I plan to request reimbursement for the books for the official Semester 1 program, and if I go further, I'll just pay those costs out of pocket.

Thanks in advance.

~ elizabeth

TLeTourneau

htebazile wrote: »

I am considering enrolling in WGU for my MS-ISA. I completed the admission assessments, and requested my transcripts this weekend. I haven't gotten a real human response to my emails yet, but I'm still trying.

I need to identify the actual costs in order to request reimbursement from my employer. I won't get reimbursed until after the semester ends.

(At this point I am still uncertain whether I am going to follow through, but I want to complete all the steps necessary in order to enroll with a start date of July 1st.)

To anyone who has recently enrolled, maybe you can help here?

Cost of Tuition: (on the website it says IT Degrees are $2890 - is it safe to assume that includes Master's degrees?)

Cost of Registration: $145 (I'm assuming this is the Resource fee of $145 listed on the tuition page, hopefully that's correct)

Cost of Required Text Books: (not clear on how this works, is there a discount for buying through them? does anyone know? or do I need to find them online myself? if so, i can put together this cost easily.)

Other Costs: are there any other hidden costs that aren't obvious from the website?

I have to list everything up front or else I won't be reimbursed.

I plan to request reimbursement for the books for the official Semester 1 program, and if I go further, I'll just pay those costs out of pocket.

Thanks in advance.

~ elizabeth

The tuition for the program you're looking at is $2890.00.

The resource fee is not the registration fee; the resource fee covers the cost of things like access to Books 24x7 and is paid each term. There is a one time application fee of $65.00 that can be waived by the admissions people or by getting a referral.

Generally all resources required are included in the tuition but see the link below for details about textbooks.

I have not found any hidden costs; they are very clear about the costs. You may have to pay additional fees if you need to take an exam more than three times but beside that I do not know of any additional charges.

This page may help: Affordable Accredited Online University | WGU Tuition and Fees | Western Governors University

Disclaimer - I am not in a WGU Masters program but I am a current student.

Darthn3ss

I enrolled in march and can confirm those prices. Very good value considering the learning resources (e-books, simulators, practice tests, etc) and exam fees (= certification vouchers) are included.

htebazile

thanks.... so it looks like the books pretty much, are e-books? that's going to be how i submit it to HR, with no book fees. i think i'll probably move forward with it.

Seattle-Tech

I am starting WGU Network admin next month. I currently work as an apprentice hardware tech and have a very basic understanding of networking.
My question: after the first year, how confident were you in your abilities as a net admin? How about after 2,3,4 years?
Do they have some kind of online lab where you can build and configure networks? If so are the online labs decent? I have used some online labs to build things and they sucked.

anyway, I am stoked to get started,

That's what I did. They give me a $1,000 per year book allowance, so I am buying the books.

Darthn3ss wrote: »

I enrolled in march and can confirm those prices. Very good value considering the learning resources (e-books, simulators, practice tests, etc) and exam fees (= certification vouchers) are included.

If you flung a cert test, do you have to buy the voucher for the retake?

jmasterj206

They pay for the first 2 attempts. It is on your dime for the next attempts.

Hypntick

I know i've spoken in PM with Excellent1 and have looked through Foxxer's thread on the subject. However I wanted to see if I could get any more input from the folks who have done a BS at WGU and are in the process of a MS, more specifically the MS:ISA. I've looked over some of the COS' and tasks for task stream and they don't seem out of the realm of my ability. Just wanted to hear other folks experience with the program and potential roadblocks and also words of encouragement.

I have spoken with enrollment on the subject and know that a lot of the hurdles facing new students I can bypass. I also have a time set up with a MS:ISA student mentor to go over some additional questions I had. However any other information would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Valsacar

I didn't do my BS there, but I'm in the MSISA program. JFT2 was a pain, but it's no longer required so that's easy. TFT2 has 4 tasks, the last one seems pretty big (one I'm working on now). So far I haven't found any that I would deem too complicated, but it depends on your background. I've been flying through them; looking to have all courses done in around 3 months if I keep this pace (leaving 3 months for the thesis).

Hypntick

Yeah I have limited security exposure, aside from access control, firewalls, some basic policy writing, etc. I've looked over the tasks for LKT2 and LOT2, if anything i'm more excited about writing stuff for those than anything i've had in the BS program, with the exception of my Capstone. I know I can do the writing but the certs involved are the parts that I worry will trip me up. Not sure how in depth they go, and I noticed finding training materials to be a tad on the difficult side. JFT2 was the organizational management class correct? If so I had to do one of those already so I was pretty sure it would transfer in. Good luck on the rest of your classes. I plan on trying to shoot for 6 months, although I won't complain if it takes me a year.

Valsacar

My goal was a year, with 6 months as a wish... might just get my wish. I took an org behavior course in my BS (same book actually) but still had to do JFT2, only certs will transfer in.

FNV2 isn't too bad, a couple technical things to learn but there's a lot of study material (CEH). CHFI I'm doing this month (planning) which is FMV2, from what I've heard it's pretty similar to CEH. The GIAC cert at the end is the one I think will be a pain, it's open book but that normally means a pretty hard test.

Most of the writing doesn't seem bad, but some of TFT2 hasn't been in line with the reading, you'll have to do some extra reading on your own... mainly stuff you can google easily.