Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

joshmadakor

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Take a look at visual paradigm. It can reverse the code for you and make most of your diagrams.

UML CASE tool for software development

There are some youtube tutorials that help explain how to use it.

Thank you sir. Rep++

usagent27

Task 3 for KFT1 was approved so all i have left is for them to approve my task 4 and i will be done!

demonfurbie

im in the same boat for KFT1 all i need to turn in is task 4

make sure ya give your self plenty of time

Jasiono

I found a wgu app for my iPad. Let's see how it is.

jmritenour

I am nearly done. My capstone report passed on the first submission, got the notification on Sunday. So now that monster is out of the way.

I've only got 1 more course, BIV1, aka MS exam 70-647, enterprise administration. Even though I have a month left on this term, I've decided to hold off on officially enrolling, and just carrying over to a new term. WGU's insane retake policy means I'd basically get one shot at passing. And my last term will be pro-rated, so if I can get it knocked out in October, it shouldn't be that bad, financially.

Psoasman

Congrats! I'm hoping to be done this term, if possible.

So, they do pro-rate terms? I asked my mentor and she said no, which sounded ridiculous, if you only had a few CUs to finish up.

KeithC

My mentor also has said terms are prorated if you have less then 12 CU left. Although I couldn't find anything in the student handbook.

Psoasman

Nice, that takes some weight off. I will probably have around 7-8 CUs left, if I can't finish up this term.

Ivanjam

briandy81 wrote: »

I would honestly use the 13 PDFs CIW gives out to study for this. The main reason is, they actually wrote it all. Can't beat using information from the people who give the test.

Thanks for the response but I could not find any PDF's on CIW's website.

erpadmin

WGU gives you the PDFs when you either have them in AAV OR when you request them from your mentor.

For the two I had to do, mcmcse.com and ucertify were plenty for me (though with Javascript...I barely passed by the skin of my teeth...I did use thenewboston.com for that, but after awhile, Bucky was getting on my nerves.....) However, in my defense, I was in a time crunch to get Javascript done and over with and it was in the beginning that 1D0-635 was just made available, and I just wanted to get that exam over and done with, so I was able to get by with 435 resources to take the 435. 635 LRs have become stable from what I read here, and the PDFs are pretty good to pass with proper study.

Mike-Mike

KeithC wrote: »

My mentor also has said terms are prorated if you have less then 12 CU left. Although I couldn't find anything in the student handbook.

My mentor told me the same

Ivanjam

erpadmin wrote: »

WGU gives you the PDFs when you either have them in AAV OR when you request them from your mentor.

Thanks, erpadmin - I am yet to apply to WGU - just wanted to knock off a few exams before applying. At $125 per pop for each CIW exam (4 WGU CU's), that roughly $30 per CU - that's hard to beat, even with WGU's relatively low tuition rates. At approximately $3,000 per semester, if I do around 20 CU's per semester, that's $150 per CU. Even with an optimistic courseload of 30 CU's per semester, that's still $100 per CU - way below what most universities charge but still 3 times the price of the CIW exam.

jmritenour

KeithC wrote: »

My mentor also has said terms are prorated if you have less then 12 CU left. Although I couldn't find anything in the student handbook.

That's what my mentor told me, and I faintly remember seeing something to that effect in EWB (but that's been a year and half so I can't remember). But yeah, under 12 CUs, you are considered part time, and your final term is pro-rated, depending on the amount of time it takes. So, you pay in full up front for the entire term, and then a portion is refunded upon completion of your CUs.

amcnow

I just (finally) completed LKT2!

Task 1 - I honestly found this task to be the most difficult task of the three. I'm good with policy evaluation, but found the task far too open in nature. Because of this, it took me a while to narrow down my focus. It took so long, in fact, I decided to skip to task 2 and come back to it.

Task 2 - This task, quite frankly, was easy. Maybe it's because I have experience performing software analysis and building tech spec documents (to support my deliverable). I completed it within a couple of days.

Task 3 - While straight-forward, my submission wound up being more comprehensive then what was probably needed. Consequently, I spent more time on it than I would have liked.

Overall, I found completing task 3 to be the most gratifying. The obvious reason is it signified the end of the course. The other reason is the sheer volume of my submission (and the research that went into it). Once I got into it, I found myself actually enjoying it.

hiddenknight821

amcnow wrote: »

I just (finally) completed LKT2!

Task 1 - I honestly found this task to be the most difficult task of the three. I'm good with policy evaluation, but found the task far too open in nature. Because of this, it took me a while to narrow down my focus. It took so long, in fact, I decided to skip to task 2 and come back to it.

Task 2 - This task, quite frankly, was easy. Maybe it's because I have experience performing software analysis and building tech spec documents (to support my deliverable). I completed it within a couple of days.

Task 3 - While straight-forward, my submission wound up being more comprehensive then what was probably needed. Consequently, I spent more time on it than I would have liked.

Overall, I found completing task 3 to be the most gratifying. The obvious reason is it signified the end of the course. The other reason is the sheer volume of my submission (and the research that went into it). Once I got into it, I found myself actually enjoying it.

Thank gosh I'm not the only one who seems to be struggling with Task 1 here. I have to agree with you. Although, I haven't started Task 3, but I know I would have to do a lot of readings, but the task seems to be very straightforward. I wish I had a CISSP before I begun, so I wouldn't have to read every long chapters. Task 1 was hell! No doubt about that. If you read my post about 25 posts ago, you will see that you aren't alone. I tried to figure out how I can be more verbose in my powerpoint slides, yet I was having a hard time trying not to plagiarize thoughts. In my opinion, the powerpoint is pointless since we're suppose to write paragraphs in speaker notes. Might as well submit a paper instead, right?

Just submitted Task 2 (might have done way too much work on that one but I want to be throughout so I don't have to see a turnaround), and now going back to work on my first revision for Task 1. I hope to be done with this course no later than mid-Sept.

amcnow

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Thank gosh I'm not the only one who seems to be struggling with Task 1 here. I have to agree with you. Although, I haven't started Task 3, but I know I would have to do a lot of readings, but the task seems to be very straightforward. I wish I had a CISSP before I begun, so I wouldn't have to read every long chapters. Task 1 was hell! No doubt about that. If you read my post about 25 posts ago, you will see that you aren't alone. I tried to figure out how I can be more verbose in my powerpoint slides, yet I was having a hard time trying not to plagiarize thoughts. In my opinion, the powerpoint is pointless since we're suppose to write paragraphs in speaker notes. Might as well submit a paper instead, right?

Just submitted Task 2 (might have done way too much work on that one but I want to be throughout so I don't have to see a turnaround), and now going back to work on my first revision for Task 1. I hope to be done with this course no later than mid-Sept.

I actually had the exact opposite problem with Task 1. I spent most of time trying to figure out how to make my PowerPoint more concise. Had I not finally figured out how to narrow my focus, my PowerPoint would have easily contained twice as many slides.

I had a conversation with my mentor regarding Task 1. She admitted most students (from what she's seen) struggle with Task 1 (for whatever reason), more so than the other 2. A lot of her students, in particular, wound up doing what I did: skipping to Task 2 then returning to Task 1.

biggene

Just got a call from my enrollment counselor. They did not accept my transfer credits, and her supervisor said that my resume did not have enough IT experience on it for me to qualify that way. So the only way for me to be accepted to my degree program now is to either transfer a college level course or a certification exam.
I have already been studying for my Security +. so I am scheduling it for Oct.1. I am not giving up on this. One of my dreams has always been to have my bachelors degree, and I am going to get it no matter what obstacles come up for me.

Gene

paulgswanson

One of my dreams has always been to have my bachelors degree, and I am going to get it no matter what obstacles come up for me.

Thats a great attitude to have! I'm sure you'll get it done.

They didn't accept your A+?

biggene

Paul,

No they wouldn't accept it. I got my A+ in 1996, so it was out of date as far as they are concerned. What kills me is that the supervisor said she only saw 1 year of IT experience that she considered to be applicable to my degree program. Awfully funny, I have been in IT since 1993, in some type of support role or another.

Gene

snapdad

biggene wrote: »

Paul,

No they wouldn't accept it. I got my A+ in 1996, so it was out of date as far as they are concerned. What kills me is that the supervisor said she only saw 1 year of IT experience that she considered to be applicable to my degree program. Awfully funny, I have been in IT since 1993, in some type of support role or another.

Gene

If you enroll in the CompTIA continuing education program your A+ will get upgraded to current when you pass your Security+ exam. You can then transfer in both your Sec+ and A+ to WGU. Good luck!

swild

Gene,

What transfer credits did they not approve? For me they didn't approve any classes over 5 years old, that would go towards my major. So the only ones denied were my C programming classes from 10 years ago. All of my gen ed classes from 10 years ago transferred in. Maybe if the school isn't accredited?

But the certs over 5 years old that don't have any sort of recredentialing are denied.

I would request to know why they denied your experience. If you are wanting to go into the IT-Sec program and they are saying you don't have IT-Sec experience, you could start in the general IT degree and then change to IT-Sec after your first term.

EV42TMAN

That's a good attitude to have. I'm selecting my first term classes on Tuesday. I'm going to knock out all there certifications now then circle back to the rest of the "general classes" I transferred in the MCITP:SA and CCNA so that helped out a lot. if i did there default plan of 3 or 4 classes a term It would take me 3 years to graduate.

Cisc0kidd

biggene wrote: »

Paul,

No they wouldn't accept it. I got my A+ in 1996, so it was out of date as far as they are concerned. What kills me is that the supervisor said she only saw 1 year of IT experience that she considered to be applicable to my degree program. Awfully funny, I have been in IT since 1993, in some type of support role or another.

Gene

I will likely be in a similar position since my A+ and N+ are from 2000 and 2001. Like you I am planning on knocking out Sec+ to bring them current. It'll all work out in the end.

biggene

swild wrote: »

Gene,

What transfer credits did they not approve? For me they didn't approve any classes over 5 years old, that would go towards my major. So the only ones denied were my C programming classes from 10 years ago. All of my gen ed classes from 10 years ago transferred in. Maybe if the school isn't accredited?

But the certs over 5 years old that don't have any sort of recredentialing are denied.

I would request to know why they denied your experience. If you are wanting to go into the IT-Sec program and they are saying you don't have IT-Sec experience, you could start in the general IT degree and then change to IT-Sec after your first term.

I have 67 credit hours from another online school (Masters University) I went to back in the late 1990's, the school ended up closing during the dot-com crash less than 6 weeks from my graduation date. My enrollment counselor said that the school was not accredited, but I have a transcript from the California Post Secondary Bureau of Education, which I thought meant they were accredited.

Cisc0kidd

biggene wrote: »

I have 67 credit hours from another online school (Masters University) I went to back in the late 1990's, the school ended up closing during the dot-com crash less than 6 weeks from my graduation date. My enrollment counselor said that the school was not accredited, but I have a transcript from the California Post Secondary Bureau of Education, which I thought meant they were accredited.

I would find CLEP tests that match all of the general education requirements and have them sent to your local community college. I don't think WGU will take them directly but will as transfer credits. CLEPs are an easy way to test out of the first two years of college.

biggene

Cisc0kidd wrote: »

I would find CLEP tests that match all of the general education requirements and have them sent to your local community college. I don't think WGU will take them directly but will as transfer credits. CLEPs are an easy way to test out of the first two years of college.

I have actually been considering doing all my General Ed requirements via Straighterline, and taking the Security + for transfer credit also. That would knock out all my Gen Ed classes, plus my A+ and Security +. My wife and I are discussing it and I feel pretty certain that this is the route I will be taking.

Cisc0kidd

That sounds like a great plan.

Drovor

WFV1 and BNC1 are completed. Think I am leaning towards CVV1 to do next instead of DFV1.

hiddenknight821

usagent27 wrote: »

Task 3 for KFT1 was approved so all i have left is for them to approve my task 4 and i will be done!

How did you do? I hope you get a pass by the end of the day since it's your last day of the term.

foofighters

biggene wrote: »

I have actually been considering doing all my General Ed requirements via Straighterline, and taking the Security + for transfer credit also. That would knock out all my Gen Ed classes, plus my A+ and Security +. My wife and I are discussing it and I feel pretty certain that this is the route I will be taking.

I highly recommend doing your General Ed requirements via Straighterline. I was able to do 6 courses in a couple of months via straighterline, and not have to do those via WGU and deal with taskstream on them was great. I have a couple pdf's of the textbooks, I need to sell my textbooks and science lab kit soon too. Also if you do the courses via straighterline, WGU will give you a tuition credit of upto $250 ($50 per course you transfer in).

Doing that, and using a discount code when buying the courses.. can make the courses very cheap. $99/month for the subscription, then $39 per course + $30 for proctored exam.. WGU has a coupon for $40-50 off $100 (or you can find others by googling) .. you can do the math.. it works out to like $179 to do two courses if you can finish them in a month.

If you PM me your email I'll refer you to Straighterline, and send you some more info that might help you with your studies. And a couple of the books you'll need as a pdf.