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

petedude

themagicone wrote: »

I have come to dislike something very very much WGU, and it is getting me upset like crazy. Well actually 2 thing, but first is their damn using of taskstream to score work. Taskstream has to be to most unuseful piece of #### ever. . . .

That brings in the 2nd thing I have come to dislike and that is APA. I can understand APA in the sense of a format for citations and references but APA goes beyond that in the sense it states what kind of words you can use, the tense, the tone, etc of how you write. I can write, but trying to conform to APA format has to be the hardest thing I've ever done. It doesn't feel natural to me. I can't wait until I'm done with the English classes.

I'd agree with what the other poster said about Taskstream-- make sure your mentor knows. After all, the squeaky wheel. . .

I wish WGU would teach both MLA and APA citation formats. APA is great for technical work, but for non-technical stuff like English class papers MLA is probably more appropriate.

earweed

I agree. I even bought the APA book.
That helped as the course mentor via a phone call was able to guide me to the individual pages that helped me out. And I said the course mentor, not your WGU mentor, the course mentors in the language courses were great at helping out. The only courses I ever took where we actually had scheduled chat conferences and people actually attended.

Hyper-Me

My mentor must know that CLC1 is easy. I approved it in AAP and then clicked "Submit for scheduling" and he approved it. lol

earweed

You didn't even take a preassessment or anything?

Hyper-Me

earweed wrote: »

You didn't even take a preassessment or anything?

Oh I took one a few weeks ago, 76%.

But I got a 76% on my math pre assessment and he kept saying he wanted me to do it a couple more times to be sure. This time he just approved it.

earweed

Cool, just study a little at least to not make me feel bad. That used to be a real bear of a course, had to write, and resubmit, 4 papers.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

You didn't even take a preassessment or anything?

i don't think it's demanded in 100% of the cases.

earweed

That was probably the hardest course I have had before they changed it.

motogpman

Ok, can someone give me some advice please.

I sent my sealed transcripts from my CC, MS, and Comptia certs to my WGU adviser. I need to take the assessment still, time hasn't been available, but I cannot get a straight answer from my adviser. I have asked him to please look over all my data and let me know what will be transferred in to the specific BS plan he and I discussed.

He won't do it. He has pointed me to the course evaulation plan and then said the due to "manpower" restraints, he needs the assessment done ( i know ) and then be on the "roll" for the next available month session.

Is it me, or is it really that hard to tell me. I don't want to hear the manpower issue, WGU is trying to sell me something ( I get several emails daily, many repetitive), but it seems as his response is now that when they have money in hand, then they will review my records. This whole process has been about a month so far. Is it just me or has anyone else ran into this problem?

erpadmin

motogpman wrote: »

Is it me, or is it really that hard to tell me. I don't want to hear the manpower issue, WGU is trying to sell me something ( I get several emails daily, many repetitive), but it seems as his response is now that when they have money in hand, then they will review my records. This whole process has been about a month so far. Is it just me or has anyone else ran into this problem?

Holy crap, I definitely want to hear what is going to transfer first before I commit to paying. I am in the exact boat you're in, but in my case it's been 2 days. I have done everything (even the assessment, but dude, they say it's 2 hours...you'll be done in under an hour, tops! I promise you) except the intake. I believe that's getting done on Monday. I've sent my A+ and Network+ certs and I'm really hoping I don't have to take them again, as it's been slightly UNDER 5 years I keep hearing about. (2003 A+ and the 2006 Net+, both taken November & December '05) I emailed my counselor the certs through the Comptia's transcript function and can see it's been viewed. Went to my CC in person today to get the transcript sent, and the 4 year school I went to I was able to order them online, which was really nice.

It would be odd if I don't get to know what they accept BEFORE I commit to tuition. I'm hoping this isn't the case with either of us.

petedude

motogpman wrote: »

. . .

Is it me, or is it really that hard to tell me. I don't want to hear the manpower issue, WGU is trying to sell me something ( I get several emails daily, many repetitive), but it seems as his response is now that when they have money in hand, then they will review my records. This whole process has been about a month so far. Is it just me or has anyone else ran into this problem?

Sorry you're running into this. I don't think the enrollment counselors are indicative of WGU as a whole. There are a number who are like this, though. Try telling your enrollment counselor frankly how you feel about the situation, and copy knicoll@wgu.edu. More importantly, write transcriptinfo@wgu.edu and ask them if they can provide you with an initial assessment of your transcripts (you may want to cc: knicoll and your enrollment counselor if you feel like letting them know you're serious about getting the info).

If writing transcriptinfo doesn't get a response, PM me and I'll give you additional contacts.

earweed

You should hear before you have to pay. It usually takes 4-5 days. It may take longer now as it seems WGU has been getting more students lately. If your in a hurry to get enrolled by June 1 they may not be ready, it's happened before. Don't let your enrollment counselor rush you, You may have to wait til July to start if you want to wait for your transfer evaluation to be done.
I know when I did mine it took a couple weeks but I wasn't rushing to start. I got mine before paying my tuition.

motogpman

Thanks for the responses fellas. Just to give you his reply, here is his response earlier. Figured I would do this in all fairness, just getting a little frustrated:

"The Readiness Assessment needs to be passed before we can move on to the next few steps.

After your final transcript has arrived and you have passed the Readiness Assessment, the next step is the intake interview. After the interview, your record is processed and you are put on the roll to start for the next possible month. It is at this point, that your transcripts will be put in line to be evaluated by our records department. We generally do not evaluate transcripts before that point, because we have so many students who are starting every month, we have limited man power to evaluate any more than those who are on the roll.

If you are mainly interested in an estimation of what credits will transfer, and which ones will not, you can access our transcript evaluation guideline for the IT college. This lists the classes which can be waived depending on which classes you have taken in the past, and what the requirements are for each of these classes to be waived. If you have any further questions, feel free to give me a call.

-Go to WGU.edu/sh

-Click on Records and Transcripts on left hand side

-Scroll to bottom

-Click on “Transfer Credit Evaluation - For Students who Begin WGU on or after March 1, 2010 “ which is near the bottom.

-On the right, there are PDF documents, then you can click on College of IT Undergraduate (6th one down)

This lists the Transcript Evaluation Guidelines."

Soooo, in a nutshell, I will take the assessment this weekend. His instructions were sent to me before, I had to correct him about it being the 6th one down on the right (it's actually the 2nd down), so it's like a copy n paste response.

I have relayed to him many times already that I am not going to finance my edu, that I am waiting for a second home to sell (on the market) and then I will pay/start. I had already printed that .pdf and made my calculations, but.... I want a written response from WGU, which I was already able to do at a local Univeristy, so what's the deal. I will take your advice and cc knicoll next time and will email the transcript address tomorrow.

Thanks Pete and Ear, I figure it should be simple seeing they have all my records now. Erp, hopefully you aren't dealing with the same individual.
I'll keep ya'll posted. Thanks again.

petedude

erpadmin wrote: »

. . .

It would be odd if I don't get to know what they accept BEFORE I commit to tuition. I'm hoping this isn't the case with either of us.

Unfortunately, some enrollment counselors try to do this (although it conflicts with stated WGU policy as I understand it). I think some might be afraid students will walk. I say, let students know what they're getting into and be up front with them. No sense creating bad vibes or getting a bad reputation, especially in this day and age.

earweed

@ petedude I was gonna give you a rep bump for these replies but I gotta "spread some love somewhere else first" since I already gave you some somewhere else.

themagicone

I can see their point of waiting until you are fully committed before evaluating your credits. It isn't as easy as just looking at it and comparing to a list. They have to check the school, its accreditation, what the courses you are transferring actually covered to see how it lines up to their courses, etc.

You do understand that you have no financial commitment until you agree to your AAP (or AAV I forget) and you can wait to do that up to around the 20th of the month you start.

I dunno just thought I would through my 2cents out there.

motogpman

Yes, I do understand that, which is why his emails confused me and I want something in writting before I pay for the services. The CC I went to is on their "partner" list, which did surprise me since that CC hadn't even heard of WGU ( LOL ), so that isn't an issue. I think that if they are worried about people not attending due to transfer issues, then that is a risk they need to take, otherwise how is a student going to feel paying and then finding out? I do see your point though. They are still in the business of being a business.

It is no different than me going to A&M, Sam Houston, or UT and doing the same thing, which I did. Your 2 cents is welcomed, I am open to all views, so thanks for posting.

LOL, he sent me an email this morning saying this:

"I may be able to work something out, but you still need to pass the readiness assessment first."

I have sent an email follwing Pete's advice, so when I hear back, I'll post the info. Ya'
ll have a good day!

jtoast

While I've lurked here off and on for a long time, I never bothered to register before. Now that I've taken the plunge and enrolled at WGU, posting in the roll call thread seemed like a good time to change from "lurker" to "poster."

I officially began classes on May 1st and am going down the basic "Information Technology" path. I chose this path as opposed to any particular emphasis because this degree is more to fill a hole in my resume than it is to enhance my skillset.

After all of my transfer credits, I had 13 classes remaining (including EWB) for a total of 54 units. I've knocked out EWB and WFV1 already and I'm waiting on the voucher for AKV1. With a little luck I will get my first 12 units completed within the first 45 days and can then do some serious accelerated learning

earweed

AKV1 is easy. Read the book twice get the study guide from MCMCSE and you'll be fine. The course mentor Tim Perez is really helpful too.

jtoast

Not too worried about AKV1. While I'm by no means a scripting expert, I don't think its possible to spend any time in an IT position without picking up basic scripting skills.

earweed

The test is very light on actual scripting. a lot fo info in the book may be new to you and may be on the test.

Hyper-Me

Here is a little trick.

You don't fully commit to attending and paying for WGU until you approve your classes in AAV. This means you can get all the way through the transfer evaluation and everything else and still back out. Its extremely easy if you plan on paying cash, just dont pay. If you are using financial aid, just cancel it if you decide not to attend. (Just dont approve any classes in AAV if you dont plan on attending. Approving them is agreeing to pay tuition).

themagicone

On another subject, I just passed my 3rd class in 19 days and I'm half way through the 4th (Research Paper). Can't wait till I get these damn English classes done and get on to some IT work. My goal is 30 CU this term, if I continue with my avg 6 hours a day of studying this shouldn't be a problem.

jtoast

I just notice that, despite a large WGU population on this board, there is no CIW/Prosoft forum. That amuses me for some reason.

earweed

CIW isn't really a big recognized cert provider. I found it really odd that the MCITP:EA covers most all the requirements for IT classes but the CIW Foundations still has to be taken. I found that really odd. It satisfies A+, Net+, and of course the server 2008 classes but not Foundations.
CIW is basically not well known to tell you the truth.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

CIW is basically not well known to tell you the truth.

. . . as if we didn't know that.

Still, I think CIW Foundations is a great overview course, especially for IT newbies.

The one CIW course that really looks like it could use updating is Server Administrator.

petedude

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Here is a little trick.

You don't fully commit to attending and paying for WGU until you approve your classes in AAV. This means you can get all the way through the transfer evaluation and everything else and still back out. Its extremely easy if you plan on paying cash, just dont pay. If you are using financial aid, just cancel it if you decide not to attend. (Just dont approve any classes in AAV if you dont plan on attending. Approving them is agreeing to pay tuition).

+1 I'll second this. It's a little mean to go that far and then bail, but if the program doesn't fit your goals you should move on.

petedude

themagicone wrote: »

On another subject, I just passed my 3rd class in 19 days and I'm half way through the 4th (Research Paper). Can't wait till I get these damn English classes done and get on to some IT work. My goal is 30 CU this term, if I continue with my avg 6 hours a day of studying this shouldn't be a problem.

And here I thought I was the only one zooming along. . .

earweed

petedude wrote: »

And here I thought I was the only one zooming along. . .

So are Hyper-me and Veritas.
WGU isn't gonna make a lot of $$ off the TE students. Most of the TE people here are already disciplined self learners who will zoom through it.

earweed

It was a geat course for me. I had some hardware knowledge and that was it. When I took that preassessment I scored around 40% and learned a lot. Having an MCITP take it is ..well
Their JavaScript course and Site Designer course definitely need updating.