Is anybody from this forum graduated from WGU YET?

myworld · August 2011

i have simple question: Is anybody from this forum graduated from WGU(Western Governors University) YET?

background for my question: i got email from TechExams.net regarding WGU two days ago... I liked the email so did some GOOGLE on WGU....and found some good and some bad review of WGU.

specially from ripoff site where over 100 people are saying WGU is scam...

But i think there is something wrong in those posts...

So I want to know if anyone in this forum Successfully Graduated from WGU?
if yes then i have some more questions...

I hope to find some ALREADY graduated student of WGU....

Thanks in advance...

Thank you Very Much to all of you.

Your comments did clear my misunderstanding of WGU.

So Thanks.

One more question:

How's the Tuition cost at WGU for B.Sc in IT ?

on website it says it is $2,890 per 6-month term and for B.Sc in IT 4 years (or 8 terms) cost: $23,120

So is this accurate? Does there any hidden fees or anything like that?

I can understand if it is little more than $23,120 but i don't want surprise of $10K extra....

so if you can just give some more light on this tuition cost then it will be great help in my decision of joining the WGU.

Thanks in advance.

erpadmin · August 2011

Off the top of my head....and in no particular order:

cablegod
azjag
earweed
Alif_Sadida_Ekin

And many others (if I didn't name you, my bad.....)

Many very respected members of TE did complete graduation requirements.

If you're going to come on this forum with negative information about Western Governors University, at the very least share the links of the information so that we may at least properly counter it.

I can tell you that if you read the stickys (STICKYS which are on a forum that has no official affiliation with WGU or any other college other than having ad banners/Google advertisements) there are many posts that have been written about the legitimacy of WGU as well as the amount of work one has to put in to meet graduation requirements. Believe me, if WGU was a fake college, WGU would be dismissed outright.

Mind you there are members on this forum who do have issue with the delivery of how WGU offers their degrees. However, they have said their piece, it was acknowledged and we're all pretty much friends for the most part. However, you have students like me who see and use WGU as a means to an end....not an end to the means.

In other words, I am not stopping my educational pursuits with WGU...I'm gonna gun for a Masters someplace else. WGU does and will help me do that, but I have to do the work.

down77 · August 2011

I graduated a few years back with the BS in IT NTDM degree. I also went on for the MS:ISA degree but postponed my "last" semester due to real life/work conflicts. I'll finish the MS after the first of the year (5 courses to go).

As far as WGU being a scam, this couldn't be further from the truth. You can verify their accreditation by calling your state Department of Education or by contacting the regional accreditation board to verify their status (see below).

NWCCU Institutions W - Z

Good luck and regardless of if you choose WGU or not, obtaining your degree is always a great decision!

-Foxer- · August 2011

I graduated with my BS and MS from WGU. I learned a lot and liked the experience.
Like anything, you'll get out of it what you put into it.

myworld · August 2011

Thanks for your input.
here is link to bad review:Rip-off Report | Western Governor's University | Complaint Review: 205419

And i think the people who wrote bad things ab WGU..they may have some issue with college but over all i think this may be a good college for people like me who works full time in I.T. and don't have time to go college...

demonfurbie · August 2011

myworld wrote: »

Thanks for your input.
here is link to bad review:Rip-off Report | Western Governor's University | Complaint Review: 205419

And i think the people who wrote bad things ab WGU..they may have some issue with college but over all i think this may be a good college for people like me who works full time in I.T. and don't have time to go college...

yea i read that one before but if you look into it the degree she was wanting wasnt it.

the degrees vary wildly at wgu the teachers ones are looked down on mostly because in the education world they wont move past must show up at school for a degree, however in the IT world its all about getting certified on the latest tech in the area of interest as well as having a degree

hiddenknight821 · August 2011

myworld wrote: »

Thanks for your input.
here is link to bad review:Rip-off Report | Western Governor's University | Complaint Review: 205419

And i think the people who wrote bad things ab WGU..they may have some issue with college but over all i think this may be a good college for people like me who works full time in I.T. and don't have time to go college...

If you look down and read some of the comments, you will see positive feedbacks about the school. I read the same article before I enroll. I knew about WGU through TE, so I was somewhat shocked by the author's remark, but I loathed Chris's (from the link) false comments.

bwcarty · August 2011

I graduated from WGU a year ago BS in IT w/ Network Design & Management specialization.

WGU is very self directed. If you don't have the ability or discipline to do work without having someone teach it to you directly, you won't do well. If you do like studying on your own and working on your own schedule, it's excellent.

I'm now working on a Master of Science in Applied Statistics at a traditional university.

Rappeller · August 2011

Another thing to think about, the military will not pay for diploma mills or scam universities. I just had the easiest time ever getting my Tuition assistance to go through (10 minutes).

Slowhand · August 2011

I tend to look at negative reviews online like this: usually it's the outraged and angry that yell the loudest. You're more likely to see the people that had bad experiences actually write reviews than the ones that had good experiences; it's the diligent few who are willing to take the time to sit down and write an positive, or better yet, constructive review of a product or service they've used. (Have a look at Amazon's book reviews, and you'll see what I mean.)

hiddenknight821 · August 2011

Slowhand wrote: »

I tend to look at negative reviews online like this: usually it's the outraged and angry that yell the loudest. You're more likely to see the people that had bad experiences actually write reviews than the ones that had good experiences; it's the diligent few who are willing to take the time to sit down and write an positive, or better yet, constructive review of a product or service they've used. (Have a look at Amazon's book reviews, and you'll see what I mean.)

Please don't get me started, Slowhand. I just had a similar issue related to this few weekends ago, when I was attempting to buy my mother a brand-new refrigerator since our current one is more than 10 years old and believe it or not, but it requires manual defrost. I made my first 20-cubic-feet purchase, but it couldn't fit anywhere in the apartment, so I had to return it to get a smaller one. So, I was upset by this, and impulsively bought another smaller refrigerator (18 cubic feet). I had to buy another one rather than exchanging it due to merchandise has not yet returned to the store since it's still on the delivery truck. So, after I bought the replacement, I was relieved as I walked out the store and headed home until I got home and took a look at the reviews of the model I bought. I was pissed again, and now I got turned off big time from most of the reviews on the refrigerators nowadays. So, because of my fear of getting refrigerator that becoming inoperable in less than 10 years, I decided to return the refrigerator once more and postpone my purchase until I get a good top-mount refrigerator from word of the mouth. Ugh,

I know what you mean when it comes to those irritating reviews, but I can't help not rejecting it.

Zartanasaurus · August 2011

A co-worker of mine graduated from WGU about a year ago. He left to take another job.

tpatt100 · August 2011

Slowhand wrote: »

I tend to look at negative reviews online like this: usually it's the outraged and angry that yell the loudest. You're more likely to see the people that had bad experiences actually write reviews than the ones that had good experiences; it's the diligent few who are willing to take the time to sit down and write an positive, or better yet, constructive review of a product or service they've used. (Have a look at Amazon's book reviews, and you'll see what I mean.)

This exactly! Angry people want as many people to know they are mad. I try to give good reviews when I get the feedback forms for services when I am happy with something but unless I get a feedback form I usually forget to mention if I was pleased or not.

Sometimes I see complaints is from people who had higher than average expectations for what kind of job they will get when they graduate or they did not research a school to find out what to expect before they sign up.

petedude · August 2011

I see reviews as something you have to actively use your BS filters for. For example, if you look at onlinedegreereviews.org, you'll see a lot of negative bile for schools you'll have to nearly read with a hazmat suit on. But then, you'll see a fair number of positive reviews that look like they were written by the admissions counselors. Again, use your best judgment.

One thing I can say about WGU is that negative commentary about the school was much more prevalent early on in its career. I can tell you the school has improved by a significant amount since 2009 alone, and I'm glad I came on when I did. I'm not sure I would have weathered the growing pains/transitions/changes well.

myworld · August 2011

Thank you Very Much to all of you.

Your comments did clear my misunderstanding of WGU.

So Thanks.

One more question:

How's the Tuition cost at WGU for B.Sc in IT ?

on website it says it is $2,890 per 6-month term and for B.Sc in IT 4 years (or 8 terms) cost: $23,120

So is this accurate? Does there any hidden fees or anything like that?

I can understand if it is little more than $23,120 but i don't want surprise of $10K extra....

so if you can just give some more light on this tuition cost then it will be great help in my decision of joining the WGU.

Thanks in advance.

Rappeller · August 2011

there is a $45 dollar a term library fee and if you had/want to buy textbooks, but it looks as if they are trying to get away from even that expense as much as possible.

erpadmin · August 2011

myworld wrote: »

Thank you Very Much to all of you.

Your comments did clear my misunderstanding of WGU.

So Thanks.

One more question:

How's the Tuition cost at WGU for B.Sc in IT ?

on website it says it is $2,890 per 6-month term and for B.Sc in IT 4 years (or 8 terms) cost: $23,120

23120 divided by 8 equals 2890, so yes that's accurate. As Rappeller has mentioned, you also pay $45 a term for the library fee (which has gotten very streamlined, btw....)

Depending on both your past schooling and your own determination, your coursework can be done from one through four terms (maybe a bit more...). There are people who have done the full 124 CUs in one term, but that's one of those "Kids, don't try this at home" kind of deals......

I'm shooting to be done with WGU within three terms. Doing WGU in one year and a half was always my plan....I had 28 CUs of prior coursework and prior certs so that helped.

There are no hidden costs with WGU....it costs what it costs.

The only thing you may spend money on is books, but that never broke the bank.

demonfurbie · August 2011

yea books 24x7 will save you more than 45 a term if you know how to work it and with the mobile site its just like downloading a pdf now ... it use to suck

cablegod · August 2011

I've known a lot of people who graduated from WGU, and the vast majority finish in 2 years or less while holding down a full time job. I know I did, and it wasn't too terribly difficult in my experience. Was it worth it? Every single cent and minute was to me. I didn't find any hidden costs along the way.

myworld · August 2011

Thank you everyone for reply. I am thinking to join WGU now...

colemic · August 2011

Make sure to head over to the Refer-A-Friend thread and get your application fee waived.

JomP · August 2011

I graduated from WGU last year, and liked them enough to stay there for my MS degree. I liked my overall experience, I have a few small complaints but overall it is a great school. I used this forum a lot to help me pass most of the exams, and the mentors are pretty helpful/annoying depending on how you want to look at it. The fees are pretty straight forward, and I didn't find any hidden cost (besides failing my 291 exam 2 times and having to pay for the third attempt out of pocket, which was my fault). The school is like a 2 for 1 deal you get the certs and you get the degree. I would and have recommend it to friends, just as I recommend this forum to people studying for certs.

SirPaulGerman · September 2011

demonfurbie wrote: »

yea i read that one before but if you look into it the degree she was wanting wasnt it.

the degrees vary wildly at wgu the teachers ones are looked down on mostly because in the education world they wont move past must show up at school for a degree, however in the IT world its all about getting certified on the latest tech in the area of interest as well as having a degree

"teachers ones are looked down on mostly because in the education world they wont move past must show up at school for a degree"

Can you clarified that comment ? because my wife is enroll in the elementary education program, and she has less than a year to finish , thank for your time

Mike-Mike · September 2011

I'm not him, so I'm not sure what he meant, but, I know my wifey is a teacher, and where we live, KY, they just made a fuss about online degrees recently, about not accepting them to be a teacher

SirPaulGerman · September 2011

What the view of WGU in the teaching community ?

demonfurbie · September 2011

the degree is only good if the industry one is going into accepts it

often in the academia online degrees are looked down on while in the IT world its no different, just as long as one is current on the relevant tech

rep21 · September 2011

I didn't see this thread until now. Nearly a month ago I was hired for my first IT position in the help desk of a huge energy company. One of the reasons they hired me is that I told them I was going to WGU. The interviewer knew quite a few other people in the IS department were also going there, and that they had nothing but good things to say about it.

hiddenknight821 · September 2011

SirPaulGerman wrote: »

What the view of WGU in the teaching community ?

I don't think we can offer that view since the majority of us WGU students are/were from IT college. I don't think we know a bit about the Teacher college. You probably would get a better insight if you visit the link to this forum. Personally, I never use this forum since I am only concerned with the IT area.

Note to mods: I am not sure if I am allow to provide link to another forum but I apologize if I did something wrong here.

erpadmin · September 2011

rep21 wrote: »

I didn't see this thread until now. Nearly a month ago I was hired for my first IT position in the help desk of a huge energy company. One of the reasons they hired me is that I told them I was going to WGU. The interviewer knew quite a few other people in the IS department were also going there, and that they had nothing but good things to say about it.

To add to this, I was advised that a lot of hiring folks only care about your LAST degree. That is important to students in any of WGU's colleges. I recognized this early and knew that if I was going to get a WGU B.Sc, then I was going to want a Masters from a B&M.

Since WGU is a regionally accredited institution, I feel that is the only way I can defend WGU's legitimacy today. Tomorrow may indeed be very different, but it will not be here quite yet on this issue.

tdude76 · November 2013

I am currently going through the enrollment process for wgu, I was wondering if anybody who didn't have it experience who went for a bachelors at wgu found it hard to find a job

Legacy User · November 2013

@tdude Finding work after completion of WGU can really vary case by case. There any many people who are on this forum who had experience and the degree from wgu who found jobs rather quickly. In general terms if you do not have any experience you may face the same difficulties many new graduates face regardless of the school.

Is anybody from this forum graduated from WGU YET?

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