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

earweed

Almost as a rule the enrollment counselors at WGU are clueless and inept at their jobs. Don't let this sour you on WGU.
I don't believe the CISSP transfers anything in but you having already done the CISSP should make everything you have to do for your MS seem easy. The Net+ they occasionally make exceptions for but I doubt they will if it's 10+ years old.
I've heard the entrance exam is kind of a joke as is the exam to enter the Bachelors program. From what I've heard you will be working for your degree though.

veritas_libertas

What were you expecting the CISSP to do for you? Did you want it to transfer in classes?

edit: If you are thinking about other options than Dakota State University is one I am considering:

http://www.dsu.edu/msia/

Very similar price range by the way...

pleiaden

veritas_libertas wrote: »

What were you expecting the CISSP to do for you? Did you want it to transfer in classes?

I didn't expect it to do anything regarding classes. But, based on the material covered, I hoped it would waive some classes.
As I mentioned, one counselor told me it would, the other said it would not.

veritas_libertas

pleiaden wrote: »

I didn't expect it to do anything regarding classes. But, based on the material covered, I hoped it would waive some classes.
As I mentioned, one counselor told me it would, the other said it would not.

Sorry, I didn't catch that in your last post. I'm not at all suprised that it didn't transfer anything. Capella's policy is the same I believe. Yes, sadly their enrollment counselors are often inept.

pleiaden

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Yes, sadly their enrollment counselors are often inept.

I'm afraid you're right about this. I just received an email from mine asking what my undergraduate degree was in... uhm... it was on the application you received and accepted??

erpadmin

pleiaden wrote: »

I'm afraid you're right about this. I just received an email from mine asking what my undergraduate degree was in... uhm... it was on the application you received and accepted??

As someone who is 18 days (and counting) in WGU, all I can do is echo Vertitas and Earweed; the enrollment counselors are completely useless. If it weren't for those two, plus others on this board, I would have never bothered after the first day with my "counselor". It's almost like you are pledging a fraternity and part of the pledging process is to deal with the enrollment counselors and their canned e-mails (anything you ask them that isn't in a canned response, you will see gross, unprofessionally written emails! It is truly pathetic...). But once you have a start date, and your funding has been taken cared of, you never have to pledge again...(you are in! And there isn't even a hell night! LOL).

If WGU is what you want to do, definitely keep at it with your EC. I wouldn't even bother switching as they are mostly of the same ilk. But I would definitely not hold anything back when you fill out the survey. I was brutally honest.

veritas_libertas

erpadmin wrote: »

As someone who is 18 days (and counting) in WGU, all I can do is echo Vertitas and Earweed; the enrollment counselors are completely useless. If it weren't for those two, plus others on this board, I would have never bothered after the first day with my "counselor". It's almost like you are pledging a fraternity and part of the pledging process is to deal with the enrollment counselors and their canned e-mails (anything you ask them that isn't in a canned response, you will see gross, unprofessionally written emails! It is truly pathetic...). But once you have a start date, and your funding has been taken cared of, you never have to pledge again...(you are in! And there isn't even a hell night! LOL).

If WGU is what you want to do, definitely keep at it with your EC. I wouldn't even bother switching as they are mostly of the same ilk. But I would definitely not hold anything back when you fill out the survey. I was brutally honest.

Agreed! Once you are in, you are in. I haven't had any problems with my mentor. If you are lucky enough to get Robert Berry for your enrollment couselor be very happy, he is excellent to work with.

Hyper-Me

Anyone take MGC yet? The objective assessment version.

Im in that class right now and I havn't studied a lick. It's worse than Project+. I don't know how some of the guys on here study this Six Sigma stuff. I'd rather listen to Justin Beiber non-stop for 72 hours.

erpadmin

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Agreed! Once you are in, you are in. I haven't had any problems with my mentor.

I am very happy with my mentor as well. Whatever "student handbook" question I have for him, he'll either answer it or will get back to me in the same day. No complaints. He seems very interested in getting me done with WGU as quickly as possible while at the same time making sure "I'm ok" without hand-holding me.

Just to give the rest of the folks here an idea of what a "mentor" is, they are the equivalent of an academic advisor. They are different from "course mentors." Course mentors are equivalents of professors, except they don't really teach...they just make sure you're on track with your course of study (COS). My course mentor for Security+ (TSV1) is very good as I had a question about whether or not I had to do the COS plan (which is normally very good, except I had done alot of that work previously and I just want to "brush up" before I ask for my voucher, which I'm almost ready to do.

My WGU experience is nothing but positive, and I will not include my enrollment experience as part of my overal WGU picture. (If I did, it would be unfairly negative.)

pleiaden

What is the typical profile of a mentor with regard to education and background? Are they experts in their field?

erpadmin

pleiaden wrote: »

What is the typical profile of a mentor with regard to education and background? Are they experts in their field?

Some of them do seem quite knowledgable, from what I've seen. I know the IT program mentor has a Ph.D and Masters from other reputable universities.

Take a look at this link:

Degree Resources

You can click on a degree and then click on the "Meet your Mentors" link. Many of them has a biography.

uhtrinity

pleiaden wrote: »

What is the typical profile of a mentor with regard to education and background? Are they experts in their field?

Some of the mentors I have had had degrees in IT, others in Business. All the ones I had asked had a Bachelors degree as a minimum. Don't expect the mentor to be an expert in IT, but an expert in WGU's learning resources. That is what matters most.

petedude

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Anyone take MGC yet? The objective assessment version.

Im in that class right now and I havn't studied a lick. It's worse than Project+. I don't know how some of the guys on here study this Six Sigma stuff. I'd rather listen to Justin Beiber non-stop for 72 hours.

That was one of the easiest courses I've completed so far, but then I'd taken a CLEP for the same subject some years back.

It isn't "Six Sigma" stuff. Six Sigma stuff is advanced quality control, where you're learning to use statistics to manage the quality of outputs for few errors. That's where you get to use statistics, and hopefully you like statistics if you're ever forced to endure Six Sigma.

MGC1 is about managing departments to get results. ORC1 is about understanding how people interact within an organization, and how to understand individuals who make up the organization so you can get results from them.

However, I confess my eyes did glaze over a bit while reading and re-reading the MGC1 material trying to cram for the exam a little. I would find a very brief book that covers the basics such as the CLEP book that's out there. It may not cover WGU's material exactly, but you should pass. Make sure you get a good grasp of the theories and who developed them. There's some overlap between MGC1 and ORC1 (as is the case with those courses in other schools), so try to take ORC1 next if you can.

Hyper-Me

I got a 66% on the pre assessment with a cut score of 51, and the actual tests seem to be generally easier....ill probably be OK for the most part.

There is some six sigma stuff covered. Im sure its not in-depth at all, but the material still kills me.

petedude

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I got a 66% on the pre assessment with a cut score of 51, and the actual tests seem to be generally easier....ill probably be OK for the most part.

There is some six sigma stuff covered. Im sure its not in-depth at all, but the material still kills me.

You sound like you're in good shape. The cut score for that exam is. . . well, let's just say it's not Cisco numbers.

The Six Sigma stuff is broad overview, like 5000 feet up overview. Glance over something like a Wikipedia entry if you need to know anything more than what I mentioned.

LinuxRacr

Hello all,

I'm attending University of Phoenix, and am thinking about making the switch to WGU, due to the fact that it will fit more of my needs, and is over half-off on tuition. Has anyone here had any experience transferring from UoP?

erpadmin

Got BBC1 tomorrow. (Hopefully) Will be moving that up to the completed column. Will be getting a voucher for TSV1 (Security+) within the week then will be scheduling it a few days after that. I'm still going to watch videos, keep reading so that I retain the knowledge, and hopefully pass so I can continue on with LAT1, LUT1 and WFV1. Time permitting, I may throw on QLC1. The way I blazed through LAE1, LAT1 should be "a breeze" with its 10-20 page paper. As soon as I am done with Sec+, I'm buying PERRLA.

earweed

Perrla???

erpadmin

earweed wrote: »

Perrla???

To help with the APA citing. I spoke to thenjduke in great detail about it, plus did my own research. I don't want to see another 2 in a rubric for something stupid like citing web pages.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/437824-post574.html

jmasterj206

Wait until you get to LAT1 with APA. It's a PITA.

LinuxRacr

Yesterday I put in a request on the website for more info, and 10 minutes later I had someone call me back to schedule an appointment for Monday to speak with an enrollment counselor. Anyone ever worked with this particular enrollement counselor?: Brad Bollwinkel

erpadmin

Well, as expected, BBC1 got passed.

A couple of things to note:

1) I am starting to rethink this webcam business. For a whole hour and 40 minutes, I was in the most uncomfortable of positions. It was how I was sitting so that everything (face, hands, keyboard) was positioned. My keyboard is kept under the desk, and I didn't even need it. If I had to itch or something, I had to pretend I was a blackjack dealer and showed my hands so that he/she could see I wasn't doing anything funny. I wouldn't need to do this if I was at a proctored site.

2) As I said earlier, I spent 100 minutes sitting down. It might be the fact that I was a bit nervous, or thought that I'd be in and out, but nah....quick for me was 100 minutes! I had to force myself to read, and was wise to drink coffee right before the exam. Cut score was 70%, but I only got 82%......there were a few things that threw me, but a lot I was confident on. I didn't even bother going back and reviewing (Sec+ will be different though....), I figured whatever it is shall be whatever it is.

I'm just glad that's over and done with. Mentor pretty much expected a pass.

So in short, make sure you are comfortable taking the OLP exams. Good chair, an external monitor instead of your laptop one (I'm gonna definitely get one before my next one). Make sure too that you give yourself enough time to make yourself comfortable....I definitely see the cons in OLP now...

veritas_libertas

erpadmin wrote: »

Well, as expected, BBC1 got passed.

A couple of things to note:

1) I am starting to rethink this webcam business. For a whole hour and 40 minutes, I was in the most uncomfortable of positions. It was how I was sitting so that everything (face, hands, keyboard) was positioned. My keyboard is kept under the desk, and I didn't even need it. If I had to itch or something, I had to pretend I was a blackjack dealer and showed my hands so that he/she could see I wasn't doing anything funny. I wouldn't need to do this if I was at a proctored site.

2) As I said earlier, I spent 100 minutes sitting down. It might be the fact that I was a bit nervous, or thought that I'd be in and out, but nah....quick for me was 100 minutes! I had to force myself to read, and was wise to drink coffee right before the exam. Cut score was 70%, but I only got 82%......there were a few things that threw me, but a lot I was confident on. I didn't even bother going back and reviewing (Sec+ will be different though....), I figured whatever it is shall be whatever it is.

I'm just glad that's over and done with. Mentor pretty much expected a pass.

So in short, make sure you are comfortable taking the OLP exams. Good chair, an external monitor instead of your laptop one (I'm gonna definitely get one before my next one). Make sure too that you give yourself enough time to make yourself comfortable....I definitely see the cons in OLP now...

I figured it would be uncomfortable

It's great for students that don't live near testing centers, or are on the move constantly.

erpadmin

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I figured it would be uncomfortable

It's great for students that don't live near testing centers, or are on the move constantly.

Sad thing is, there is a public library right in the town I live at that is approved. There is also another one that's by my job, but I normally want to take these things on a Saturday. There is no way I could have done this assessment at the office (every 5-10 minutes someone always wants something). I enjoy the convenience of being at home, but if being at home means my back will hurt, I'm gonna have to modify how I sit and give myself time to situate myself properly.

I'm gonna give it one more shot though; there definitely were some "lessons learned."

eansdad

Anyone ever bother with taking a semester to finish up a 2nd related degree? Ex. Security and Network Admin. The difference if you finish Security basically are AHV1, AIV1 and AJV1 (MCITP tests) along with your portfolio and Capstone project. Anyone think it would be worth it or just go for the MCITP: Server Admin on your own? Also why no Linux classes/certs?

erpadmin

eansdad wrote: »

Anyone ever bother with taking a semester to finish up a 2nd related degree? Ex. Security and Network Admin. The difference if you finish Security basically are AHV1, AIV1 and AJV1 (MCITP tests) along with your portfolio and Capstone project. Anyone think it would be worth it or just go for the MCITP: Server Admin on your own? Also why no Linux classes/certs?

That's a very good question and I was wondering that myself (maybe finish the NDM and then do Databases, like a double major).

I believe it was cablegod, if I'm not mistaken, who did the second to last of your questions. He took the one exam needed for Server Admin just to do it. In truth, I might do the same after the last exam I take. WGU won't even give you an "atta-boy" for that, but it's one more cert to put on your resume and if you do it quick enough after EA, you probably won't even need that much study time.

eansdad

Yea, but I'm poor. I can do a mix of college loan/tuition reimbursement if I do it through the school. Job won't pay for certs but they help pay for college ... go figure. I just like the idea of having multiple degrees. Doesn't mean much in the real work but if I got to work for a piece of paper to say how qualified I am then I might as well get as many as I can.

Grandfather "It never hurts to learn".

Me: It's JUST a piece of paper.
Dad: Yes, but it is a piece of paper that says something about you.

To bad it took me till my 30s to realize the wisdom that they were trying to give me.

ajmatson

LinuxRacr wrote: »

Yesterday I put in a request on the website for more info, and 10 minutes later I had someone call me back to schedule an appointment for Monday to speak with an enrollment counselor. Anyone ever worked with this particular enrollement counselor?: Brad Bollwinkel

I came from UoP as well, which has been the best move yet as UoP is just horrible. I had Spencer and he was ok. He did get my financial aid messed up though so make sure you talk to FA directly for any questions you have. Other than that my transition has been great and I love WGU so much more.

LinuxRacr

ajmatson wrote: »

I came from UoP as well, which has been the best move yet as UoP is just horrible. I had Spencer and he was ok. He did get my financial aid messed up though so make sure you talk to FA directly for any questions you have. Other than that my transition has been great and I love WGU so much more.

Thanks for the input. It looks like I'll be in the same program as you, as that's what I'm currently in for UoP.

ajmatson

LinuxRacr wrote: »

Thanks for the input. It looks like I'll be in the same program as you, as that's what I'm currently in for UoP.

Sweet, I started back before the CCNA: Security was offered which is what I really wanted to do with my life. I originally was in the Networking for the MCITP:EA but switched after my first semester. It was kind of a bonus though cause I was able to get my Net+ as well on WGU's dime