Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

thenjduke

So took two objective assestments over the weekend. One for BBC1 and the other for BAC1. I found it interesting taking the exams in front of the webcam in my own house. I did fine on BBC1 and failed BAC1. I have not really did math in over 20 years so I forgot alot of the ways to accomplish the problems. I think I will do the COS and take it again in three weeks. I actually like WGU idea of doing the assestments and then passing without doing the course. It is nice to get credit for things you work with in every day life. I am going to take my WFV1 this Thursday. This is pretty easy exam. I passed the pre-assestment and the exam itself is common IT knowledge. I feel I will ace it. This will be my last IT exam since all my certifications took care of the IT courses. General Education courses are what I have left.

earweed

I was just reading on the WGU community about the new method of testing where WGU sends you a webcam and you test at home. This is really a good thing of WGU to do. It saves a lot of students time not having to go to a test center.
WGU must have just started this recently.
For the WFV1 make sure to take some practice tests on VCampus as they are very representative of what you'll see on the real test.

azjag

veritas_libertas wrote: »

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

I made some phone calls and this is what I came up with.

"We more the meet all of the requirements for consideration with the exception that WGU has not figured out how to partner up with community colleges and other smaller educational institutions. I believe that was the only hang up in the application just recently. I know that WGU is continuing to look into getting this designation."

veritas_libertas

earweed wrote: »

I was just reading on the WGU community about the new method of testing where WGU sends you a webcam and you test at home. This is really a good thing of WGU to do. It saves a lot of students time not having to go to a test center.
WGU must have just started this recently.
For the WFV1 make sure to take some practice tests on VCampus as they are very representative of what you'll see on the real test.

The only drawback is that it requires you to use specific hours, you need good bandwidth, and they have VERY strict rules for: lighting, location, etc. The rules are good but you have to be aware of it before testing. If you do anything that they feels is even remotely fishy they will freeze your test.

azjag

veritas_libertas wrote: »

The only drawback is that it requires you to use specific hours, you need good bandwidth, and they have VERY strict rules for: lighting, location, etc. The rules are good but you have to be aware of it before testing. If you do anything that they feels is even remotely fishy they will freeze your test.

Received my camera in the mail on Thursday. Haven't set it up yet. Honestly was waiting on reviews to come in from here or in the community.

thenjduke

azjag wrote: »

Received my camera in the mail on Thursday. Haven't set it up yet. Honestly was waiting on reviews to come in from here or in the community.

I actually enjoyed it. Was easier to take the test home. The camera is a little clumsy and does not have much weight to it when you position certain ways.

uhtrinity

I just found this forum last weekend, would have been a nice resource to have.

Having been a WGU student for the last 2 and half years I just graduated with a BS IT with an emphasis in Network Management. Overall WGU was a good experience for me. I saw consent improvements over the time I was there.

The pros:
Excellent transfer policy
Inexpensive
Being able to work at your own pace.
Friendly to those who are employed.
Being able to use prior knowledge and experience, for me this was mostly in the IT and business subjects.
The required certs pushed beyond my prior experience, mainly in Security+ and the MCSA content.


The cons:
Being able to work at your own pace ..... you must be motivated or progress can slip. I had terms were I completed just shy of 30 credits and some where I completed 9.
An almost overwhelming choice in learning resources. It really helps to have an experienced mentor or this can be trouble. If the mentor understands your learning style then he/she can point you to the proper resources.

Some of the best classes had to be Reasoning and Problem Solving .... very challenging due to the amount of writing, but a great class.

The worst class for me was AAT and ABT1 (Java fundamentals). When they first first offered it was a convoluted mess of mixed ideas. It seriously looked like 5 people had wrote the course without consulting each other.

The cert classes on the other hand were straight forward as they just dealt with the test material, the only thing that was essential was finding the resource that works best for the individual.

The worst issue I had with a testing center dealt with the MCSE exams. From May to September 2009 I experienced consecutive exam crashes at two different Prometric testing centers. These crashes would either occur when the center staff were logging me in, or during the review phase of the exams. As a result I took the 70-293 and 70-294 exams more than 4 times and only got one score. Fortunately WGU did a mid term program change from Design and Management to Network Administration. I would have loved to finish the MCSE track, but decided I had enough of Prometric.

uhtrinity

thenjduke wrote: »

I actually enjoyed it. Was easier to take the test home. The camera is a little clumsy and does not have much weight to it when you position certain ways.

I had no idea this was even an option.

earweed

uhtrinity wrote: »

I had no idea this was even an option.

I think they just started it recently. When I was taking my Objective assessment gened classes it wasn't available.

uhtrinity

Also would like to add.

I spent 3 weeks from start to finish on Portfolio, Tech Writing, and the Capstone. Since I used one of my existing completed projects ( 32 IP camera system) the final tasks were a breeze. Not a bad idea to decide on a Capstone project early on so you can get a head start.

cablegod

Got a nice surprise in the mail a few minutes ago: http://imgur.com/ke1XWl.jpg

cablegod

Nice surprise in the mail today: http://imgur.com/ke1XWl.jpg

veritas_libertas

cablegod wrote: »

Got a nice surprise in the mail a few minutes ago: http://imgur.com/ke1XWl.jpg

Congratz!!!

qwertyiop

cablegod wrote: »

Got a nice surprise in the mail a few minutes ago: http://imgur.com/ke1XWl.jpg

I got mine like 3 weeks ago ad currently have it hanging over my desk at work.

earweed

cablegod wrote: »

Got a nice surprise in the mail a few minutes ago: http://imgur.com/ke1XWl.jpg

Congrats!

themagicone

Grats on graduation. I just finished another 7 cu's today with INC1 and CLC1. Total of 20 so far in 2 months, 4 more this week and hopefully finishing the term with 36 to 44.

TheDailyMel

cablegod wrote: »

Got a nice surprise in the mail a few minutes ago: http://imgur.com/ke1XWl.jpg

Congrats!!

TheDailyMel

themagicone wrote: »

I just finished another 7 cu's today with INC1 and CLC1. Total of 20 so far in 2 months, 4 more this week and hopefully finishing the term with 36 to 44.

Wow, that's amazing! I wish I had the time to knock out that many in a single term. I'm just hoping I can make it to 20.

uhtrinity

themagicone wrote: »

Grats on graduation. I just finished another 7 cu's today with INC1 and CLC1. Total of 20 so far in 2 months, 4 more this week and hopefully finishing the term with 36 to 44.

All I can say is wow and congratulations.

Birdiechic

I finally was able to finalize my AAV.
I am going to be doing BAC1, BBC1, WFV1, TEV1, TTV1. I will sign up for LAE1 next week. My mentor is the best.
Anyone have any tips for these courses?

uhtrinity

Birdiechic wrote: »

I finally was able to finalize my AAV.
I am going to be doing BAC1, BBC1, WFV1, TEV1, TTV1. I will sign up for LAE1 next week. My mentor is the best.
Anyone have any tips for these courses?

I can't comment on the math classes as I transferred all generals. But the WFV1, TEV1, and TTV1 courses are all IT fundamental exams. Expect to see a lot of common material in all three exams.

The first CIW cert is focused on web technology, so know your terminology. Frankly I don't remember which book I used, but I read it from cover to cover to fill in the gaps. For the later CIW exams I used Vcampus and highly recommend it. The materials were written by CIW and were very close to the exams. Using the Vcampus material I was able to score in the mid 90% range on both Site Designer (the next test past Web Fundamentals) and Database designer.

For A+ I read the Mike Meyers Comptia book from cover to cover, again to fill in the gaps. There was a good deal of content I hadn't seen before even after 15 years working in IT. I rounded it all out with Measureup practice tests.

earweed

Birdiechic wrote: »

I finally was able to finalize my AAV.
I am going to be doing BAC1, BBC1, WFV1, TEV1, TTV1. I will sign up for LAE1 next week. My mentor is the best.
Anyone have any tips for these courses?

For the WFV1 the best resources are the books you received and then use the VCampus practice tests to see what you need to study. I believe the site mcmcse.com has a good study guide for this course also.
For the TEV1,TTV1 use the Labsim Videos you'll get and get the Mike Meyers book as it's the best.

N2IT

chmorin wrote: »

My enrollment councilor is nice, but I'd have to agree with the clueless part. 3/4 the time I am answering my own questions, and 1/4 the time he is fumbling over his words. I sent him emails with specific questions and he sent back generic emails that look like they could be sent to everyone. The email didn't even answer the question I asked.

Hopefully the college experience increases once I get a mentor. So far, the concept seems to be perfect for myself. I'll be at good head start with my transfer credits and certifications. I have to go get my CIW Associates at the start, I'm kind of looking forward to that (even though they consider it lesser than the A+, but a certification is a certification!) and it is part of the tuition so it is a win/win.

I'll keep you guys updated with my experience with them. I'll be enrolling in the following months.

Sounds like a government agency.

JK

TheQGuru

Just paid my tuition for an August 1st start. MS Information Security and Assurance.

Question. Should I take my CEH before Aug 1st? I've been studing for it a couple of weeks already and have sometime. I already have my Network+.

earweed

The test cost is part of your tuition so you'll save some money if you wait. That's about the only difference I can see if you take it now or wait. Since you've already done your transfer evals and everything it would also probably minimize the paperwork to wait until after August 1 also. I don't know what it involves to get an extra cert transferred in close to your start date.
I would personally advise waiting.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

. .
I would personally advise waiting.

I'll second that.

veritas_libertas

TheQGuru wrote: »

Just paid my tuition for an August 1st start. MS Information Security and Assurance.

Question. Should I take my CEH before Aug 1st? I've been studing for it a couple of weeks already and have sometime. I already have my Network+.

The only way I would do that is if I was planning on pushing my start back another month. In your case you already paid for your tuition so that is no longer an option, and adding certifications to transfer in is no longer an option.

TheQGuru

Is your Certifications that you already have suppose to be on the transcript evalution form they sent out?

My Network+ is listed on my resume and it was awarded last year, so it fits the requirments for previously held certificates. I never sent in all my certifications since I hold about 14 of them. They never asked either. I hope they would not evaluate Resumes the same way they would evaluate transcripts.

themagicone

Anyone else have those day(s) where they just don't have any motivation? I need to get INT1 done but I just hate writing papers. Focus, just need to focus... At least I know I'm ready for A+ Essentials right away. Still on track to finish A+ then S+ by mid September. 36+ CU this term I'm hoping.

thenjduke

Two weeks into my first semester and I have knocked out 4 classes already. The reason is because I have done the final exams on some of the easy classes.