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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Comments

Ivanjam

WGU are truly generous with their transfer credits. I was expecting only 32 CU's from my certifications however, my transfer evaluation actually showed 38.

Reseven

Passed my first class today (BNC1)!

Just wanted to give a heads up on those who are using the camera and doing the exams at home... dual monitors are a no go. I logged in and started the exam and it booted me because of my dual monitor setup. I had to remove one and it's a bit tricky for me to do with the way my setup is. Wish I would have known before hand so I could have taken care of that. Definitely stressed me out a bit considering this was my first exam but I passed anyway!

kgb

Reseven wrote: »

Passed my first class today (BNC1)!

Just wanted to give a heads up on those who are using the camera and doing the exams at home... dual monitors are a no go. I logged in and started the exam and it booted me because of my dual monitor setup. I had to remove one and it's a bit tricky for me to do with the way my setup is. Wish I would have known before hand so I could have taken care of that. Definitely stressed me out a bit considering this was my first exam but I passed anyway!

Congrats on the pass.

Ya, I learned that the hard way too, lol. Before the new system (that's in place now) I would start a test and without fail, they'd kick me out and tell me to call them...The proctor would make me move my camera around to verify that the 2nd monitor was indeed turned off. This new system works a lot better.

I just completed my last proctored test last night though:)

vanquish23

My enrollment consular sent an appeal to admissions, and found out Friday that I was accepted. Weird school.

natv

Question about term breaks.. I believe we can do a 3 month (maybe with extension a 4 month break)

Does anyone know the process if you need to take a longer amount of time off (like 6 months to a year). How does it work when you want to come back?

Thanks

spiderjericho

I'm trying to update the table of contents on Technical Writing and it seems to be inaccurate with the page numbers. I'm afraid of manually doing it but if I submit it as a PDF, it's not like they'll be able to click the hyperlink (hopefully).

Ivanjam

Reseven, congrats on your first pass!

vanquish23, the same thing has happened to a few people - there seems to be some kind of disconnect in the Enrollment Department - good luck on your course of study!

Hypntick

TFT2 is done, task 4 is pretty rough. May hold off on VUT2 for right now even though I have task 1 completed. Going to jump directly to FNV2 and knock out the CEH, could use the resume boost.

NOLAJ

NOLAJ wrote: »

Technical Writing submitted!!
Ready to get this degree behind me.

Technical Writing complete, no revisions necessary.

NOLAJ

Guys,

Quick question. Is the Capstone just simply putting your Technical Writing into past tense format? Basically how the project turned out?

NOLAJ

Reseven wrote: »

Passed my first class today (BNC1)!

Just wanted to give a heads up on those who are using the camera and doing the exams at home... dual monitors are a no go. I logged in and started the exam and it booted me because of my dual monitor setup. I had to remove one and it's a bit tricky for me to do with the way my setup is. Wish I would have known before hand so I could have taken care of that. Definitely stressed me out a bit considering this was my first exam but I passed anyway!

Congrats on the pass!! I learned the hard way as well.

nosoup4u

Still waiting for my mentor to contact me to start on the 1st, I know it's early but I am ready!

NOLAJ

nosoup4u wrote: »

Still waiting for my mentor to contact me to start on the 1st, I know it's early but I am ready!

Welcome to WGU!! Best of luck in your studies!

NOLAJ

Another question....

If I start a new term only needing 3 units to graduate, is the tuition for that term pro-rated?

DPG

NOLAJ wrote: »

Another question....

If I start a new term only needing 3 units to graduate, is the tuition for that term pro-rated?

My enrollment counselor said no. Others here have said yes.

The whole lack of consistency with WGU's policies has me worried as I am scheduled to begin on the 1st.

nosoup4u

DPG wrote: »

My enrollment counselor said no. Others here have said yes.

The whole lack of consistency with WGU's policies has me worried as I am scheduled to begin on the 1st.

I have also read or heard that they can extend a term by a month in that kind of instance

Psoasman

NOLAJ wrote: »

Another question....

If I start a new term only needing 3 units to graduate, is the tuition for that term pro-rated?

Yes, the tuition is pro-rated for you, though I'd check with them about a 1-month extension.

kgb

DPG wrote: »

My enrollment counselor said no. Others here have said yes.

The whole lack of consistency with WGU's policies has me worried as I am scheduled to begin on the 1st.

The problem is the enrollment counselors. I'm not saying mentors and others are perfect, but it would be insulting to mentors and other faculty to be labeled the same as the enrollment counselors.

Talk to your mentor. If it's under 12credits, it is pro-rated at I believe like $255 a credit hour. Something like that.

I was hoping it was a time thing with the prorate versus a credit number since I'm going to have 21 left to complete, but I know I can do them in 1 month...So, I have to pay for an entire 6 months and only really utilize like 1month. Well, now that I know it's not prorated for my case I'm not going to kill myself and finish up in 1-2 months instead.

Ivanjam

kgb - interestingly, if you withdraw from the college before 60% of the term has passed, you are eligible for a refund:

"The percentage calculation for eligibility for refund is the number of calendar days enrolled (start of term to withdrawal date) divided by the total number of calendar days in the term. If the percentage is less than or equal to 60% of the term, the student is eligible for a refund. The refund amount is calculated by multiplying the tuition by the percentage of days remaining in the term after the withdrawal date, assuming the student has completed 60% or less of the term." - excerpted from the WGU Student Handbook.

So, failure is rewarded while success is penalized..

kgb

Ivanjam wrote: »

kgb - interestingly, if you withdraw from the college before 60% of the term has passed, you are eligible for a refund:

"The percentage calculation for eligibility for refund is the number of calendar days enrolled (start of term to withdrawal date) divided by the total number of calendar days in the term. If the percentage is less than or equal to 60% of the term, the student is eligible for a refund. The refund amount is calculated by multiplying the tuition by the percentage of days remaining in the term after the withdrawal date, assuming the student has completed 60% or less of the term." - excerpted from the WGU Student Handbook.

So, failure is rewarded while success is penalized..

That is interesting. They state 12credit hours are all that's needed for a term though. So, if you completed at least 7 credits (60% of 12) you wouldn't be eligible for the refund. (I might be reading that wrong... probably am) The more I think about it, I think that's a nice policy. It pretty much covers someone if they run into some really bad times and can't do any school work.

From what I've been told, all of us here on these forums that accelerate pretty hard are not the norm. The majority of the students don't accelerate that much. It could seem like I'm getting the short end of the stick, but I'm part of the few that are an extreme case. But, when you think about the majority of the students, my issue will never be an issue for them.

I've wrestled with my situation, because you are allowed to roll into another degree (BS or MS) with your remaining time. They don't offer any MS degree that would benefit me though. I shouldn't look at it as I'm paying for 6 months and only using 1-2. Rather I should say, I'm graduating early and now I can move forward with my goals.

spiderjericho

Just submitted SBT1/Technical Writing. My proposal ended up being 34 pages. Hopefully, I don't get it back. My term ends Nov 30. My mentor is kind of stressing me out, since I have only DFV1 and Capstone left. And I'm glad you guys are discussing refunds.

NOLAJ

Psoasman wrote: »

Yes, the tuition is pro-rated for you, though I'd check with them about a 1-month extension.

Thanks! I am eligible for Pell Grant, so I think it may be in my best financial interest to start the new term. 255 x 3 = 785.

2750 - 785 = 1965 in my pocket to be used for educational expenses.

I just finished my Capstone so I will get it submitted this week.

NOLAJ

spiderjericho wrote: »

Just submitted SBT1/Technical Writing. My proposal ended up being 34 pages. Hopefully, I don't get it back. My term ends Nov 30. My mentor is kind of stressing me out, since I have only DFV1 and Capstone left. And I'm glad you guys are discussing refunds.

Hopefully you'll pass it with no revisions necessary. 34 pages is hefty. Mine was only 19

N2IT

Working on Decision Analysis and Strategic Management at the sametime. Once those are completed I have Leadership, Finance, and then the Capstone. (MBA)

DPG

Psoasman wrote: »

Yes, the tuition is pro-rated for you, though I'd check with them about a 1-month extension.

Can you post a link to the policy that covers this?

Ivanjam

Starting EWB tomorrow (Mon, Oct 15) - haven't been this excited about school since bell-bottoms were in fashion!

Good luck to nosoup4u and 101010 who both start on Nov 1 as well!

nosoup4u

Ivanjam wrote: »

Starting EWB tomorrow (Mon, Oct 15) - haven't been this excited about school since bell-bottoms were in fashion!

Good luck to nosoup4u and 101010 who both start on Nov 1 as well!

Awesome man, good luck!

How did you get them to open it up so early?

Ivanjam

nosoup4u wrote: »

How did you get them to open it up so early?

EWB is supposed to open up on the 15th of the month prior to entry.

Psoasman

DPG wrote: »

Can you post a link to the policy that covers this?

I will look for one. My information is based on what my mentor and a person in finance told me.

Ivanjam

EWB is now open just as they said at WGU - on the 15th of the month prior to entry.