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

CenturionMario

I would like an extra partner for KFT1 Task 2 and 3; if anyone is available, please send me a private message. Thank you.

CenturionMario

Anyone? Bueller?

-hype

Thinking about changing my major, one week in. From Net Admin to the standard BS IT.

I really wanted to get a ccna while going for my Bachelors, but I really don't want to study for three of those MS exams. MY ideal goal was to get the bachelors within a yr, I think with the MS exams that will push me to 1.5 yr. And I already have a MCITP and know the MS world.

What do you guys think? Any current Net Admin students?

When I went to look at the program guide, it only mentioned taking the 70-646, but when I went to see my course study plan for Directory Services, and Network Design and Management, it states I have to take the 70-640, 70-642 as opposed to a "proctored computer based objective exam" which was stated in the official program guide.

http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/prog_guide/BS_IT_NETW.pdf

tescosamoa

I am starting WGU Nov. 1st. Last time I completed any school was in 1994. So this should be a great challenge. I have 16+ years IT experience and I have realized that I need a degree to match my experience. So if anyone is looking for help to keep focused shoot me a PM. I will ask for the favour in return.

Take Care.

LarryDaMan

-hype wrote: »

MY ideal goal was to get the bachelors within a yr...

Why the big rush?

ajs1976

LarryDaMan wrote: »

Why the big rush?

Can't speak for -hype, but 1 yr = $6,000 while 1 1/2 yr = $9,000 and 2 yr = $12,000.

LarryDaMan

ajs1976 wrote: »

Can't speak for -hype, but 1 yr = $6,000 while 1 1/2 yr = $9,000 and 2 yr = $12,000.

Exactly, tuition is so cheap there is no need to rush. Maybe it just doesn't seem right to me that someone could get a worthwhile Bachelor's degree in one year. Why not just buy some fancy paper and print your own degree now?

ajs1976

Tuition is cheep when you compare it to other schools, but if it was up to me, I would do all I could to save $3,000.

Don't forget about the self-paced nature of WGU. I am currently taking 2 classes at a local college. We are just over a month into the semester and I'm over half way done with both classes. The only reason I am not further ahead is because the instructors do not release the assignments, tests, and quizzes in advance. If they did, I would be 90% done with one course and at least 75% for the other. If I was at WGU, I would be starting 3rd class, but since i am not, i am looking for another cert exam to take by the end of the year.

-hype

LarryDaMan wrote: »

Exactly, tuition is so cheap there is no need to rush. Maybe it just doesn't seem right to me that someone could get a worthwhile Bachelor's degree in one year. Why not just buy some fancy paper and print your own degree now?

Yes it's to save money, plus the sooner I have it, the sooner I can focus on other things. And look for better jobs

EngRob

tescosamoa wrote: »

I am starting WGU Nov. 1st. Last time I completed any school was in 1994. So this should be a great challenge. I have 16+ years IT experience and I have realized that I need a degree to match my experience. So if anyone is looking for help to keep focused shoot me a PM. I will ask for the favour in return.

Take Care.

I would send a PM but I think my account is too new. Starting Nov 1st too in the Security track and transferring in basically nothing so would be great to have someone to stay focused with. I'm in a similar situation, last school was around 1998 and 15+ years IT experience.

Which track are you doing?

olaHalo

Tried to schedule my ICND1 Exam today. (COV1)
The voucher and instructions are still telling me to select the old 640-822 exam.
The Pearson Vue website even lets you select it.

Just to test it out I selected the new 100-101 exam and applied the voucher to it and it worked.
I did not finalize it though. Sent an email to confirm to WGU.

I dont see this being a big issue but better to be safe.

Nemowolf

olaHalo wrote: »

Tried to schedule my ICND1 Exam today. (COV1)
The voucher and instructions are still telling me to select the old 640-822 exam.
The Pearson Vue website even lets you select it.

Just to test it out I selected the new 100-101 exam and applied the voucher to it and it worked.
I did not finalize it though. Sent an email to confirm to WGU.

I dont see this being a big issue but better to be safe.

The vouchers are not test specific, only vendor specific. The voucher could have been used for a completely different test in theory. (At least that is the warning with the CertiPort tests ...)

tescosamoa

EngRob wrote: »

I would send a PM but I think my account is too new. Starting Nov 1st too in the Security track and transferring in basically nothing so would be great to have someone to stay focused with. I'm in a similar situation, last school was around 1998 and 15+ years IT experience.

Which track are you doing?

The same one as you. Transferring in basically nothing as well.

Disgruntled3lf

santaowns wrote: »

I am also looking for a list of upper classes that essentially pass lower classes like cuv1 does. I emailed my mentor today asking for a list, if noone replies before he does I'll post his reply. He mentioned it to me other day but then backed off of subject, so I am wondering if its only for certain students with a start date after x date.

Any update on this? I've asked my enrollment mentor but he's not been able to answer. This would really help several people plan a more efficient path.

guerrilla

WGU has overall been a good fit for me. I learn better on my own and only went to class because I had to for my prior AS programs. They rely heavily on uCertify for IT, and that courseware breeds overconfidence. After passing the uCertify material EDV1 consistently and easily, I would up failing the cert. There were numerous errors in the prep kit and I thought I was good to go after submitting to get them fixed. The test proved their prep kit only scratched the surface of the actual cert. I know where I need to focus now, I just wish I'd known before being convinced I was ready. Enough about that.

Overall WGU has been a pleasant experience, but it's definitely not for those who aren't the self-learning type. I'd definitely recommend them, but I'd caveat that you should seriously assess your studying discipline before diving in. Most classes are easy to pass if you do the recommended coursework.

markulous

I'm about to get my IT Associate's from Kaplan this December then I'm heading to WGU for their IT Security Bachelor's program. I'm hoping the financial aid program is similar where I can get everything deferred until I graduate and get money back from grants and whatever is left over, which I'm guessing it is. Do I need to wait until I get my Associate's in hand before I apply?

I'm excited. I'm happy I'm going to be done with school soon and happy I'm going to have something that will help me further my career. It's been hard switching careers, but it will all be worth it.

Hypntick

This is a bit of a cross post from the GIAC section, however...

I FRICKIN' PASSED!!!!!

As soon as the score is processed, graduation proceedings start, and I am done baby!

Now for the particulars: I used the IT governance book that's suggested in the COS, the ISO standards print outs, all the files that the course mentor provides. I also took my CISSP Shon Harris book with me just in case. Had everything neatly organized in a pair of binders for ease of search. Finished in 55 minutes with a score of 84.3%, not spectacular, but i'll take it. Although I will say when the first checkpoint hit with a score of 73% I kinda got a little worried.

At any rate, aside from upgrading my MCSA to 2012, I really don't have a concrete plan of what I want to do next. More than likely CCNA:Sec and I have to do my FCNSA for work, but that's going to be a cake walk. I may go for the CISSP, eCPPT, or the OSCP. But now, i'm going to finish out my work day, and celebrate a bit!

Any questions or advice needed, please ask.

--chris--

I am not a student, but I thought my experience during the initial introduction with my enrolment counselor might be worth sharing.

I contacted WGU via their website about 4 weeks ago. There were a few email exchanged with an enrollment counselor, and when I asked about seeing what my current degree will transfer into the counselor suggested I set up a phone interview. We spoke about a week later for 30 minutes, set a tentative "start date" (the counselor was a bit pushy about setting this date, as I had told her Im already enrolled in another program and I am simply exploring my options I didn't want to set a date). I choose Feb 1 just to appease her, and we setup another phone interview one week after the initial to "answer any questions I may have or bump up the Start date".

They make the process of enrolling pretty easy and seem to do a good job of explaining how they are different and how things work. The only thing that bugs me is how often they call. Its either to participate in a survey to rate my satisfaction with the counselor or counselor is calling to establish a firm start date...this week I had 4 calls from them.

Hypntick

Yeah enrollment is always the worst part of the whole thing. Don't let it put you off, it's just an unfortunate part of the process.

-hype

Thought I'd share with you guys...

I passed MGC1 and am preparing to take BNC1 next weekend. I got an 86%, basically studied the definitions last Monday and reviewed them before taking the test. I've heard BNC1 is even easier.

drfager

Im assuming this is the most efficient and economical path to take with WGU.

1. Speak with counselor to get full course/cert path, do not sign up
2. Work on getting the most difficult or time consuming certs, until you get to your 25% max
3. Enroll

Is this accurate?

Mccaula718

I just graduated from UMUC(online) and I am curious about the proctored exams WGU has. Are you not allowed to leave the actual exam to either google stuff or look something up in your book? The way UMUC was, they would give you an exam with a time limit. The time limit made it so you weren't able to look everything up.

ajs1976

drfager wrote: »

Im assuming this is the most efficient and economical path to take with WGU.

1. Speak with counselor to get full course/cert path, do not sign up
2. Work on getting the most difficult or time consuming certs, until you get to your 25% max
3. Enroll

Is this accurate?

find the path you want to take. On the main page will be there list of certs and there should be a link to the program guide with more details. It lists the courses and the exams for each path.

Danielm7

drfager wrote: »

Im assuming this is the most efficient and economical path to take with WGU.

1. Speak with counselor to get full course/cert path, do not sign up
2. Work on getting the most difficult or time consuming certs, until you get to your 25% max
3. Enroll

Is this accurate?

Most economical would probably be to study for the most time consuming certs you'd need. Then start class, then test and let WGU pay for the testing fees.

drfager

Unfortunately, the least cert heavy path (Design and Management) does not require the CCENT or CCNA Security. (The former I already have and the later im testing out for this month) Kinda odd that for a Networking path, they would take the Net+ and Sec+ but not the CCENT or CCNA Security. But, that path ultimately requires the least certs.

So my temp plan is to knock out the three MS fundamentals and Project+ certs before enrolling. Those looks rather basic. I think 3-4 months should be ample time there, after I finish my current studies for the CCNA Security.

That would leave me with the 5 CIW certs + the general courses. (Im somewhat perplexed that the CIW certs are mandatory for a Networking degree, especially at the expense of something like the CCNA)

Can anyone give me a rundown for the general courses? Are they like the tech classes in that you can move at your own pace, or test out? How fast, for example, can you run through an English Comp I class etc.?

Danielm7

drfager wrote: »

That would leave me with the 5 CIW certs + the general courses. (Im somewhat perplexed that the CIW certs are mandatory for a Networking degree, especially at the expense of something like the CCNA)

Can anyone give me a rundown for the general courses? Are they like the tech classes in that you can move at your own pace, or test out? How fast, for example, can you run through an English Comp I class etc.?

That's because it isn't a "networking degree" it's a BS in IT, with a concentration in networking. From what I understand your diploma just says BS in IT, not the concentration. So with that there are a number of more general IT type classes you'll need to take to complete that.

I had most of the general classes covered by past coursework so I didn't have to take too many of them. But for the ones I took it really just depends on your past knowledge, ability to test well and general intelligence level. There is no real answer for how quickly "you" could finish a specific class. There were general classes that I had enough background in that I spent a few hours reviewing terms and felt ready to take the test. Then when I search online I see people spending months studying just that class and stressing about it and failing repeatedly. I'm sure the same thing could happen when I hit some of the programming classes, someone with experience in that might walk through it and I might struggle quite a bit.

colemic

-hype wrote: »

Unfortunately NO, my EC reiterated that if I grab a cert after my transcript was reviewed, I would NOT get credit for it.

I totally don't understand this - before OR after transcript review, if you have the certification, how can they NOT give you credit for it? You can't take it again for 180 days (for Cisco, I think), so do they make you wait it out and retest?

A passed cert is a passed cert is a passed cert.

Nobylspoon

I have just been approved for a 12/1 start date in the MS:ISA program. My company just issued a letter of credit to WGU to cover my full tuition. More motivation to pass so I don't have to pay them back.

I found a PDF of the Cryptography textbook and it has me a little nervous. I have a good understanding of hashing and encryption methods but that book seems to dive deep into the mathematical algorithms of each one. How focused is the exam on that part? Algebra was never a strong subject with me.

colemic

I believe it is a new compnonent of the program, and I don't believe it was available at a graduate level in other programs, so congrats! You get to be the guinea pig.

tescosamoa

Just started day one of IT Security. Going to do WFV1 , CLC1, TBP1, GAC1, DRV1 this term. Term2 will be TCP1, EUP1, CIC1, DSV1, COV1, BNC1. I am finding it difficult to figure out a course path. I am looking for some suggestions. I only carried in AGC1, EAV1, EBV1

99Cu to graduation