Experience with WGU Counselors?

whatthehell

Hello

Based upon everyone's positive opinion of WGU, I am considering a MS in Information Security and Assurance along with some extra classes as well. Called WGU, and the scheduled a time for a counselor to call me.

The day came for the counselor to call, and a different one called than expected. I requested a call back in 5 minutes, as I was in the middle of one item, and they said they only scheduled the call for 15 minutes??? He said he would have someone else call back.

30 minutes later, someone else calls back and schedules another session with a counselor for 30 minutes this Saturday.

What if I have more than 5 questions? Is this everyone's experience with counselors? Is there any counselor that someone highly recommends?

Thanks!

boredgamelad

Honestly, my initial enrollment counselor almost turned me off the school. He didn't engage me and was very lackadaisical about going over things with me. He didn't know when I said I had a CCNA that that meant I had a Cisco certification. It was very disappointing. I sent a (strongly worded) e-mail to the enrollment office and requested a new enrollment counselor. They responded within a day and said they were very sorry I was unhappy with the person they stuck me with, and they gave me a new enrollment counselor who actually knew her stuff.

In my experience, yes, they do tend to schedule calls for relatively short periods of time. I can always tell when my call is close to wrapping. If you have a lot of questions, it might be worth e-mailing the enrollment counselor you're assigned to and asking them if they can schedule a longer call with you.

I'm glad I stuck with it through the rough beginning, because I have an awesome student mentor who is really getting me excited about starting my program. He's extremely engaging and personable, and I can tell he's actually excited to see me succeed.

pram

They have schedules and time limits because they handle more than one person. It's not that surprising once you realize they have other people to speak to after you.

Also once you're actually in the program they're kind of useless. Mine just calls every 2 weeks to ask how things are going and also schedules classes at the start of the term. That's pretty much all they do.

forestgiant

Your experience was not typical. I'm not sure what you were expecting but if you asked the first counselor to accommodate your schedule, then you had to accommodate theirs as well. The counselors are counselors, not sales people so they don't necessary bend over. They have other students in line and believe it or not, they have processes, procedures, and policies (something you'll learn a lot about if you're going to be in the MSc ISA program) to follow.

That said, my enrollment counselor was Robert Berry. He was no nonsense and got things moving along.

EDIT: LL is not to judge the whole entity based on performance of one

Iristheangel

My enrollment counselor was an idiot as well. Thankfully, I only had to deal with her for two phone calls and then I got an awesome mentor when I started

kgb

pram wrote: »

They have schedules and time limits because they handle more than one person. It's not that surprising once you realize they have other people to speak to after you.

Also once you're actually in the program they're kind of useless. Mine just calls every 2 weeks to ask how things are going and also schedules classes at the start of the term. That's pretty much all they do.

That's your student mentor. He's just dealing with the enrollment counselor at this point.

My enrollment counselor wasn't bad, can't really say he was great because I did all the research and knew basically everything about the school. Dealing with him was just a formality.

With that said, that's how I would approach any dealing with enrollment counselors. They have nothing to do with you when you actually start classes. That's when you get assigned your student mentor (aka faculty adviser).

I have nothing but good stuff to say about my mentor. I haven't had to lean on her for anything really, she's super fast about adding classes for me and is supportive and very pleasant to talk too. I still have weekly calls with her. I guess I could request to move to a 2 week call, but they are very short and it's nice to talk to someone about classes and WGU with someone. Kinda gives me that little connection to the school.

kanecain

I also had a idiot enrollment counselor. Don't let that discourage you though. My mentor is the best, and VERY supportive. If I fail a test or cert, she always makes me want to try harder and continue my studies. The enrollment idiots are equivalent to fast food cashiers.

jmasterj206

I agree with what everyone has said. The enrollment counselors are clueless. You would think being the first contact a possible student would have with the school they would be better, but it sounds like it still hasn't changed. Once you get passed them it gets better and if you don't like your student mentor you always have to choice to request another.

gdeusthewhizkid

Iristheangel wrote: »

My enrollment counselor was an idiot as well. Thankfully, I only had to deal with her for two phone calls and then I got an awesome mentor when I started

I hope you are not talking about the same one i have lol.. THey are taking forever to give me my transfer credits. I ve been waiting since march.

Jasiono

I start in September too.

My counselor is pretty good. He's kept all his appointments and is getting the ball rolling pretty quick.

nxsteven

My enrollment counselor screwed up big time, but was a very nice guy. He said my A+ cert from 2007 would transfer without a problem only to find out it was out of date - by EIGHT DAYS - so they wouldn't count it. I was told this literally five days before the start of my program and it made me change my mind on the program altogether.

I explained to him that an A+ cert would do literally nothing for me at this point in my career and I had no desire to recertify. My A+ is "lifetime" as opposed to the three-year ones they hand out now. Having a second A+ cert.... who would that impress? No one.

I'm going to email enrollment and see if they would like to reconsider or lose my money altogether.

hiddenknight821

@nxsteven: I can imagine how frustrating that must be when you were informed you were too late when in fact it was their fault for not promptly transferring all your certs. However, I think you may want to rethink the whole thing again once you are calmed. A bachelor degree can get you a promotion, and it's really cheaper to pass the A+ now before you officially start. Otherwise, you would waste a few weeks of your tuition studying on their dime.

My enrollment counselor was not too bad. His initial was SS. He didn't sound quite smart, but I can tell he was going by the book as if he just started a few weeks before our first meeting. I was ready to enroll in June 2011 when I applied in May 2011, but he pushed my date back to July, because he wanted to make sure the financial aid office has enough time to put together my package. I should appreciate the fact that he wanted to be completely throughout with my expectation.

MiikeB

I would be really annoyed by the A+ thing too. Its a stupid cert that requires a lot of useless information and is not relevant to any position past bench tech. I have honestly thought about not even putting it on my resume.

Psoasman

My EC was great, I had no issues with her. WGU has experienced a ton of growth over the last few years, so there are bound to be some hiccups along the way.

kgb

nxsteven wrote: »

My enrollment counselor screwed up big time, but was a very nice guy. He said my A+ cert from 2007 would transfer without a problem only to find out it was out of date - by EIGHT DAYS - so they wouldn't count it. I was told this literally five days before the start of my program and it made me change my mind on the program altogether.

I explained to him that an A+ cert would do literally nothing for me at this point in my career and I had no desire to recertify. My A+ is "lifetime" as opposed to the three-year ones they hand out now. Having a second A+ cert.... who would that impress? No one.

I'm going to email enrollment and see if they would like to reconsider or lose my money altogether.

I can't imagine basing my going to school decision on having to take 2 classes that I don't want too. I'm taking like 10 I don't want too:) You already know the information, you could prolly take both within a week of looking over the materials. I totally agree with you on it's frustrating. But, that's such a small bump in the road.

It's a slippery slope if they let you slide and accept it. What about the guy with 9 days past...then 10...so on. There has to be a cut-off at some point that is firm.

demonfurbie

i dont remember talking to them ... i bet my wife did it for me cause she knows i get frustrated with that kinda stuff

spiderjericho

I'd be upset; however, it would be two quick passes, as you'd just be brushing up (hopefully).

My EC was great. His name is Ata Siula. He was always prompt and always helpful. I want through a period where I was supposed to get military TA, then not, then scholarships, etc. an he was always quick to help and give me links and references to help me.

However, I didn't have a good experience with my mentor and had to change.

It really is a crap shoot, but know that WGU listens to your input and will do their best to help you.