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.

You can ask for help with a referral (used to avoid paying the application fee) on the following thread: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/55634-wgu-refer-friend-thread-those-seeking-referral.html

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Lemonade727

erpadmin wrote: »

No, none of that. You only need to fill out the cover sheet and that's that, with the exception of of the mentor/student signature. I asked that too and was told I did not have to "sign" it or anything like that. Same thing witht the Capstone too.

Fantastic, that simplifies things a lot.

erpadmin wrote: »

Another question I had asked. Yes, it is best to use dates that are in the past than are in the future. The dates don't matter as much, just that you can construct the project plan and timeline correctly (which if you used the template that was provided to you, you pretty much did.)

And fantastic again, just going to change up these dates on the timeline and then it's a final sweep through for grammar issues (just finished my competency matrix) and it's off to TaskStream!

Why couldn't you have been the course mentor for this?

David's going to be confused when he finds out TaskStream already graded my work by time he answers these questions I sent to him.

erpadmin

EZ21 wrote: »

Would it be a waste of time pursuing my Masters of Science in Information Assurance at WGU? (Any masters degree from WGU would be a waste). Spending all that time, effort,$$$ of earning a BA/MS that wouldn't transfer to your desired school would suck. I would verify with University of Florida first. This is just my 2 cents.

Your 2 cents are neither appreciated or wanted in this discussion. This thread is not to bash a WGU Masters or BS; but to encourage current and prospective WGU students. FWIW, and my opinion is worth a bit more than 2 cents [on this issue, at least], I am pursuing a Masters degree at an AACSB school in my own state. NJIT is very well known regionally, if not internationally. In fact, if you care to know how I'm doing, take a look at these screenshots! With me "spending all that time, effort,$$$ of earning a BA" [sic--IT degrees are Bachelor's of Science] I did get to attend classes at an AACSB school. My Org Behavior class is part of the AACSB MBA curriculum, though IS/MIS students are required to take them as well. Please take your t-r-o-l-l-ing someplace else. I'm part of the proof that a WGU degree can mean something. While I decided not to pursue a WGU MS degree, I'm not going to come to a WGU-devoted thread and bash the degree without any concept of fact. Heck, the first post on this very thread asks that you do not come here and bash us.

Current ERP Grades 2.JPG

ERP-Current Grades.JPG

erpadmin

Lemonade727 wrote: »

Fantastic, that simplifies things a lot.

And fantastic again, just going to change up these dates on the timeline and then it's a final sweep through for grammar issues (just finished my competency matrix) and it's off to TaskStream!

Why couldn't you have been the course mentor for this?

David's going to be confused when he finds out TaskStream already graded my work by time he answers these questions I sent to him.

David was the one who answered both of those questions for me.

My only issue with David was he was slowing down my progress (or trying to...)

EZ21

erpadmin wrote: »

Your 2 cents are neither appreciated or wanted in this discussion. This thread is not to bash a WGU Masters or BS; but to encourage current and prospective WGU students. FWIW, and my opinion is worth a bit more than 2 cents [on this issue, at least], I am pursuing a Masters degree at an AACSB school in my own state. NJIT is very well known regionally, if not internationally. In fact, if you care to know how I'm doing, take a look at these screenshots! With me "spending all that time, effort,$$$ of earning a BA" [sic--IT degrees are Bachelor's of Science] I did get to attend classes at an AACSB school. My Org Behavior class is part of the AACSB MBA curriculum, though IS/MIS students are required to take them as well. Please take your t-r-o-l-l-ing someplace else. I'm part of the proof that a WGU degree can mean something. While I decided not to pursue a WGU MS degree, I'm not going to come to a WGU-devoted thread and bash the degree without any concept of fact. Heck, the first post on this very thread asks that you do not come here and bash us.

Im not bashing anyone here, or WGU. This is a free country, you can attend any school you want; im just giving you my opinion. From my expierence, i've been on interviews where if you didn't attend B&M school that was fully accredited, your resume was thrown into the trash. I feel for those people who worked their asses off to earn their degree, then to find out that since their degree wasn't fully accredited they lossed the potential of landing a job. BTW, I am earning my Masters Degree in Management Information Systems from a Cal State school so, I guess I can also give more than 2 cents. Lastly, why didn't you attend WGU, since your such an advocate for them?

erpadmin

EZ21 wrote: »

BTW, I am earning my Masters Degree in Management Information Systems from a Cal State school so, I guess I can also give more than 2 cents. Lastly, why didn't you attend WGU, since your such an advocate for them?

Which would be fine, except you're offering an opinion about a school you know nothing about (personally). Otherwise, you just sound like a jerk (and I suspect you're not, and would like to think that you aren't.) I could turn around and say that your school probably sucks, unless it's Berkeley, USC, UCLA, Stanford, or any other of Cali's top notch/Division I schools....but that would make me sound like I'm talking out of the wrong hole (and BTW, I obviously don't feel that way--just making a point.)

As to why I'm not attending WGU for my Master's, here are the more important ones:

1) Would like to personally finish what I started, which in my case isn't just another BS degree, but a B&M education.

2) To validate the worth of a WGU degree (and this was stated long before you offered your two cents). Yes, I could have easily continued on toward an MBA-IT degree, MSISA, or even the MS in Networks and Management. However, I felt I'd have been better served going a traditional route for my MS degree. My school is recognizable, (at the least, regionally) and I could sell my BS a lot better with a recognized MS than another unrecognized one. Still, that doesn't mean I'm going to ---- on those who are going to go through a MS program at WGU. Maybe a WGU MS is enough for them to get that promotion at work. With me, I wanted to make sure I had a degree that would at least let me adjunct at a B&M, in addition to seeking promotional opportunities.

I am very proud of the effort I spent to have the WGU BS diploma hanging on my wall in my office. Others will be as well.

EZ21

erpadmin wrote: »

Which would be fine, except you're offering an opinion about a school you know nothing about (personally). Otherwise, you just sound like a jerk (and I suspect you're not, and would like to think that you aren't.) I could turn around and say that your school probably sucks, unless it's Berkeley, USC, UCLA, Stanford, or any other of Cali's top notch/Division I schools....but that would make me sound like I'm talking out of the wrong hole (and BTW, I obviously don't feel that way--just making a point.)

As to why I'm not attending WGU for my Master's, here are the more important ones:

1) Would like to personally finish what I started, which in my case isn't just another BS degree, but a B&M education.

2) To validate the worth of a WGU degree (and this was stated long before you offered your two cents). Yes, I could have easily continued on toward an MBA-IT degree, MSISA, or even the MS in Networks and Management. However, I felt I'd have been better served going a traditional route for my MS degree. My school is recognizable, (at the least, regionally) and I could sell my BS a lot better with a recognized MS than another unrecognized one. Still, that doesn't mean I'm going to ---- on those who are going to go through a MS program at WGU. Maybe a WGU MS is enough for them to get that promotion at work. With me, I wanted to make sure I had a degree that would at least let me adjunct at a B&M, in addition to seeking promotional opportunities.

I am very proud of the effort I spent to have the WGU BS diploma hanging on my wall in my office. Others will be as well.

I agree, but I have only heard of horror stories coming from people who earn their degrees online. Even though i'm only 24,(i'm old school) meaning, i still think that waking up in the morning and attending a B&M school is the traditional/right way to earn a degree that is respected. When applying for certain jobs, if your name isn't in their database for BS/MS degrees when they do their background checks your screwed. That's my only hatred against these schools. I don't hate WGU specifily, they don't pay my bills, and like you said, I have no personal experience with them. I just see ITT, UOP including WGU place these internet ads marketing to people to earn a degree in their PJs. I just personally don't respect that. I guess will have to agree to disagree then. I'll put this to rest and squash this.

erpadmin

EZ21 wrote: »

I agree, but I have only heard of horror stories coming from people who earn their degrees online. Even though i'm only 24,(i'm old school) meaning, i still think that waking up in the morning and attending a B&M school is the traditional/right way to earn a degree that is respected. When applying for certain jobs, if your name isn't in their database for BS/MS degrees when they do their background checks your screwed. That's my only hatred against these schools. I don't hate WGU specifily, they don't pay my bills, and like you said, I have no personal experience with them. I just see ITT, UOP including WGU place these internet ads marketing to people to earn a degree in their PJs. I just personally don't respect that. I guess will have to agree to disagree then. I'll put this to rest and squash this.

Fair enough, but since we're both now at a level of discourse where we can have a reasonable discussion, I can add this.

A lot of those schools you mentioned are on this database you speak of, specifically this one: National Student Clearinghouse. By the time you're my age (34) you'll see that online degrees will be very commonplace.

The ONE good thing that for-profit schools, like UOP, Capella, etc. did (the one good thing) was make online learning a viable model. So much so, that many states schools throughout the country, including California, offer degrees that students can do 100% of their degree in. The negative publicity that surrounds the for-profits was that they used unscrupulous practices to get students into their institutions who had no business attending college. But they preyed upon the poor and ignorant so that they can get student loans (and then kicked back their refund of the excess amount) so that these colleges can profit and those same students can get spending cash (on top of debt that will never go away for them.) Those for-profits made schools like WGU look like they were part of the same ilk. But WGU is a non-profit institution, and while their enrollment is heavily growing, they don't have to pull the same crap the for-profits do. But you're gonna find that an online degree, whether it's from your school, WGU, or even UOP, is here to stay and employers are starting to care less and less about what model you used to obtain the degree; just so long as you obtained it.

I'm not worried about a background check. My transcripts are part of that clearinghouse that employers use to verify the degree.

Remember this: I, personally, didn't need any degrees at all. It took me a bit longer to make what I make without a degree, but I could have just kept my mouth shut at my job, clock in and out every day, and did that for another 20 years before retirement, and still end up with, about $120k-$140k as my final salary (with COLA increases, union raises, etc.) However, I'm better than that; even if I end up doing that, at least I gave myself more options to jobs that were sticklers about a college degree. I have the years of experience, and a degree now. No one cares that I got it online, and my linkedin profile is proof of that. Heck, I was even asked to interview by a competitor institution without even me inquiring about it, and I hadn't even graduated WGU yet. If I wanted that job, it was mine.

Lastly, as a fellow WGU alum mentioned in our WGU linkedin forum, [to paraphrase] "Employers only care about the last degree you earned." You don't have to believe me on that, but at the very least, remember what I said on this so you won't be too surprised that folks aren't going to stay "old school."

usagent27

What is the best thing to use to study for WFV1? took the preassesment and scored a 63. (never did web site design before) so i will brush up on this and brush up on networks too.

swild

use CIW study guide that is listed in the course learning resources. It has everything you need. Anything you need more clarification on, look at the text. The CIW materials are excellent preparation for the exams.

usagent27

swild wrote: »

use CIW study guide that is listed in the course learning resources. It has everything you need. Anything you need more clarification on, look at the text. The CIW materials are excellent preparation for the exams.

thank you very much!

snapdad

Is there a listing any where that shows which certs match up with which WGU courses?

Psoasman

snapdad wrote: »

Is there a listing any where that shows which certs match up with which WGU courses?

For some reason, WGU changes their course codes all the time, so I could post them and they might change today

Best way is to look through the course .pdf and verify against the course material.

For example: AHV1 is the 70-640 exam
AIV1 is the 70-642 exam
AJV1 is the 70-646 exam

RPGChai

Can anyone in the Security track advise as to whether it would be possible to knock out the Project Management class (with some previous PM classes taken through work) and LET1 in a month?

I just finished ABV1 (Windows 7) today, which took me longer than I anticipated, and I want to try to get at least 2 more classes out of the way before my semester ends on 03/30/12.

erpadmin

RPGChai wrote: »

Can anyone in the Security track advise as to whether it would be possible to knock out the Project Management class (with some previous PM classes taken through work) and LET1 in a month?

I just finished ABV1 (Windows 7) today, which took me longer than I anticipated, and I want to try to get at least 2 more classes out of the way before my semester ends on 03/30/12.

It took me a little under two weeks to pass TPV1 (Project+). That was back in November, 2010. January 2011, I spent a good three weeks knocking out LET1 (with the textbook...really is a requirement, as that's the only source you need to following the rubric...hopefully that hasn't changed.) Because I did LET1, I was able to pick up additional nuggets of information to comfortably pass ORC1 [now BNC1 I guess] and MGC1.

Wasn't in the Security track, but we all have to take those management courses.

swild

RPGChai wrote: »

Can anyone in the Security track advise as to whether it would be possible to knock out the Project Management class (with some previous PM classes taken through work) and LET1 in a month?

I just finished ABV1 (Windows 7) today, which took me longer than I anticipated, and I want to try to get at least 2 more classes out of the way before my semester ends on 03/30/12.

Project+ took me either 7 or 10 days from cracking open the book to passing the test. It was the worst class I have taken and was putting in no less than 4 to 6 hours a day.

LET1 is not in my degree plan. They must have changed the course abbreviation.

snapdad

Psoasman wrote: »

For some reason, WGU changes their course codes all the time, so I could post them and they might change today Best way is to look through the course .pdf and verify against the course material.

For example: AHV1 is the 70-640 exam
AIV1 is the 70-642 exam
AJV1 is the 70-646 exam

Thanks!

petedude

swild wrote: »

Project+ took me either 7 or 10 days from cracking open the book to passing the test. It was the worst class I have taken and was putting in no less than 4 to 6 hours a day.

I think it took me a month to do Project+. I knew I'd need the background, so it was worth the time to invest in it. I didn't enjoy the CompTIA book I was given, but liked the COS available at the time and the Sybex PMP book I ultimately used to study.

rep21

Speaking of Master's degrees, I don't think I will ever go into management (just not in my personality to manage people). But, would I benefit from doing a masters of whatever in IT-something after finishing a bachelors at WGU? Would it be a good investment? I probably wouldn't do an MBA I guess, since I don't want to manage, but I've thought about maybe seeing if there are any masters in database technologies and if the reward was worth the considerable extra cost.

Melika635

Hello All, just wanted to stop in and say hi. It is thanks to this forum that I am just a handful of classes away from graduation. I began my journey at WGU Oct 2010, thanks to a referral from one of you. I am so close it is unbelievable. I should be walking the stage in SLC in July, which is amazing. Right now I am simultaneously working on GUT1 and Portfolio. Then just TechWriting-Capstone and the dreaded ABV1.

erpadmin

Melika635 wrote: »

Hello All, just wanted to stop in and say hi. It is thanks to this forum that I am just a handful of classes away from graduation. I began my journey at WGU Oct 2010, thanks to a referral from one of you. I am so close it is unbelievable. I should be walking the stage in SLC in July, which is amazing. Right now I am simultaneously working on GUT1 and Portfolio. Then just TechWriting-Capstone and the dreaded ABV1.

It's not that dreaded. Really, really, really play around with Windows 7 with what you read on the MS Press guide, that you have access to for free on Books 24x7. Spend a little money on the selftestsoftware.com study guide and practice exam (you can always claim that as an education expense on your taxes...

) and just get comfortable with the O/S. It might take several weeks, but once you feel comfortable, you'll hopefully pass. Best of luck with finishing.

rep21 wrote: »

Speaking of Master's degrees, I don't think I will ever go into management (just not in my personality to manage people). But, would I benefit from doing a masters of whatever in IT-something after finishing a bachelors at WGU? Would it be a good investment? I probably wouldn't do an MBA I guess, since I don't want to manage, but I've thought about maybe seeing if there are any masters in database technologies and if the reward was worth the considerable extra cost.

If you're not looking into managing folks, or teaching, then I can't see another benefit into pursuing a Master's, other than perhaps filling a sense of fulfillment. A Master's would be a very expensive way of filling that though....

But if you are looking into a good Master's for databases that you want to do online, you might want to look into something like this:

http://www.bu.edu/academics/met/programs/computer-information-systems/ms-online/

That's just an example....I know Boston U is a pretty decent school, but it does offer a database management concentration online. You can harness your own power of Googling based on that.

RPGChai

Melika635 wrote: »

Hello All, just wanted to stop in and say hi. It is thanks to this forum that I am just a handful of classes away from graduation. I began my journey at WGU Oct 2010, thanks to a referral from one of you. I am so close it is unbelievable. I should be walking the stage in SLC in July, which is amazing. Right now I am simultaneously working on GUT1 and Portfolio. Then just TechWriting-Capstone and the dreaded ABV1.

ABV1 is not that bad, but you will need some time to study it. I used LabSim, ProfessorMesser videos, and the MS Press book for 2 months and I passed it yesterday. Of course, YMMV depending on how familiar you are with W7 deployment scenarios and extra features at the Ultimate/Enterprise levels.

petedude

usagent27 wrote: »

What is the best thing to use to study for WFV1? took the preassesment and scored a 63. (never did web site design before) so i will brush up on this and brush up on networks too.

It's also helpful to grab the uCertify trial version of this exam and run through it before taking the test. It's quite probably NOT worth the money for most folks here to buy the full uCertify exam for WFV1, though.

jmasterj206

Passed WSV1(Web Development) today. The usual CIW exam just read the study guide and if you need further help read the associated chapter or visit W3Schools. Granted, I have done website work in the past. Off to the CIW database cert!

Lemonade727

Day 4 of waiting to hear back from TaskStream regarding my Technical Writing. Hoping that my work is so captivating and excellently written that it's causing their minds to blank completely and cause the long delays on being able to submit the grading, but knowing my luck they're trying to find ways to spin my words and make it seem like it's not fitting rubric requirements

NOLAJ

Lemonade727 wrote: »

Day 4 of waiting to hear back from TaskStream regarding my Technical Writing. Hoping that my work is so captivating and excellently written that it's causing their minds to blank completely and cause the long delays on being able to submit the grading, but knowing my luck they're trying to find ways to spin my words and make it seem like it's not fitting rubric requirements

Waiting for the results is always the toughest!! Good luck.

erpadmin

Lemonade727 wrote: »

Day 4 of waiting to hear back from TaskStream regarding my Technical Writing. Hoping that my work is so captivating and excellently written that it's causing their minds to blank completely and cause the long delays on being able to submit the grading, but knowing my luck they're trying to find ways to spin my words and make it seem like it's not fitting rubric requirements

While I have gotten back stuff from Taskstream over the weekend, YMMV. You'll probably get something back at the latest Monday.

petedude

Psoasman wrote: »

For some reason, WGU changes their course codes all the time, so I could post them and they might change today Best way is to look through the course .pdf and verify against the course material.

I think they retire codes in the hopes the codes can be used elsewhere later where they might make more sense. I think they also sometimes change course codes where they expect to make significant changes to a given course in the near future.

erpadmin

petedude wrote: »

I think they retire codes in the hopes the codes can be used elsewhere later where they might make more sense. I think they also sometimes change course codes where they expect to make significant changes to a given course in the near future.

I'd buy that, except for students using the "old" course codes, they are still part of the program. AKV1 is a good example of that. My program did not change to BOV1, even though I knew it was the same course (though BOV1 was going to use the 1D0-635 exam instead of the 1D0-435.) My signature would have otherwise reflected that change. It's always been like that though...the NDM students I graduated with had been under the old MCSE 2003 track, so of course, they had different codes. Like now, I'm not sure if BNC1 is a combination of LET1/ORC1 or if they just dropped LET1 and dealt more with ORC1 and just changed the name to BNC1.

Nobylspoon

It's been a few months since I last posted. I finished up my first term with more than double my original goal. However, my second term has been off to a very rocky start. My lab was shut down so I had to relocate out of state very short notice and rebuild the whole environment from the ground up at a new location. Shortly after I was finally able to schedule my INC1 exam (a month late) I lost my mother to breast cancer. She had been diagnosed shortly before my relocation.

I'm not sure if it is against forum rules so I understand if mods decide to remove my link. However, in loving memory of her I will be participating in the 39 mile - 2 day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington DC. I am currently trying to raise at least $1800 to help other families who are struggling with this terrible disease. If you would like to contribute, the link is http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/rodwell

To prevent this thread from going to far off topic, I am thankful to say that I was able to finally reschedule and pass INC1 last night. I am now working on AHV1 (70-640). My goal is to complete all of the labsim material in 2 weeks and spend the rest of the month reviewing the MS Press book and uCertify material.

I have a little less than 3 months to finish 70-640, 70-642 and QLT1. Hopefully I can still reach my goal.

Psoasman

Nobylspoon wrote: »

It's been a few months since I last posted. I finished up my first term with more than double my original goal. However, my second term has been off to a very rocky start. My lab was shut down so I had to relocate out of state very short notice and rebuild the whole environment from the ground up at a new location. Shortly after I was finally able to schedule my INC1 exam (a month late) I lost my mother to breast cancer. She had been diagnosed shortly before my relocation.

I'm not sure if it is against forum rules so I understand if mods decide to remove my link. However, in loving memory of her I will be participating in the 39 mile - 2 day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington DC. I am currently trying to raise at least $1800 to help other families who are struggling with this terrible disease. If you would like to contribute, the link is http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/rodwell

To prevent this thread from going to far off topic, I am thankful to say that I was able to finally reschedule and pass INC1 last night. I am now working on AHV1 (70-640). My goal is to complete all of the labsim material in 2 weeks and spend the rest of the month reviewing the MS Press book and uCertify material.

I have a little less than 3 months to finish 70-640, 70-642 and QLT1. Hopefully I can still reach my goal.

Very sorry to hear about your mother. Good luck on the upcoming exams. 640 isn't too bad. Make sure you lab out DNS, CS, RMS, FS roles and pay attention to those little microsoft details.