Western Governors University

I am currently attending WGU for my B.A. I absolutely love the set up. I enjoy the self-pacing and the acceleration that is available due to the set tuition rate. I love my mentor, she is a huge support and works hard to help me succeed. This is not the school for you if you want a lot of social interaction or you need a lot of academic support. It is the school for you if want to move at your own pace, save money, and mind your own business:)

I have had a wonderful experience with WGU. I have learned more and liked that I could work at my own pace. The only thing I do not feel was specified clearly is the dual licensure. This is not just a special education degree. It is Regular Education K-6/Special Education/k-12. I will graduate in December and will consider furthering my education with WGU.

I will graduate in December 2012 with a dual degree in Special Education k-12 and Elementary Education. I love the competency based program; I was able to move through some courses more quickly and spend extra time in courses that were more difficult for ME. I set the pace based on my own ability and that worked for me! WGU is the absolute best value in higher education; a flat rate per term that allows you to earn as many credits as you are able.....yes, please. :)

WGU is a great school. One thing needs to be clear before anyone tries to enroll, THIS IS NOT A DEGREE MILL. The work is not easy and you can't just breeze through it unless you have previous experience in the field you're going into. You HAVE TO BE extremely committed to earning your degree. The instructions for papers that you have to write are not very helpful. You are required to do some deeper thinking. The answers to questions are not written in black and white. Really, that's a good thing. It ensures you aren't just cheating your way through the program. The exams that are multiple choice are proctored either at an approved testing site or through the Kryterian web cam proctoring site (they provide web cam). The tests are difficult. Good news is, if there isn't a testing site in your town, you can request that one be approved. I had a local branch of my previous university approved. Another thing that should be noted is that WGU doesn't just accept anybody. It is ranked as having the 3rd lowest acceptance rate out of all online college. You either have to have transferred credits or prior work experience in your area. It is necessary for you to have this because it is a stressful program. Good news is, they take credits from a lot of schools. I had 18 credits transferred in from a brick-and-mortar university that I previously attended. Just know that YOU have to be a good student with a good work ethic and a true independent worker to be successful at this school. If you can't handle the stress you should consider a different school

I have attended four brick and mortar colleges/universities and I can say this school has the best support system of them all. In my experience, as of the middle of my second term, I have had the best experience with my education, hands down. The structure of the school is driven by me, meaning, the more I want to succeed, the more I can. And I have. So far, as of month nine, I have completed 32 CUs. I am a single parent of a three year old, who works 32+ hours per week. I have a friend who is in an elementary program at a local university and she constantly complains about how her instructors are very "bland" and not interested in her success. She has failed three classes in the past year, in her words, "because they have a very cold approach to the curriculum. " I have passed every class that I have attempted, with exceptional support both from my student mentor (like a student advisor), and the course mentors (instructors). There is nothing about this school that is wrong, the simplicity of making my own schedule is the best. I admit, I have dragged my feet on two courses, but between my student mentor, and the course mentors, I succeeded. With a much better understanding of the material. This University delivers what it promises: an education. For those who think they can just come in and "ace classes", you are wrong. Unless you have a previous background, you will have to follow the courses. Every student has to pass the same standards, regardless if they have previous knowledge, or have gone the the class as it is laid out. Bottom line, not a diploma mill, but the Teacher's College is an accredited institution who deserves more respect. I recommend WGU to anyone and everyone who wants a "real" degree.

This is definitely a self directed program and although your mentors keep you on track you have to work hard and keep pushing yourself. It is an amazing value!! As another reviewer said, it is a little overwhelming to figure out all the systems and how to navigate them but it all falls into place after awhile. You do need a good 15 plus hours a week to do all the work. The amount of content is out of this world but if you just go to the rubric and do the work, you really don't have to do all the lesson.

I am a student at WGU and am horrified at the night mare I have been put through at this University. My first term was awesome and the only thing I needed from my mentor was to let me do my thing. The second term I decided due to some other aspects of our lives to accelerate my program and meet all deadlines in order to do my student teaching early, I needed to go to work. Like all the teachers and administrators I work with locally have said, I had just cheated WGU out of 4 terms of tuition. Without a single warning from my mentor, or anyone else, classes I had passed four months earlier were coming unpassed, it took WGU over a month to send me a letter saying I was being reviewed for originality, all of my work was being put back through the turn it in program in an audit, that audit and the turn it in program compared my work to my work, I explained this, appealed it twice and was told either I re-do all of the work or I lose my cohort. There are papers I have now rewritten 3 and 4 times, and still cannot get them to pass turn it in. If even one paper does not pass turn it in by less than 30%, I have to go through this again. Now I have just been told that all of the work I have done that does pass has to go through another audit before they will put my classes back into the passed catagory. I have had chest pains, migraines and have been physically ill over this and I have to continue to do what they say in order to graduate. I would have completed 60 units in one term, I have been locked in this never ending nightmare for over three months and I spend up to 18 hours a day working on school work. It was my work originally, don't believe the hype, turn it in will ruin any student, with over 50,ooo students a day submitting work in the same classes using the same reference material and answering the same questions, nothing will be original very very soon. WGU has ruined itself by backing a program like turn it in and forcing their students to use it, it is a no win situation! Turn it in literally breaks down each sentance into partial combinations of three or four words, I have had originality reports come back with more than 150 sources broken down into 3 and 4 word combinations, it truly is a nightmare that I cannot seem to wake up from!

I love this college! I haven't been at WGU for long but I've had nothing but wonderful experiences! My mentor is fantastic, the course mentors have given me one-on-one attention via phone calls and e-mails. I find the material is challenging but that's why I'm going to school. I couldn't be happier. To the person who mentioned not knowing that they had to do elementary and secondary teaching, I'm not sure who you spoke with but that was one of the first things I was told by the enrollment adviser when I first called for information. They even started a system where you can take your exams at home via a webcam. I would highly recommend it!! I've been very pleased.

WGU is very misleading. I am close to completing Bachelors in special education. The information they provide states that is a degree that leads to certification in mild to moderate or cross-categorical certification. What they do not tell you is that this is a dual certification program. It is not optional you are required to student teach in both elementary ed and special ed. I was clear from the that I was only interested in special education,mainly due to working currently and for the last five years as long term sub.. This is not what I signed up for.

I am floored by the bad reviews. This is my first semester at WGU and my second online school. WGU is not for the student that doesn't want to work hard and/or find it difficult to be self disciplined. You absolutely have to be a self motivator. The mentors are very helpful and keep onto of your progress. I have not purchased any books, all the books are online in Tasksream or Course Compass. WGU is one of the cheapest schools and a really great price for a great education. You have to work really hard all test are proctored. My other school I barely had to pick up a book to study, since all the exams were open book. When I leave WGU I will have a great education!!! If I had to write any bad thing about WGU, it would be that it is a little difficult to understand the procedures at first, but I caught on by the second class. Ellie

There are a lot of wonderful things I can say about WGU. In fact I said a lot of wonderful things about the school on another review site only to discover that the site was biased and/or "possibly" started by a competing institution. I will simply say that my experience has been wonderful. It is a wonderful University for those who are serious about learning and are able to working in an independent learning environment. For those of you who require a little more attention thee are the community learning threads, frequent chats, live call in sessions, the wgu student hot line and your mentor is always handy. Give the university a call. You will be glad that you did! Much Success