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

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).

Here is where you use your final say. If eval is not done by then, don't approve AAV

motogpman

Cherper, I agree. I think I am about to do the same thing. I ahve had to correct his emails, when he has directed me to links on their page. NOt a big issue, but when I get emails, it is never the same story and copy n paste responses. I can understand that when it comes to general questions, but I have talked to him on the phone several time with specific questions.

I am going to wait until knicols responds and go from there. It usually takes me a lot to get wriled up, but after that it's a take no prisoners attitude.

erpadmin

I have my intake interview next week. Apparently, they only cared about the last piece of my financial aid package OR other means of paying. My last transcript has not come in yet, but I was assured that I would not be pressured into starting on July 1 if I didn't want to. I CAN start on July 1, but it's going to depend on some other stuff I got going on right now. Plus, starting on August 1 would ensure that if I have to pay some cash out of pocket after a loan, I can do so, though I would think I could borrow the whole amount for one term.

Motogpman, I would definitely call and cause a ruckus. I may be doing the same thing depending on the intake interview, which I was told would be 15-25 minutes. If I'm going to be paying money out of pocket, one way or the other, I want to make sure that I'm being treated, at the very least, fairly. It is, after all, your dime. But I'm hoping that I don't get a forced date....I want to make sure I start when I start. I'll let you know how that goes for me next week.

earweed

You have final say of when you start. If you don't approve the Academic Activity Verification you don't start yet. Apparently there are a lot of people starting lately. I know I've referred about 10 people so far and Veritas has referred more from here. That's just people from this site. Plus WGU seems to run through quite a few enrollment counselors, if they get too many complaints they're out.
Alex should probably be gone from how you guys talk about him. If you don't feel the EC is being straight with you, request a new EC.

I agree that motogpman should be pi$$ed and should get some straight answers..Give em hell

erpadmin

earweed wrote: »

You have final say of when you start. If you don't approve the Academic Activity Verification you don't start yet. Apparently there are a lot of people starting lately. I know I've referred about 10 people so far and Veritas has referred more from here. That's just people from this site. Plus WGU seems to run through quite a few enrollment counselors, if they get too many complaints they're out.
Alex should probably be gone from how you guys talk about him. If you don't feel the EC is being straight with you, request a new EC.

I agree that motogpman should be pi$$ed and should get some straight answers..Give em hell

My biggest complaint is the canned responses. It is so @#$@#ing obvious that it is a form e-mail that an EC is sending, especially when he sounds like a dumbass when he responds with a couple of sentences.

To be fair, I understand that an EC is probably given about 100 prospective students each and out of that 100, maybe 10-30 enroll. But in all serious, if they are spending so much money marketing on websites, they should do a better job with ECs. Mine sounds like a used car salesman, and it really turns me off. If it weren't for the fact that TE members pretty much legitimized WGU, I would have never bothered (though I did do other research as part of my due dillegence, as everyone else should).

motogpman

Ok, as of now: 22:33 p.m., that's 10:33 for youz knuckleheads ( I say that with all due respect....ok, it's the cheapo margaritas at the local cantina), guess what.......

No answer from knicol, BUT, isn't it amazing that I got a response from Alex AND a voicemail. Hmmmm..... Now here is what caused me to go have a few, in order to calm myself down and have a nice date with my lovely wife.

I get an email, from Alex, saying that my transcripts are being evaluated. Imagine that. That is after I get an email from the transcripts department.....but.....hold it...wait......

Out of all my certs, from MS/Comptia and also my CC ( who is a direct partner BTW), you guessed it, only 2 classes are waived for the whole BS degree plan. LOL. I wanted to seriously strangle someone, but, like the good little soldier, I decided to be professional and call someone. Since I got someone new on the phone, and it wasn't their fault, I tried to be professional and somewhat civil.

I talked to a new counselor, explained the situation, and that they need to put their money where thier mouth is. I feel like I am getting a two bit salesman who dropped the ball, gave me the run around and empty promises ( email to send as reference) and if they want MY BUSINESS, then they need to get their #%$# together, otherwise I will go to UT or A&M, even if I have to pay more. I am a man of principal. I don't want to judge WGU by this one individual, but under the circumstances, I am about to tell them to stick it.

The new counselor is going to take over, send everything back to the transcripts department, and I won't be dealing with Alex anymore. Emails with excuses and manpower explainations..... Sorry buddy, aint gonna fly. They know that I am on TE and that TE has a dedicated thread, ok, 2 of them, regarding WGU. I am hoping that the new counselor is good to his word, but if this doesn't work, then WGU will not get any of my business. I was told that "someone" apparently didn't do their job right, DUH.

Anyways, for those of you that are having a grand time there, good luck. I am sure that I may just have gotten someone who doesn't have a clue. We shall see and I will keep you updated.

earweed

2 classes waived..someones smoking crack...lol
How old are your certs? And your CC credits?
Have you checked the transfer guidelines to see what should transfer?

veritas_libertas

Ouch, that is painful to say the least

Tell us how it goes from there. As you can imagine I have never had any problems like that...

motogpman

CC credits are from 2000 and A+ from 1999, but inquired about the Server+ being substituted. I think having to recertify in something that is entry level and already held doesn't make sense, but we'll see. I am supposed to know something later this day. The date of CC classes apparently didn't matter since that was one of the two that they gave credit for.

Hopefully the new counselor will be more helpful than the last one. I will report back on what they say, I have been PM'd with others who have had a similar experiences with this same individual. I am trying to view this as the particular counselor's shortcomings, so we shall see.

earweed

How old is your MCSA? It should knock out A+ (2 classes) Net+ (1) and Sec+ (1) so you should have at least 5 classes knocked out. If your MCSA is over 5 years old though that may not be the case.

YMH

I am currently enrolling at WGU, I have finished a lot of the intake already. Trying for a July 1st start.

earweed

Welcome to TE and also welcome to WGU!
Hope you enjoy your time there.

veritas_libertas

YMH wrote: »

I am currently enrolling at WGU, I have finished a lot of the intake already. Trying for a July 1st start.

Greetings! Welcome to TE, this community is very friendly to questions.

motogpman

Nope, MCSA awarded last June........ They just sent me another one with the same $#@$@#$ thing. Is it really that hard for these people to get it together? All my certs, other than A+ are from 2007 and up. Maybe they don't like Texans, LOL.

earweed

That's weird. I just looked at that transfer eval rules in the student handbook and your MCSA covers the A+, Net+ , and Sec+ classes that makes 4. You may want to check your MS transcript yourself and make sure WGU got it and that it's correct.
I made sure to check the rules for transferring on or after July 1.

chmorin

earweed wrote: »

That's weird. I just looked at that transfer eval rules in the student handbook and your MCSA covers the A+, Net+ , and Sec+ classes that makes 4. You may want to check your MS transcript yourself and make sure WGU got it and that it's correct.
I made sure to check the rules for transferring on or after July 1.

Where can I find the student handbook? Does the CCNA/CCNA:V give you anything?

earweed

http://kb.wgu.edu/display/2/index.asp?c=12&cpc=3041r5ddxF0IetxgscnfYq4KF2b&cid=3&cat=&catURL=&r=0.8043939
It says WGU Student Services but that's the handbook.

Go to records and transcripts, then choose transfer credit evaluation for those transferring July 1, 2010 > then to your right choose the second down for the IT Program > this'll give you the PDF of what transfers.
I checked and your CCNA will only give you credit for one class TNV1 which is basically Net+

[Deleted User]

Ok, as of now: 22:33 p.m., that's 10:33 for youz knuckleheads ( I say that with all due respect....ok, it's the cheapo margaritas at the local cantina), guess what.......

No answer from knicol, BUT, isn't it amazing that I got a response from Alex AND a voicemail. Hmmmm..... Now here is what caused me to go have a few, in order to calm myself down and have a nice date with my lovely wife.

I get an email, from Alex, saying that my transcripts are being evaluated. Imagine that. That is after I get an email from the transcripts department.....but.....hold it...wait......

Out of all my certs, from MS/Comptia and also my CC ( who is a direct partner BTW), you guessed it, only 2 classes are waived for the whole BS degree plan. LOL. I wanted to seriously strangle someone, but, like the good little soldier, I decided to be professional and call someone. Since I got someone new on the phone, and it wasn't their fault, I tried to be professional and somewhat civil.

I talked to a new counselor, explained the situation, and that they need to put their money where thier mouth is. I feel like I am getting a two bit salesman who dropped the ball, gave me the run around and empty promises ( email to send as reference) and if they want MY BUSINESS, then they need to get their #%$# together, otherwise I will go to UT or A&M, even if I have to pay more. I am a man of principal. I don't want to judge WGU by this one individual, but under the circumstances, I am about to tell them to stick it.

The new counselor is going to take over, send everything back to the transcripts department, and I won't be dealing with Alex anymore. Emails with excuses and manpower explainations..... Sorry buddy, aint gonna fly. They know that I am on TE and that TE has a dedicated thread, ok, 2 of them, regarding WGU. I am hoping that the new counselor is good to his word, but if this doesn't work, then WGU will not get any of my business. I was told that "someone" apparently didn't do their job right, DUH.

Anyways, for those of you that are having a grand time there, good luck. I am sure that I may just have gotten someone who doesn't have a clue. We shall see and I will keep you updated.

I had the same enrollment counselor as you. I was in a similar situation as you are, wanting to find out what would transfer before I commit to going there. He wasn't very helpful in that whole process and I've delayed getting my Bachelors to study for certs currently but I may consider WGU again down the road. Chances are that I will end up going with a university in the area that has an online Bachelors program. I was really kind of put off by WGU.

motogpman

New counselor is on the ball. The new transcripts show that I have a total of 24 credit hours that will transfer from A+, Net+, Server+, Sec+, and MCSA. I thought it would account for a few more, but I will call after the holiday to speak to him. With several people talling me about this person and similar experiences, WGU really needs to pull him aside and BEND his ear a bit. Lord only knows how many people he has had a negative influence on or even given up due to his behaviour.

I think I will finish my MCSE which should, per their guidelines, knock out another 24 credits. I need to get the lead out on my end and finish these things up. Possibly even hit up the Project+ and CIW courses, everyone seems to report that they are fairly easy.

Anyways, sorry for the rants, just figured I would post on the negative issues, I think it is all due to one person, which I will take up with WGU later. You guys have a safe weekend and be SAFE!!!!

veritas_libertas

motogpman wrote: »

New counselor is on the ball.

Glad to hear that things are looking better

earweed

@motogpman rants are the norm here, I've had a few myself.

themagicone

Who in here has completed LUT1? I got task 1 complete but I just can't get through recording my presentation, I have a very very hard time articulating my speech. My fiancée usually ends up finishing my sentences and/or clarifying them for me. I'm still waiting on my research paper to come back, been waiting for over 30 hours now for a response.

earweed

I did the presentation when it was a single class (Research paper and presentation)
I did my presentation in front of 3 friends in my living room with my webcam, you'll be fine.
Unfortunately the people at taskstream take there time grading the research papers. They usually take a while.

dwilliams2361

What do you have to do the presentation on in the LUT1 course? I was able to have the other two classes waived so now I just have to take this course. How many presentations and assignments are in LUT1? Thanks.

themagicone

LUT1 is broken into 2 tasks, first part is creating a thesis, an outline, a visual aid, visual aid description, presenters script, list of 3 questions and answers and reference list. Second part is performing a 5-7 min video going over the above items. If you did LAT1 the first part is easy, just copy over your things from your paper - without that you have to do some basic research to come up with a topic and develop a thesis and enough info to cover 5-7 mins in a video. I'm at the 2nd point, going to keep practicing and video tap it tomorrow.

TheDailyMel

I've finished all my intake and I'm tentatively slated for a July 1 start. WGU is still waiting on one of my transcripts to arrive, and I'm still waiting on the approval of my education reimbursement request from my employer. If it doesn't all come through in time for July 1, I'll have to push back to August 1 instead. The waiting part sucks. I'm ready to get started. LOL

Melissa

tomahawkeer

TheDailyMel wrote: »

I've finished all my intake and I'm tentatively slated for a July 1 start. WGU is still waiting on one of my transcripts to arrive, and I'm still waiting on the approval of my education reimbursement request from my employer. If it doesn't all come through in time for July 1, I'll have to push back to August 1 instead. The waiting part sucks. I'm ready to get started. LOL

Melissa

I understand completely. Im ready to get started, however I got started with WGU about a week or so late, to have everything completed to start on June 1, so its a July start for me. I will be in the Network Design and Management emphasis. Hope everything works out for you, good luck!

rurouni_song

Got in WGU around jan/2010, took the first semester pretty lightly and only got 12 credits, A+ , CIW associate and some english class. From my experience wgu is pretty decent. I really like the getting your cert to pass the class model. As for the exams, CIW associate and A+ was a breaze, much easier then i thought they where going to be, especially compared to the questions on exam force. Anyone else think that the exam force questions where much harder then the actual A+ and CIW exams? Personally i hope this trend continues so I have a actual benchmark to compare to cert exams. Might take a 1-2 month break before next semester to get my CCNA cert. That way it will be easier for me to get a job in the industry so i can start building up my experience

earweed

Once you get to the Microsoft classes examforce will be less helpful.

rurouni_song

earweed wrote: »

It's called "refer a friend" the form is at the beginning of the main WU thread. It saves the application fee.

If u still need a referal just pm me with the info and i'll be glad to refer her:)