Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

thenjduke

I just finished up EWB and doing WFV1 now. I am just going to sit in assestment and not bother with the course of study. I took my preassestment and scored a 95% on it. I am also doing this BAC1 and BBC1 because mentor asked me to before I even do the COS. She said she thinks I will pass them since I have done them in the past and the credits were not transfer.

petedude

thenjduke wrote: »

I just finished up EWB and doing WFV1 now. I am just going to sit in assestment and not bother with the course of study. I took my preassesment and scored a 95% on it.

I don't think I did the COS for either WFV1 or MGC1. I had CLEP management credit but it was counted as part of the Associate degree transfer.

vCole

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Well im at 23 CU's passed and 100% completion for my first semester right now.

Only 50% through the semester, too. Looking to knock out at least 2 more classes before my time is up.

How the heck do you guys do this?

I've only done two classes. I'm still trying to do INT1/INC1.

earweed

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Well im at 23 CU's passed and 100% completion for my first semester right now.

Only 50% through the semester, too. Looking to knock out at least 2 more classes before my time is up.

Only 2? Man, at the rate you're going you'll be done with your degree before me..lol I only have 4 classes left 70-643, 70-647, Tech writing, and Capstone.
With my work schedule right now I'm probably going to have to put off the 643 until the first of September and then knockout the tech writing and Capstone really quick (hopefully) leaving only the 647 as my one major item for my last term. I hope to have my requirements for the degree done before December.

petedude

FadeToBright wrote: »

How the heck do you guys do this?

I've only done two classes. I'm still trying to do INT1/INC1.

Some of this is dependent on course requirements/content/schedule, some of it is dependent on the student's circumstances, and some of it depends on the mentor.

Courses: If you're coming in with lots of general ed credits under your belt, you're going to spend less time on longer courses like INC1. The associate's transfer is huge.

Student: How badly do you want to finish? Do you have extra time, or can you find it? Seems to me like the younger students with no family commitments blaze through the fastest.

Mentor: Holding you back or setting you free? You've probably heard of both.

thenjduke

petedude wrote: »

Some of this is dependent on course requirements/content/schedule, some of it is dependent on the student's circumstances, and some of it depends on the mentor.

Courses: If you're coming in with lots of general ed credits under your belt, you're going to spend less time on longer courses like INC1. The associate's transfer is huge.

Student: How badly do you want to finish? Do you have extra time, or can you find it? Seems to me like the younger students with no family commitments blaze through the fastest.

Mentor: Holding you back or setting you free? You've probably heard of both.

My mentor actually is great. She knows I am trying to fly through it and let me just go do the assestments on 4 classes. I should know by the end of the weekend if I passed them. At this rate I should be done in a year.

earweed

For those students planning to take the Proj+ in the near future WGU will be switching to the new (2010) version of Project+ on August 1, 2010. If you are already studying for your Proj+ and using 2003 resources then you need to refer for the exam prior to Aug 1 or you will have to take the newer version.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

For those students planning to take the Proj+ in the near future WGU will be switching to the new (2010) version of Project+ on August 1, 2010. If you are already studying for your Proj+ and using 2003 resources then you need to refer for the exam prior to Aug 1 or you will have to take the newer version.

Ouch. Glad I got that done already.

Upside is, the 2010 is more demanding from what I've heard.

themagicone

Well currently I've been at it for about 2.5 months so far. I have 13 CU's done, with another 7 finishing out on Monday for 20. Then I'll have INT1 done by the end of the week for total of 24. Going to knock out IT II, III and Security + by end of term which is Oct 31st. So I should be at 36 CU in one term, not bad.

TheDailyMel

I kind of feel like I'm treading water right now. I finished EWB on Friday, but wasn't able to do my AAV until Wednesday morning with my mentor. So, I don't have any of my materials yet and won't even have SkillSoft until tomorrow.

My mentor has been great so far and very supportive of my goal of finishing my degree by December 2011. He opened up all 4 courses on my AAV, but my primary focus right now is TEV1 and TTV1 since I need to have my A+ certification by Sept. 30 for work. Since I don't have any materials yet, I've been studying from the ExamCram book purchased by my employer.

After I finish my A+, I'll go back and pick up WFV1 and knock out CLC1 which was the only GenEd class for which I didn't get transfer credit. Once I get those done, I hope to be able to knock out at least 1 more CompTIA cert before my term is over at the end of the year. I would love to finish about 20-25 CUs this term, but I'm just not sure how realistic that is with my current work schedule plus I'm moving in a month.

Do any of you guys use the WGU messenger app? I've got it installed, but only have a couple of contacts so far. If anyone wants to add me, my username is mmill15.

earweed

I've heard CLC1 is a very quick and easy course to knock out so that one shouldn't be too hard for you. I just checked and am really glad to see that WGU finally worked out their deal to get Labsim for you guys to study for the A+ as it's an excellent resource. Don't knock the exam cram as that is a very good resource for the Comptia certs, but is actually best as a review tool. WFV1 should be a very quick study and test one for you also depending upom what allyour IT experience and knowledge encompasses (it's a very wide knowledge base exam, not real deep)
When I went through WFV1 my IT knowledge was very limited to just PC hardware so I had a steep learning curve and that course took me about 4 weeks to prepare for (I was also studying for the A+ and taking 2 other Language Arts classes at the time). I took the A+ 2 or 3 weeks after completing WFV1. I only completed 19 CU's my first term.
If at all possible you should shoot to knock out the Net+ and Sec+ before the end of your term (Don't recall what program you're in at the moment) if they are in your program. The Comptia certs are lifetime certs if you obtain them before the end of the year and are then going to be 3 year certs where they have to be renewed either by retaking your highest cert or doing CompTIAs continuing education program. I know how it is balancing work and scool, it's tough.

themagicone

I took the pre assessment for CLC1 on Wednesday, taking the final on Monday. It's common sense, just read the questions through and you'll pass.

tomahawkeer

TheDailyMel wrote: »

I kind of feel like I'm treading water right now. I finished EWB on Friday, but wasn't able to do my AAV until Wednesday morning with my mentor. So, I don't have any of my materials yet and won't even have SkillSoft until tomorrow.

My mentor has been great so far and very supportive of my goal of finishing my degree by December 2011. He opened up all 4 courses on my AAV, but my primary focus right now is TEV1 and TTV1 since I need to have my A+ certification by Sept. 30 for work. Since I don't have any materials yet, I've been studying from the ExamCram book purchased by my employer.

After I finish my A+, I'll go back and pick up WFV1 and knock out CLC1 which was the only GenEd class for which I didn't get transfer credit. Once I get those done, I hope to be able to knock out at least 1 more CompTIA cert before my term is over at the end of the year. I would love to finish about 20-25 CUs this term, but I'm just not sure how realistic that is with my current work schedule plus I'm moving in a month.

Do any of you guys use the WGU messenger app? I've got it installed, but only have a couple of contacts so far. If anyone wants to add me, my username is mmill15.

I understand the sluggish start. I finished EWB2 the day I started (last thursday). My first focus is WFV1, as all my gen eds are done, however I didn't get my actual text books until yesterday. Ive spent the past week going through skill soft (completely through it) and tried to use vcampus but didnt really have anything to go by. Vcampus has a ton of questions and practice tests etc, but just doesn't have much other than that (some videos that arent very specific).

It should get easier though, im scheduled for IT 1-3 and Net+ for 17 credits this term, and now that ive finally gotten everything to get started, I should be rolling them real quick.

earweed

Good luck Tomahawkeer in your studies. You'll find after studying the books that the VCampus practice tests are the best to use as they are THE BEST for this cert test. You may also find some helpful info on MCMCSE.com as they have study guides and practice tests for the CIW exams. Their study guide for Javascript was very helpful.

TheDailyMel

Thanks for the feedback! I've been doing IT support for over 20 years, so I'm really hoping some of these early classes won't be too much of an issue for me. I don't want to take them for granted and not properly prepare either though.

earweed

TheDailyMel wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback! I've been doing IT support for over 20 years, so I'm really hoping some of these early classes won't be too much of an issue for me. I don't want to take them for granted and not properly prepare either though.

That much experience! WFV1 will be a no brainer for you.

TheDailyMel

earweed wrote: »

That much experience! WFV1 will be a no brainer for you.

That's kind of what I thought as well when I looked through the COS. I really hope to knock it out pretty quickly after finishing up my A+ cert.

For those who have completed CLC1, did you buy the book? I saw it listed one place as a required text, but then I saw it listed as an optional resource in the WGU bookstore. If I can get by without purchasing it, that would be my preference since it's not something I would likely use again.

earweed

themagicone wrote: »

I took the pre assessment for CLC1 on Wednesday, taking the final on Monday. It's common sense, just read the questions through and you'll pass.

This has been the predominant response from many people regarding CLC1.
I doubt most people go any deeper than the mind edge modules.

TheDailyMel

Thanks! I think I'll just give it a shot using the MindEdge stuff then. If I feel like I need more after doing that, then I could always get the book from Amazon.

tomahawkeer

TheDailyMel wrote: »

That's kind of what I thought as well when I looked through the COS. I really hope to knock it out pretty quickly after finishing up my A+ cert.

For those who have completed CLC1, did you buy the book? I saw it listed one place as a required text, but then I saw it listed as an optional resource in the WGU bookstore. If I can get by without purchasing it, that would be my preference since it's not something I would likely use again.

Ive read through the first 2 sections of Internet Business Foundtions sections, and its truely very straight forward. Ive actually taken the first 4 section quizzes on Vcampus (since getting the book) and its very straight forward. I was just more frustrated because the books covered the material in more detail as opposed to Skill Soft, and I was missing questions that I shouldn't.

The course is broad, but if you have any experience, its not difficult. Ive got 10 years in IT now, and its more of a fine tuning process for me, than anything else. I should be completely through all 3 books by this time next week, and focusing on practice tests etc. I may possibly take one prior to monday (my next mentor call) in hopes of hitting the 85% he is requiring of me to get before taking the cert exam itself.

earweed

Books 24x7 available via your Skillsoft account has been invaluable to me during my time at WGU due to not having to purchase as many books. I've still purchased the required books but with most of my IT classes I've found that using additional resources helps.

There is a way to have easier access to books 24x7 than having to go into your skillsoft account every time you want to check out a resource. I'm using IE8 so that's how I reference it:
Go into your skillsoft account click on books 24x7 on the left side of the screen now save it either as a favorite or to your favorites bar (I have it as a button on my favorites bar) and you have easy access. I don't even have to login to use 24x7. One click and I'm there.

TheDailyMel

I expect I'll use SkillSoft quite a bit. I have access to Books 24x7 through my employer and use it pretty frequently. I don't mind buying textbooks for my IT courses since those would definitely be resource material for me in my career field. I just hate spending money for that one GenEd book.

cablegod

earweed wrote: »

This has been the predominant response from many people regarding CLC1.
I doubt most people go any deeper than the mind edge modules.

I didn't study a lick for it. I took the pre-assessment, booked the exam, worked on TWA1 while waiting to take it. Took it and passed with flying colors.

azjag

A quick update on my progress through the MS ISA program. I started on July 1st with EWOB. Finished that in 2 hrs. Thankfully as a graduate from WGU you can do a condensed version of EWOB and I only had 5 of the 15 modules to do. I still have not completed my AAV but have spoken with my mentor and she knows what i'm trying to accomplish. My Net+ from 2003 was counted as credit towards the GIV2 class so I no longer have to take that one. Hoping to get my cwna done this summer while the second shot offer still stands. All that is left for this semester is some boring writing classes. =( But at least they will be out of the way.

apena7

cablegod wrote: »

I didn't study a lick for it. I took the pre-assessment, booked the exam, worked on TWA1 while waiting to take it. Took it and passed with flying colors.

Passed CLC1 this morning. Funny how simple it was and yet it was the last exam for my degree. It kinda felt like a CompTIA exam for Common Sense+. No complaints from me though, on to the Capstone!

veritas_libertas

@Azjag: Have you heard anything about their current progress in gaining the National Center of Academic Excellence status?

TheDailyMel

apena7 wrote: »

Passed CLC1 this morning. Funny how simple it was and yet it was the last exam for my degree. It kinda felt like a CompTIA exam for Common Sense+. No complaints from me though, on to the Capstone!

Congrats! You're almost there.

cablegod

apena7 wrote: »

Passed CLC1 this morning. Funny how simple it was and yet it was the last exam for my degree. It kinda felt like a CompTIA exam for Common Sense+. No complaints from me though, on to the Capstone!

Good luck! The Capstone isn't as bad as most think. It was really fun to me.

TheDailyMel

cablegod wrote: »

I didn't study a lick for it. I took the pre-assessment, booked the exam, worked on TWA1 while waiting to take it. Took it and passed with flying colors.

I just took the CLC1 pre-assessment without doing any studying and scored an 89% on it. It definitely seemed very straight forward. I think I'll go on and schedule my assessment and just get this one knocked off my list.

Will I need the webcam for this assessment? I haven't received mine yet.

apena7

cablegod wrote: »

Good luck! The Capstone isn't as bad as most think. It was really fun to me.

Thanks. I've been working on it here and there ever since I finished Technical Writing. I think the key is not to get too overwhelmed with the details and requirements and try to take things slowly. Since it's the only course I have left, I can probably finish it within the week as I'm extremely motivated to earn my degree!