Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

This thread is intended for students to write about their experiences at Western Governors University.

Please keep it civil, and do not spend your time bashing the school, and its policies. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you have a problem you need to take it up with your professor or mentor. Please no Flaming on this thread.

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Comments

themagicone

sheckler wrote: »

Argh, just took 70-680 and got a 610. It seemed pretty easy as I was going along. Try again next monday I guess.

Sorry to hear that. It's one of the hardest exams. Took me 3 try's. It covers so much information it's crazy.

veritas_libertas

sheckler wrote: »

Argh, just took 70-680 and got a 610. It seemed pretty easy as I was going along. Try again next monday I guess.

Ouch, that is right around what I got on my first try. Study hard and take it again. Don't wait to long though...

sheckler

I hope I pass it on the 2nd try because it looks like you have to wait 14 days before doing a 3rd one. And pay for the voucher of course.

never2late

themagicone wrote: »

Problem is that I have to complete my project, which is another paper. You have pretty much everything done so you can go straight from tech to cap. Well, that's what I'm thinking. I'm waiting on clarification from Dave.

BTW I got 3.33/4.00

Did you get a TurnItIn report on your TWA1 paper? I noticed mine has not come up and wonder if its available for this class.

themagicone

never2late wrote: »

Did you get a TurnItIn report on your TWA1 paper? I noticed mine has not come up and wonder if its available for this class.

Nope. No turnitin.

demonfurbie

im kinda torn maybe yall can help me

i want to walk in feb in atlanta but i have 5 ms classes and tech/capstone left

to walk in feb id need to take 1 test every mth and pass them and 1 mth for tech/capstone

or should i switch to the normal IT degree and only have to worry about windows 7 the rest being ciw classes ... and we all know how HARD those are .. then after wgu get my microsoft certs.

petedude

demonfurbie wrote: »

im kinda torn maybe yall can help me

i want to walk in feb in atlanta but i have 5 ms classes and tech/capstone left

Are you worried more about a Feb. deadline, or what you want to learn? If you really want the network knowledge, I'd say stick it out even if you don't walk in Atlanta. (Are they going to do as in times past, and have the ceremony twice in the year? If that's the case, you can walk another time.)

If you're not particularly concerned about acquiring all that network background/certification (the reason most TEers sign up for WGU to begin with). then switch over. But bear in mind, if you go to the general track you have two Java courses looming ahead of you. Some people zoom through those, some don't (FYI-- I'm in the "some don't" pile).

demonfurbie

petedude wrote: »

Are you worried more about a Feb. deadline, or what you want to learn? If you really want the network knowledge, I'd say stick it out even if you don't walk in Atlanta. (Are they going to do as in times past, and have the ceremony twice in the year? If that's the case, you can walk another time.)

If you're not particularly concerned about acquiring all that network background/certification (the reason most TEers sign up for WGU to begin with). then switch over. But bear in mind, if you go to the general track you have two Java courses looming ahead of you. Some people zoom through those, some don't (FYI-- I'm in the "some don't" pile).

its also about cost, in feb by term will be up so if i walk in feb i wont have to pay wgu for another term or even prorated term and with that moneys i could get the certs i want (linux) over the ones they offer (microsoft)

how ever if i stick the course and finish i would be instantly employable without the need to spend more time on certs

erpadmin

demonfurbie wrote: »

its also about cost, in feb by term will be up so if i walk in feb i wont have to pay wgu for another term or even prorated term and with that moneys i could get the certs i want (linux) over the ones they offer (microsoft)

how ever if i stick the course and finish i would be instantly employable without the need to spend more time on certs

I've been devoting my mornings to the MS classes and my evenings to my papers. I plan on going the one exam a month route...even if I have to live off of an hour sleep. We have the same exact classes left; only the 640 separates us.

My ML110 G6 server will get much work once 643 starts....can't wait to mess with Sharepoint.

hiddenknight821

I'm going to try out the Chat Session for the first time tonight. I have never try it, but I wonder who's attending the session tonight (or dusk for you western folks) as well. I missed the session earlier today due to work, apparently, lol.

petedude

demonfurbie wrote: »

how ever if i stick the course and finish i would be instantly employable without the need to spend more time on certs

Instantly employable in what way? Yeah, having the degree would open doors for you. But wouldn't having the certs AND the degree open better doors, like maybe more interesting work?

I do understand the cost angle, though. You might try sites like Cappex and FastWeb, to see if there are any scholarships you can go for.

demonfurbie

petedude wrote: »

Instantly employable in what way? Yeah, having the degree would open doors for you. But wouldn't having the certs AND the degree open better doors, like maybe more interesting work?

I do understand the cost angle, though. You might try sites like Cappex and FastWeb, to see if there are any scholarships you can go for.

instantly employeeable by having a degree and certs

erpadmin wrote: »

I've been devoting my mornings to the MS classes and my evenings to my papers. I plan on going the one exam a month route...even if I have to live off of an hour sleep. We have the same exact classes left; only the 640 separates us.

My ML110 G6 server will get much work once 643 starts....can't wait to mess with Sharepoint.

my mentor wont enroll me in tech/capstone till the end no matter how much i bug her and its one of those classes i cant work ahead with out beinf enrolled

it could just be the 70-642 is boring it seams to be all the stuff from net+ with more on dns and that stuff has been drilled in till the dis-like point

scalpelrush

I believe almost everyone from this forum should join, if you feel identified with the page!!!

TaskStream Stalkers Anonymous

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TaskStream-Stalkers-Anonymous/111204652313002

themagicone

For those who have finished Capstone, how much was copy/paste from the proposal?

jmasterj206

Quite a bit of it was magic. I just changed it to past tense.

themagicone

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Quite a bit of it was magic. I just changed it to past tense.

Thanks. I was trying to figure out how much to copy/paste. Trying to figure out the first part then all I have left is the project developmental section.

nhpr

themagicone wrote: »

For those who have finished Capstone, how much was copy/paste from the proposal?

The introduction-y stuff was all cut and paste, but my capstone was writing a paper on penetration testing... so that only accounted for less than ten percent of mine. If you do a more standard project, then I'd imagine it's mostly done before you even begin.

themagicone

So I finished my capstone report. Just need to button a few things up and submit it. I'm hoping I got it right. Everyone I talked to said mostly copy and paste, change tense, add the few extra areas and call it a day. Came to around 18 pages. I'm curious on how much the graders actually read. I reread my proposal and found at least a few errors the graders should of picked up on. But oh well, on ward!

hiddenknight821

themagicone wrote: »

So I finished my capstone report. Just need to button a few things up and submit it. I'm hoping I got it right. Everyone I talked to said mostly copy and paste, change tense, add the few extra areas and call it a day. Came to around 18 pages. I'm curious on how much the graders actually read. I reread my proposal and found at least a few errors the graders should of picked up on. But oh well, on ward!

Holy crap, that was fast!

I hope yours get approved. Just curious, what was your proposal topic based on? Sorry if I missed it.

themagicone

10:13 PM CDT I turned in my capstone for try 1. Following the advice of others and Mr. H himself I await my fate.

never2late

themagicone wrote: »

10:13 PM CDT I turned in my capstone for try 1. Following the advice of others and Mr. H himself I await my fate.

I'm impressed. Still waiting on my TWA1 score from Taskstream. Written about half my capstone hoping the tech writing paper is good. Should be finished with both by this weekend.

tc613

I need some help on your opinion.

I have 2 weeks before my 2nd term is up. I have been working on the WGU programming degree. I like what I am learning but as I go through the material I feel that I will still have learn .NET on my own for further marketability for employment opportunities. I don't think the learning material goes deep enough on the programming languages.

If I am going to learn .NET on my own and I have interest in the security emphasis would you change your major now or just finish up the programming degree?

I have equal interest in both programming and security emphasis.

I want other students of WGU to give me their opinion.

thanks for your input

themagicone

If anyone is interested TaskStream is extremely backed up. If the task you are waiting on is not critical it is put at the end of the pile. I.e. me with my capstone, my term doesn't end for 2.5 months so I got put in the back. Just thought I'd share.

hiddenknight821

themagicone wrote: »

If anyone is interested TaskStream is extremely backed up. If the task you are waiting on is not critical it is put at the end of the pile. I.e. me with my capstone, my term doesn't end for 2.5 months so I got put in the back. Just thought I'd share.

Is this only true for students doing the Technical Writing/Capstone assessments or it applies to all students submitting their performance assessment through TaskStream?

never2late

themagicone wrote: »

If anyone is interested TaskStream is extremely backed up. If the task you are waiting on is not critical it is put at the end of the pile. I.e. me with my capstone, my term doesn't end for 2.5 months so I got put in the back. Just thought I'd share.

I was wondering why my tech paper, which has been in Taskstream since Monday, has yet to be evaluated. I'm not waiting for it to be approved before moving on, so I may have my Capstone ready to submit before my TWA is accepted. That could get ugly.
Its apparent that they need more assistance in this area if there is a gridlock in the middle of the month. I just started my term so I must be way in the back of the line.

themagicone

WGU is pushing over 25,000 students right now. My mentor was telling me that they is so many student mentors now that they have to break meetings into east/west. He said they hired a bunch of contractors to grade papers to clear the backlog from graduations last month before the fiscal year ended.

Excellent1

never2late wrote: »

I was wondering why my tech paper, which has been in Taskstream since Monday, has yet to be evaluated. I'm not waiting for it to be approved before moving on, so I may have my Capstone ready to submit before my TWA is accepted. That could get ugly.
Its apparent that they need more assistance in this area if there is a gridlock in the middle of the month. I just started my term so I must be way in the back of the line.

The 15th is the last day to submit tasks for performance assessments for your term. Since WGU uses a rolling enrollment, the 15th of every single month is a trainwreck of people submitting things last minute that need to be graded for their end of term. These assignments have priority. If you submit something around this time of the month, you can pretty much bank on it taking forever to get it graded unless it's an end-of-term assessment for you.

Pishof

Excellent1 wrote: »

The 15th is the last day to submit tasks for performance assessments for your term. Since WGU uses a rolling enrollment, the 15th of every single month is a trainwreck of people submitting things last minute that need to be graded for their end of term. These assignments have priority. If you submit something around this time of the month, you can pretty much bank on it taking forever to get it graded unless it's an end-of-term assessment for you.

Good information. This is my end of term month and I still have the last task for LET1 to complete and turn in.

I've been working non-stop and it's been taking a toll on my time but I'm going to hopefully be submitting it Saturday and hoping it goes through in time.

I should be finishing up this month on all these projects so when the new term starts I'll be on a normal schedule with time to study again.

Now to pay the 3k out of pocket for this upcoming term.

demonfurbie

Pishof wrote: »

Good information. This is my end of term month and I still have the last task for LET1 to complete and turn in.

I've been working non-stop and it's been taking a toll on my time but I'm going to hopefully be submitting it Saturday and hoping it goes through in time.

I should be finishing up this month on all these projects so when the new term starts I'll be on a normal schedule with time to study again.

Now to pay the 3k out of pocket for this upcoming term.

yep end of my term as well and i want to take my 70-642 test but now ill have to take 2 ms tests next month (thats gonna suck) and i dont wanna start studing for the 70-640 until after i test

they need to have a system if they know your gonna go ahead and go next term you can keep going with out this "dead" month

Excellent1

Pishof wrote: »

Good information. This is my end of term month and I still have the last task for LET1 to complete and turn in.

I've been working non-stop and it's been taking a toll on my time but I'm going to hopefully be submitting it Saturday and hoping it goes through in time.

I should be finishing up this month on all these projects so when the new term starts I'll be on a normal schedule with time to study again.

Now to pay the 3k out of pocket for this upcoming term.

Yeah, after the 15th, they make no assurances, but it should still make it. Quoted from the canned email they send out:

"The 15th day of the 6th month is the last day to submit tasks for your performance assessments.

After that date, the University cannot guarantee that tasks will be graded and reflect a “PASS” on your AAP. "

Anyway, things settle down quite a bit in a week, so there's still a good chance you'll make it. Good luck.