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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jmasterj206

If anyone is working on Javascript fundamentals I found this YouTube series quite helpful.
YouTube - Javascript Tutorial - 1 - Introduction to Javascript

uhtrinity

erpadmin wrote: »

Best of luck to you. Seriously, just to let you know there are a LOT of Higher Education insitutions that are looking for Online Learning Coordinators. With your background, it would be an easy fit and it would be a great career move for you. You can also probably adjunct at some online universities that are also part of B&Ms. Something you definitely may want to look into.

I appreciate the advice. For now I want to see where my current job goes as I have been there since the school started over 4 years ago. It is really a special place and it is nice to see how positive an impact it has on the students. If the High School technical programs pan out as I hope then I will have my final career. If not I'll still have options whether it be in Technical Education or regular IT.

A little bit of info on the school: The Academy at Roosevelt Center | The Harbor Method

veritas_libertas

First exam of the semester scheduled for next week...

MGC1

uhtrinity

veritas_libertas wrote: »

First exam of the semester scheduled for next week...

MGC1

Good luck. I found the management and leadership exams to go hand in hand with project+. Very common sense if you have worked in a business environment.

veritas_libertas

uhtrinity wrote: »

Good luck. I found the management and leadership exams to go hand in hand with project+. Very common sense if you have worked in a business environment.

Agreed, I'm going to be doing the Proj+ soon afterwards which helps.

erpadmin

I will definitely be scheduling CIW v5 Foundations (WFV1) within the next week or so. Just read over the mcmcse.com study guide and can see why folks find this a waste of time. I'm just waiting for my MeasureUp so that I can start the study mode immediately. Then take cert mode immediately. Only thing I'll be looking at, and really not that much will be the html stuff. Everything else is pretty much what I've been doing and I'm sure for most folks in the IT for a minute, for them too.

Unforg1ven

So I went ahead with the whole application process. Took the intake interview Tuesday and if I decide to go would start OCT 1st.

Quick Question : They are currently evaluating my transcripts. How long will it take for them to get back to me regarding what transfers/what does not?

Thnxs

earweed

erpadmin wrote: »

I will definitely be scheduling CIW v5 Foundations (WFV1) within the next week or so. Just read over the mcmcse.com study guide and can see why folks find this a waste of time. I'm just waiting for my MeasureUp so that I can start the study mode immediately. Then take cert mode immediately. Only thing I'll be looking at, and really not that much will be the html stuff. Everything else is pretty much what I've been doing and I'm sure for most folks in the IT for a minute, for them too.

The weird thing about WGU and WFV1 is that everyone has to take this cert. Nothing but this cert satisfies the requirement. If you have every other cert in your degree requirements except this one you still have to take it. It is a joke for any IT Pro to have to take this one.

erpadmin

Unforg1ven wrote: »

So I went ahead with the whole application process. Took the intake interview Tuesday and if I decide to go would start OCT 1st.

Quick Question : They are currently evaluating my transcripts. How long will it take for them to get back to me regarding what transfers/what does not?

Thnxs

It could be anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month. Though if you are starting Oct 1st, they will definitely put a rush on that, especially if you give the impression that it's either X date or nothing. Just have to get on your enrollment counselors back a little bit. But they're really the only ones out of WGU that you have to do that too....I almost understand the logic....

Figure they have X amount that's interested and Y amount that flaky out of X amount. Some of them probably have a hard time figuring out who's serious and who's not. But that doesn't excuse them....just saying I can understand.

earweed

He'll find that the enrollment counselor is the last hindrance to an enjoyable experience at WGU.

erpadmin

earweed wrote: »

The weird thing about WGU and WFV1 is that everyone has to take this cert. Nothing but this cert satisfies the requirement. If you have every other cert in your degree requirements except this one you still have to take it. It is a joke for any IT Pro to have to take this one.

I remember the post that explains why that is....it really does go over IT as a whole and is very encompassing of that (or tries to be). I have the post you made bookmarked for the w3schools.com so that I remember to go over the html and css.....I have no problem going over all of that this weekend as a refresher. That's really the only thing I'm going to concentrate on, and I won't exactly need much of that.

(I am not spending 95 bucks on the certificate though...lmao).

Like you though, I'm not wasting the valuable certification space under my name to show that I obtained this certification......saving that for the MS and Proj+ ones. CIW will go way below the CompTIA certs I already have.

earweed

I've heard that WGU is moving away from Examforce for some of their classes. I'd like to applaud them for that. Before Examforce they had used Measure up and they are returning to using that again.
Now if they would only move to something else for the MS Server 2008 track as they are still using Exam Force for that. I have a thread on the WGU community asking them to change to U-Certify or something like that which will hopefully be listened to and anyone here is welcome to chime in on that thread.

petedude

erpadmin wrote: »

I remember the post that explains why that is....it really does go over IT as a whole and is very encompassing of that (or tries to be).

+1. I've known IT Pros with many years under their belts who I think would be shocked by their initial pretest scores if they tried it.

I will definitely be scheduling CIW v5 Foundations (WFV1) within the next week or so. Just read over the mcmcse.com study guide and can see why folks find this a waste of time.

As I said in a much earlier post, it's a good IT overview course. Call it. . . IT and Networking 101. Ignore the fact there's a certification attached.

It is a joke for any IT Pro to have to take this one.

Breathe, grasshopper. Better this than being forced to take a Computer Literacy 101-style course, trust me.

uhtrinity

earweed wrote: »

The weird thing about WGU and WFV1 is that everyone has to take this cert. Nothing but this cert satisfies the requirement. If you have every other cert in your degree requirements except this one you still have to take it. It is a joke for any IT Pro to have to take this one.

It is on the same level of A+ with the addition of web content and basic security.

earweed

Actually I think You're kind of comparing apples to oranges. The WFV1 course has it's place. For me I actually learned a lot more new stuff with it than I did the A+. I knew hardware and about the Operating sytems but I didn't know squat about the OSI model and even less about html. For an IT noob like I was WFV1 is a great course. I was more referring to seasoned pros who also had a few more advanced certs under their belts.
If a person entered WGU with a CCIE he would still be required to take WFV1. I know that's going to extremes but I also consider it strange that a person with the A+,Net+, and MCITP:EA is still required to take it.

RockinIT

I am all set up to start on Oct 1.

I heard back today about my transcript eval... I didn't hold out much hope that anything would transfer and yet somehow a few things did.

I am transfering in

BBC1
LAE1
SSC1
SST1
CLC1

10 CUs... not too shabby!

themagicone

Passed 1 of the 3 math classes with 68%. WOOO!! Now to pass my Security+ on Tuesday. If I do that I'll have 39 CU's Done. My term ends Oct 31st so I'm hoping to get in Math classes 2 and 3. Then spend some time on N+. It's not a part of my degree (Security) but being it's a lifetime until 12/31 I figured I should take it.

I was worried about the math test when I took it this morning. It was A LOT harder than the pretest. First time that has been the case. But I passed and breathed a big sigh of relief.

jmasterj206

themagicone wrote: »

Passed 1 of the 3 math classes with 68%. WOOO!! Now to pass my Security+ on Tuesday. If I do that I'll have 39 CU's Done. My term ends Oct 31st so I'm hoping to get in Math classes 2 and 3. Then spend some time on N+. It's not a part of my degree (Security) but being it's a lifetime until 12/31 I figured I should take it.

I was worried about the math test when I took it this morning. It was A LOT harder than the pretest. First time that has been the case. But I passed and breathed a big sigh of relief.

Congrats on the pass and I'm sure you won't have any trouble with Sec+. I will I could see 39 credits a semester.

petedude

I'm starting to mess a bit with GTT1 (intro to programming)-- anyone know what documentation is required with the programs submitted?

So far as I can see, all that is required to submit to Taskstream is a zip of the program sources itself (the whole project if you're submitting NetBeans stuff) and maybe a cover sheet. Since I'm not enrolled in the course yet, I don't have the full Taskstream rubric handy and I'm working off the assignment details in the COS.

They aren't asking for things such as user documentation, flowcharts, etc. are they?

*BTW, will need a study partner for GUT1 in coming months if there are any takers.

uhtrinity

petedude wrote: »

I'm starting to mess a bit with GTT1 (intro to programming)-- anyone know what documentation is required with the programs submitted?

So far as I can see, all that is required to submit to Taskstream is a zip of the program sources itself (the whole project if you're submitting NetBeans stuff) and maybe a cover sheet. Since I'm not enrolled in the course yet, I don't have the full Taskstream rubric handy and I'm working off the assignment details in the COS.

They aren't asking for things such as user documentation, flowcharts, etc. are they?

*BTW, will need a study partner for GUT1 in coming months if there are any takers.

The course code for the first Java course I took was ABT1. It required inline documentation , ie. this part does ...., this variable is ..... The second course required user documentation, flowcharts, etc.

petedude

uhtrinity wrote: »

The course code for the first Java course I took was ABT1. It required inline documentation , ie. this part does ...., this variable is ..... The second course required user documentation, flowcharts, etc.

Good to know, thanks. Yeah, GTT1 is ABT1 renamed. So it looks like all I should need to do is comment my code well and meet the rubric. Sweet.

erpadmin

I'm in the middle of what I feel is a comprehensive review for WFV1. By no means would I say that the following statements are indicative of me changing my opinions/level of respect for this exam, but I can definitely see that it is truly the one cert that is comprehensive of pretty much EVERYTHING we've either done or familiar with in IT. You have A+, Net+ and Security+ combined into one for one part of this exam, then sprinkle some Project+. The HTML/XHTML discussion isn't terrible, plus database concepts....plus programming concepts....on top of whatever else.

The one "sell" I can take away is that anyone with this cert can definitely say they are familiar with all facets of IT (or at a minimum, all the important facets). If one is going into a IT Management role where they may have application developers (programmers, programmer analysts, whatever) under them, they can at least be familiar with not just what they do, but how they do it too. I would still want a trusted lieutenant/manager that is a senior level programmer to ensure the code makes sense/written efficiently though...

I find myself going back to the beginning of my career reviewing this stuff. My personal takeaway is that many of the positive aspects of my career which I thought were forgotten are all coming back to me now. It brings a smile to my face, but this test has to get done by the final weekend...

LAT1/LUT1 are beasts in and of themselves.

I had thought my mentor would just give me voucher and I'd just call it a day. But he wants me to go through the vCampus exercises first. It's not that they're difficult but it's a lot! It was one of the only times I protested loudly, but he still politely insisted. It's probably not such a bad thing...just thought I could just do it relatively quickly. I only need 54 right out of 85 questions. (That's the magic number, 54). But as I'm working through it, it might not be such a bad thing...but that's just the optimist in me talking. So I'll hopefully knock out these exercises before tomorrow evening.

themagicone

I think there needs to be a standard set of what Mentor require in the classes before allowing the voucher to be issued. As you read threw this thread and the other WGU thread, some mentors require examforce to be sent in, some require labsim records, etc... My mentor on the other hand hasn't asked for anything in the way of records or transcripts. I tell him I'm ready, he sends in my request. Could be that I have passed every test with a huge margin on the first time but I don't know. Just seems without a said standard it leads to a huge confusion.

earweed

Yeah, there needs to be standards for receiving vouchers. The COS usually specifies what needs to be done but the mentor needs to be familiar with and follow the standards. Some students just follow the COS, as I have done for my classes, and the mentor requires the COS to be followed (mine does).
@erpadmin- glad to see you're seeing the task of doing the work for WFV1 from an optimistic viewpoint. It's good to see that someone sees the value in that cert. It is really comprehensive and I, personally, learned a lot from it.
The test itself is a mile wide and an inch deep. You'll knock it out of the park.

erpadmin

themagicone wrote: »

I think there needs to be a standard set of what Mentor require in the classes before allowing the voucher to be issued. As you read threw this thread and the other WGU thread, some mentors require examforce to be sent in, some require labsim records, etc... My mentor on the other hand hasn't asked for anything in the way of records or transcripts. I tell him I'm ready, he sends in my request. Could be that I have passed every test with a huge margin on the first time but I don't know. Just seems without a said standard it leads to a huge confusion.

I was under the impression that a 97% pass of Security+ would be enough to lay down the law with my mentor and asking for voucher. If I had to do an examforce with WFV1, I'd have been pissed. But I think it depends on the student. In your case, you've pretty much proven yourself to your mentor. I guess completing 100% of SAP/AAV/AAP in the first 26 days of my term wasn't good enough in my case. I'll just keep doing what I gotta do.

erpadmin

earweed wrote: »

@erpadmin- glad to see you're seeing the task of doing the work for WFV1 from an optimistic viewpoint. It's good to see that someone sees the value in that cert. It is really comprehensive and I, personally, learned a lot from it.
The test itself is a mile wide and an inch deep. You'll knock it out of the park.

Personally, when I get this cert, I will only list it in my "management" resume. It will at least provide the opportunity that I know the functions of IT (plus state the reason I even bothered with it was because it was required for my BS....).

My "technical" resume will not include it. That much I know.

earweed

@erpadmin
He may have just wanted you to get a review in case you've forgotten stuff over the years.

erpadmin

earweed wrote: »

@erpadmin
He may have just wanted you to get a review in case you've forgotten stuff over the years.

I think he was more worried about the HTML stuff. I told him, I had guide/resources that's helping me out with that. A lot of the Network+ stuff I still remember (kinda have to....

), and the Security+ stuff because I just got over that is probably the quickest I'm going over.

<html>
<body>
This is such crap...
</body>
</html>

jmasterj206

There really should be some standard. I started the same time as erp and of the two certs I am working on I have never been asked to submit anything. I just told my mentor I was ready and she ok'ed the voucher.

Hyper-Me

Passed MGC1 on saturday without even studying a lick. 72% and the cut score is like 51%.

Beginning to think there won't be any challenging classes in this degree path.