Venting, hating, about to quit WGU...

zdevilinisde · February 2016

I have been a student at WGU for ~7 months and am frustrated beyond belief. I am working towards the Master Information Systems Management and about to quit. Why? There are many reasons and most are the ones others have stated in the past - Taskstream is BS, feedback doesn't make sense - feels canned, evaluations asking for more information on items that isn't even in the directions, course mentors having no say in the "grades" - a course mentor may feel that your work is enough to pass the course but then the evaluator at Taskstream decides you are not even close, etc. It feels like a crap shoot when it comes down to Taskstream - sometimes you get someone that can find their butt with one hand whereas most of the time you get someone that can't find it with either hand. I have been told to contact ecare but I have no idea what they would be able to do for me, if anything.

My frustration is to the point where I will not talk to my mentor; hearing her voice makes me cringe, I start feeling anger and feel that her biweekly calls are just a waste of time. Things are so bad for me that I feel NO motivation to work on my courses. I am bipolar so it is something that is hard for me to get over too.

My options are to completely quit WGU and give up on getting a Masters. This will not happen. I am too much of a fighter to give up on a goal completely. I just am at the point where thinking about WGU turns my stomach and I want to punch something.

Another option is to quit WGU and transfer to another school - I have tons of schools that have accepted me and WGU wasn't really on the top of my list. I only went there after a health issue developed while I was on my way to my chosen school and couldn't start courses. I needed to defer my student loans and looked for the first place I could get into that would do that - WGU was the answer. I have options that are overseas (Germany, South Africa and Australia) and other schools in the US. In all, I applied to 15 schools and got into all of them.

Final option is to get past the BS going on in my mind, buckle down and complete the damn program. I have 3 courses complete (4 if you count the "welcome to WGU" course) and 4 months to complete another 3 to maintain satisfactory academic progress. That would be easy, if I could get past the motivation factor. That is the problem though - I am so frustrated with the BS of Taskstream and the "Where's Waldo?" finding factor of evaluations that I am feed up and just cannot stand the idea of logging into the system to complete anything.

If I could create a poll on here, I would ask this:

Should I -

1, Give up on school completely and go back to work forgetting about this mess.
2, Try to battle through WGU and get it done (leave suggestions in the comments).
3, Transfer to another school such as Monash, Macquarie, Griffith, La Trobe, James Cook, Fachhochschule Sudwestfalen, Sam Houston State, University of Wollongong, Florida State, University of Cape Town or some other school in a place where "snow" is a foreign language and the only ice you get is in your drink?

What are your thoughts? To be honest, there is not much of a shot for WGU to stay in my plans but there have been 99:1 odds that have won a race in the past.

jamesleecoleman · February 2016

Finish it out... Atleast you're in it. I got kicked out and I'm working on getting back in. Other places are way more expensive and I can't afford them

Do your best to complete all of the courses as quickly as possible. The only issues that I had with WGU is that they kept switching mentors on me. The first one that I had was super awesome, her name was Jenny. She left to go somewhere else

She kept me on the work. Everyone else didn't really care.

Other part of it is that I sent in a appeal to get back in but it was rejected without good reason. But oh well.

jeremywatts2005 · February 2016

You should finish out your degree. You will always have some level of bull in a degree program it is only natural. The only program that I go no bull in was at Champlain in the MSDFS program. That is digital forensic science. It was a tough program and very black and white with high expectations. You could see the syllabus and the rubric now do your work according to what needs to be done. I get WGU has a strange grading system but you knew that going in. With 4 courses complete in a MS I would just finish it up.

PCTechLinc · February 2016

I definitely feel your pain. The only assignments I ever had in TaskStream with my BS:Network Administration from them was for my Capstone (plan and implementation courses). However, let's go into the Master's program, where ALL but 2 "classes" are TaskStream assignments: CEH and CHFI certifications.

There have been VERY few assignments in TaskStream for my Master's program that I have successfully completed on the first submission. You are absolutely correct, the feedback from the evaluators can be very difficult to decipher. The evaluators for WGU are employees of WGU that have "terminal degrees" in the field for which they are evaluating the assignment. A terminal degree is equivalent to a Doctorate or multiple Master's. However, the feedback report they post is also sent to your Student Mentor and Course Mentor. Each group of Mentors has an overall manager that they report to.

In my opinion, looking at your perspective, the choice you make to stay in the program or not is EXTREMELY important. If you have 3 courses complete, then it looks like you have an additional 7 to go, NOT including the Capstone project. I can tell you that most of these assignments coming up for you are EXTREMELY difficult, including PowerPoint presentations (I suck at PowerPoint). One of the classes coming up is comprised of 4 individual Tasks. If I were in your position and felt this strongly, I would request a new Student Mentor that would be a lot better at understanding your situation and working with you in a way that you feel comfortable speaking with him/her. If you do not have a Student Mentor that is helping you achieve your goals, then going through the rest of this Master's program alone will be next to impossible.

I really hope that helps. Even with the difficulties I've experienced going through this Master's program, I'm glad I did. However, those are my experiences and not yours. If it was a Bachelor's program, I would say stick to it. But, this program is not to be taken lightly, and the coursework is designed to be extremely difficult (but not impossible).

colemic · February 2016

Keep in mind that transferring to another school will wipe out all the progress you've mad thus far. Schools rarely transfer graduate-level credits.

iBrokeIT · February 2016

First thing I do when I have a taskstream class is to download the rubric for each task. That'll show you exactly the points that your paper will be graded. The taskstream graders grade off of the rubric so you should compose your papers off of it and make sure all of the points are addressed.

cyberguypr · February 2016

Per this, WGU keeps saying that their evaluators are subject matter experts with masters, some with terminal degrees, blah blah blah. They even claim "accurate, quick, fair, and helpful evaluations". I am calling BS. Either this is simply not true, or these people are in fact qualified as SMEs but just do not care about their job and have the vague, plain vanilla, copy+paste responses ready to go for everything. Seriously, most of the feedback I got to my tasks could've been reused word for word for a Nursing, Special Education, or Accounting Degree. I did the whole breaking down, making easier for the evaluators, etc. yet nothing worked in some cases. I even discussed tasks with people who passed, followed the same approach, and the tasks came back as not good. Absurd. Mentor's feedback was just as useless as the evaluators'.

Staying or leaving is a very personal decision. I was in your exact same shoes earlier this year. I came here for advice and everyone game me the same feedback you are getting now. I think I was 50% into the program when things started going downhill with the bad feedback. I stayed in the program mainly because it was WGU or nothing for me. It was all I cold afford and the purpose of getting a master was just checking a box in the bucket list. If I had tuition reimbursement or money to pay something else I would've fled. Not because I'm a quitter, but because I think the logistics at WGU suck that bad. Again, up to you. Do what makes you happy, let it be staying or leaving. Life is just too short to be miserable.

markulous · February 2016

I agree with some of your frustrations. Crapstream is awful with all of that. I wouldn't even bother with that eCare thing. I filed that right off the bat with one of them and I got zero feedback from them. Like the mentors, they can't comment on the content grading. It's really bad. The secret to passing seems to be to throw out all sentence structure and flow and reiterate every piece of the rubric multiple times and have bullet points for each item. That seems kinda ridiculous when you think about it. I get we aren't english majors, but it's a graduate level degree and it should read as such, not something that was made by a 5th grader.

That being said, if you can afford another school and it fits your needs better you should do that. WGU has one of the best tuition costs out there, so you'll be paying more. Up to you if you think that's worth it or not. I personally am going to stick through it

Danielm7 · February 2016

You have 3 classes left, buckle down and knock it out. Sounds like you're looking way too deeply into all this. Talking to a mentor every 2 weeks for a few minutes isn't a big deal, you're always going to have people you might not be crazy about in life, don't even get me started about at future jobs.

You can finish 3 classes quickly, or you can throw it all away, likely spend 10s of thousands of dollars more and start all over again at another school where you may or may not even like it, just put your head down and get it done.

sigsoldier · February 2016

I remember that I once had an assignment turned back three times. I was frustrated beyond belief and finally submitted an ecare request citing several sources that confirmed my previous submissions were correct. The course mentor and ecare counselor both agreed that I was correct, but guess what? It didn't matter! I still had to submit the assignment again because the graders didn't have a clue. I'm not even sure why ecare exists?

I understand your pain. If that had happened to me on my first or second class, I would have dropped immediately.

zdevilinisde · February 2016

One of the things that really teed me off was the amount of detail they want in Taskstream but don't follow through with on their own work. I cited something as from a lab and the evaluation came back and said I cited a library. The citation was negatively criticized and was sent back. How can they demand the type of detail they want if they are not following through on their part? Further, the "feedback" I have gotten has been so generic that it is beyond frustrating. For instance, one time I was told that I needed to do a bit more in one area and they give you a 300 page section of the book to look.

This term, what set me off on the current course is that it is obvious the paper was not looked at that closely. I had to do the 7 layers of the OSI model diagram. The evaluation said I didn't describe each layer when on the right side of the diagram there is a key that shows all 7 layers and how they are met in it. Another section they said wasn't addressed and there was a whole bullet list (in bold case) right there. I honestly wonder if the person needs a seeing eye dog or something.

As for other schools, I can go anywhere, as in person student or online. My only requirements are that tuition costs less than $20k USD a year and if I have to be on campus, housing be affordable ($750-$800 a month max) and have somewhat decent weather. Right now, I am living in Mexico and the weather is awesome, it is safe (despite what the media says) and very cheap. Germany would have been good for me because tuition and fees would have been $500 A YEAR at the school I was looking. Canada has some really inexpensive schools too.

plopbangcrash · February 2016

A friendly piece of advice, I might add on top of the other format to the rubric etc. Anytime I hade a taskstream kicked back I would use the textbox before re-admitting as a summary of the changes. For example something like "Revision 1: added additional paragraphs to better summarize the formal relationships for rubic item # and also revised rubric item ## to explain the methodology in relation to blah". This typically kept the graders from changing the grades of section I had already passed with previous graders while making the graders focus only on the changes I pointed it.

I would stick with it, assuming you did it in the normal order you only have 4 task stream classes ( total of 11 tasks left), 2 cert courses one OA course and the capstone left and I have yet to hear of someone successfully transferring WGU courses that haven't been tied to a full degree.

techfiend · February 2016

Since you're already in and so far a long, take a week or two off and get back at it. If I was faced with this situation and the same conditions before enrolling I'd really assess if a masters degree will likely help at this point in your career. If so, I'd lean towards FSU if the plan was to say in USA. Graduate degrees hold a much heavier 'where did you go' bias than undergraduate degrees.

and1play5 · February 2016

Knock it out man, I love wgu, saved my life lol

Reseven · February 2016

Stick it out. You'll be glad you did. Lots of good advice in here. I think everyone has said what i was going to say except... request another mentor. Could really make a big difference for you.

genedogg · February 2016

Here is an example of one of mine - it's by no means perfect but feel free to use some of it if you want. I like to start by listing all my skills since some recruiters only look at the first few lines if they have hundreds to sort through.

SKILL SUMMARY
· Operating Systems: Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8
· Software & System Tools: Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010, Active Directory, VNC, Google Apps, Kaseya, First Class Email Client, Symantec Ghost, Symantec ServiceDesk,
· Hardware: Dell-Desktop/Laptop/Server, HP-Desktop/Laptop/Printer, Android, Blackberry
· Network: Routers, Switches, TCP/IP, Wireless, Servers

WORK EXPERIENCE
Cool Company, Cool City, State
Technology Specialist, 01/11 – Current
· Assist and troubleshoot over 100 computers and employees across 4 states
· Utilize Help Desk ticketing system to coordinate and prioritize all technical services
· Provide VNC Remote Access for Desktops to remotely repair company computers as well as provide hands-on desktop support
· Manage Users and Computers via Active Directory Management tool.
· Upgraded company technology system-wide from Linux and Windows XP to Windows 7
· Configured DHCP on Linux computers and servers
· Support and maintain Microsoft Outlook accounts

Cool School System, Cool City, State
Computer Technician, 05/05 – 1/11
· Troubleshot and repaired over 300 computers and supported over 300 end users
· Utilized Kaseya ticketing system to coordinate and prioritize technical service calls
· Provided VNC Remote Access for Desktops and Kaseya to remotely repair computers and servers
· Repaired hardware and software, removed viruses, and provided direct customer service
· Maintained Network and managed users via Active Directory
· Supported PCs, Macs, Smart Boards, Projectors, and Printers
· Upgraded the entire school system from Windows XP to Windows 7 operating system
· Provided all support services for First Class Client Email and Google Apps for Education

genedogg · February 2016

Sorry i posted this to the wrong thread!

Reseven wrote: »

Stick it out. You'll be glad you did. Lots of good advice in here. I think everyone has said what i was going to say except... request another mentor. Could really make a big difference for you.

RedRanger · February 2016

Do WGU degrees sway IT recruiters? I know online colleges and online education in general have a stigma attached to it. Not to mention the school is little known. This is the only place I know both in reality and internet that advocates and promotes WGU.

markulous · February 2016

RedRanger wrote: »

Do WGU degrees sway IT recruiters? I know online colleges and online education in general have a stigma attached to it. Not to mention the school is little known. This is the only place I know both in reality and internet that advocates and promotes WGU.

I work for VMware and when I was recruited the recruiter/HR lady was very familiar with it and said it had a good reputation.

cyberguypr · February 2016

Well, unknown compared to what? I really doubt anyone has heard of my small middle of nowhere public university where I completed my undergrad. Besides, chances are no one will ever question any degree as long as it from an accredited entity.

tpatt100 · February 2016

I wonder if WGU has been expanding and it's starting to overload the graders? I never had that much in the way of problems with Taskstream. I remember getting something kicked back and learned the importance of the rubric. I always got feedback showing what I needed to do and just resubmitted it.

Venting, hating, about to quit WGU...

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