Western Governors University

A fantastic experience. I entered with very few transfer credits, yet I was able to leverage my 20+ years of industry experience and training to complete a degree in less than 2 years. I was able to learn at my own pace, and never wanted for assistance when I became stuck or hit a roadblock.

I've attended Purdue University and Ball State University in Indiana for a Secondary Education major. Strangely enough, I ended up in IT and found myself in need of a relevant degree in IT Management. Traditional wasn't going to work this time, I have a wife and a child now - so I started researching. There's a lot out there in this space, Kaplan, Phoenix, etc. etc. WGU stands alone. Tuition is affordable, resources are all virtual, everyone is attentive and communication is always prompt. If you want to learn independently at your own pace, you can. If you want to interact and attend sessions and lessons, you can. If you want to piss away the semester and fail, you can - but they don't make it easy. Every week, at least in the beginning, you have to interact with an advisor once a week. He or she helps you set goals, and if you don't meet them you have to admit it. I hate to fail people, this was increasingly motivating to me (and insanely annoying, there have been times I've treated my mentor pretty poorly and she's a very nice person). That said, once I got used to this aspect of the WGU process - I liked it. I'm friends with my mentor now, we talk about life at times and I hope to meet her one day. My degree will be wrapped up at the end of July or early August. I'm working on reenrolling for the Masters program already. This fits into my life, why not right? All of this said, I have a degree from a respected brick and mortar college - and this is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT. You rescue you. You decide if you have what it takes, you do the work, you work hard, no TA is going to save your ass here and being nice isn't going to get you an extension. This is real, this is hard, this is earned. Only go this way if you have what it takes, and educate yourself. Most of the students who go WGU fail. The bar is high.

I left a traditional university because I was not able to complete my degree and work full time. I chose WGU because it was accredited and the courses can be completed at your own pace. My hope was that an online university wouldn't be so tedious and I would not have to deal with as much BS. Not so much. You must check in with a "mentor" on a weekly or bi-weekly bases. Mentors are only available during traditional work hours, and mine is often late in calling. This creates a lot of problems for me. The call itself is pointless. It is basically "How are you? and What are your goals for the week?". The one time I did ask my mentor to call me so I would have someone to be accountable to while I was working on a big project he did not. The course content is pretty solid, but good luck getting in touch with a "professor". Google is your friend. I also feel like they try to prolong your experience. My mentor told me that I had to have 10 points over the cut score on any pretests to move on. There was one pretest that I kept passing consistently but not by 10 points, he refused to approve me for the actual test. I got a not passed on my transcript for that semester. At the beginning of the next semester he chose to inform me that it was just his policy and I could have taken the test if I wanted to. Only problem is that your mentor has to approve all of your tests. I also had to finish a course that required 5 tasks. I submitted all of my work in time for grading, but one item was returned to me the last day of the semester for a very minor grammatical error. Again, I received a not passed on my transcript even though I resubmitted within thirty minutes. Just a lot of really frustrating hoops to jump through and no personal interaction with anyone that actually can help you succeed academically. I just need a piece of paper that says I graduated from an accredited university so I will jump through the hoops, but if you are looking for an educational experience look elsewhere.

WGU is undoubtedly the leading online university in the United States. You're not pressurized but motivated to attain success. You learn at your own pace and at your own convenience. WGU competency-based approach to education is a force to reckone with and stands out in the midst of others! You don't have to learn what you already know. You simply show competency by passing the assessments and moving to the next class. The assessments are challenging and require lots of diligence and in-depth studies. More important, tuitions are affordable. Why take take up a huge college debt that could take 20 years or more to repay when you can avoid it - and still earn a degree that's recognized and accredited? I highly recommend WGU without hesitation.

I've just entered my last year for my Bachelors Degree in IT Management. I have nothing but good things to say about WGU. My counselor and the school has been very instrumental in helping me stay focused and positioning me to succeed. If I succeed, they succeed. There were many times when the challenge was just too much for me, and my counselor encouraged me to press on. My experience with this institution is nothing short of admiration and respect. I would recommend Western Governors University to everyone!

I am a graduate with both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from WGU both in Information Technology Security. I have previous degrees from traditional brick and mortar schools as well. WGU is not for those who need someone to hold their hand... there are no teachers, only course mentors. It is up to you to put forth the effort to learn and if you run into problems, then you rely on the mentors (Who by the way are adequately available and always willing to help). The post that stated "you just pass the test and move on" is simply misleading. Many of the IT classes that I have taken do in fact require you to only pass one exam to finish the class. However, the exam is a proctored exam that is an industry recognized certification exam administered at an independent testing center (Prometric/Pearson Vue). For example, to complete my networking requirements for the BS degree, I had to pass the Cisco CCNA exam. This is not an easy exam to pass even for people who work on Cisco equipment on a daily basis. Someone with no knowledge of the technology should plan on at least 6 months of preparation before even attempting the exam. So don't think passing one exam to pass the class is as easy as it sounds, I can assure you that it is not. I had over 15 years of experience in IT networking so I think it is great that I could take an exam and prove my skills. Should I be required to sit through and entire Intro to Networking class just because it's in the degree plan? Think of taking the exam and moving on as more of a CLEP exam and you are gaining college credit for what you already know. I earned two degrees and 15 professional certifications along the way. WGU is an excellent school, challenging, and a quality education but you had better be willing to put forth the effort. I had a lot of experience in my field before starting these programs so I flew through the material at a pretty quick pace. I finished both my BS and MS in 4 WGU 6 month terms (24 months total) and at a cost of about $12K. The average cost of only the 4 year degree at a traditional U now runs about 200K if you live on campus. You can't beat that with a stick. For those of you that doubt... see below. Michael BS - Information Technology Security MS - Information Technology Security & Assurance CCNA, CCNA Security, MCSA, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI), CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Project+, CIW Database Specialist, CIW JavaScript Specialist, and ISO 27000 Specialist.

Poor university; no teacher interaction and real learning; everything based on passing the exam to move onto the next course.

I completed my undergrad at WGU and have started a nationally ranked EMBA program. In my class of 58 there is a lawyer, a practicing medical doctor at a nearby research university, a couple of PHDs, and several other graduate degrees.. about 28 in total. That tells me the program I am in is valued and my undergrad from WGU helped me get there. I recommend WGU for those that are able to work independently.

I am almost finished. In the first term I completed 68 credits and had 15 transferred in from 10 years ago. If you are motivated and set your mind to working hard then you will complete the degree. Mentors are good and help push you in the right direction but I wish that they had more access to the classes we have to go through in order to complete them. Course Mentors are very good and accommodating. Most are very knowledgeable in their fields. Classes - this is where my opinion starts to turn. A lot of their classes are very well done but some later classes such as Critical Thinking, IT Concepts (which has several questions about Windows 95), and Accounting tasks (they ask you to complete an analysis which states to look the information up on the internet then the mentor tells you to use the book) need some work as their information is wrong. They tell you to read chapters in a book but none of it is on the test. I have filled out several surveys about this problem without any response. Taskstream - I think all of the students will tell you that taskstream which is the task/paper grading people have no idea at all. They have no knowledge about the task itself and grade off of their own opinion at times which I think is very wrong. I love writing papers but after you get them back several times you want to give up. Overall - I am happy I went to this school. It was a degree I wanted to get just for myself, but I will not be taking their Masters program because I just don't think it is worth all of the anguish with dealing with their classes/taskstream.

I've been looking at WGU because of the competency based system of learning. I have done 3 years at a brick and mortar school and then had to enter the private sector because of financial issues with family. Since then I have not had the ability to go back being a bread winner for a house. So looking for a CREDIBLE online degree which IS transferable to other credible online MBA programs. So far the colleges I have left are: Charter Oak State College Western Governors University UMass online Bachelors in Business Admin When I started emailing graduate business schools AACSB certified all qualified for transfer from the following schools: Oklahoma State MBA program Ball State MBA program UNT MBA program I can only assume UMass would accept Charter Oak and their own bachelors degree. One is it's own school and the other has the same regional accreditation as UMass. I was skeptical WGU's credibility regarding acceptance in the more established collegiate field which has kept me from making my decision. But I was happy to hear that good business schools do recognize WGU as a credible institution of learning and that they will accept students. Like most negative comments on this school (understandably I am not a student yet so I have little value to comment one way or the other), they seem to be focused on how the learning method is applied and how students have issues regarding it. I would say its not for everyone as the WGU admin told me. But it is credible. It is a real school. It's your choice on how you wish to learn. Honestly I think I would enjoy this type of solitary education.

After reading some of the reviews here, it seems that some people have been a little rash to post. Either they HATE WGU, or love it. This is a comprehensive review from a WGU graduate. I have a BSIT from WGU and have just withdrew from the WGU MBA program. I don't hold WGU in any regard, it's a good school for those who have no other option. But remember, almost every State University now has distance education programs. You might want to look into those before considering WGU. WGU's learning model is very unique. It's all self paced, flat fee for a semester. I used WGU to get my B.S. in IT. WGU for me has paid off very well. I work at a fortune 50 IT company and was hired on as a college new hire as soon as I graduated. But they didn't recruit me from WGU, I worked as a contractor first. So yes, companies do recognize WGU. However, a WGU degree will limit your career. I am looking into moving to a senior management level and was denied. I wasn't told why, but my mentor looked into it and told me that the company will never put someone into a senior (junior executive) position who only has an "online only university" degree. Too much politics. Ok, no problem. I'll just enroll in a State University and do a few classes and get my 2nd B.S. degree. ZERO CLASSES TRANSFERRED. No state university will accept any credits from WGU. They degree is recognized fine, but no classes will transfer. In order for me to get my 2nd B.S. I have to complete 90 credits. The 30 credit that did transfer were from my Associates degree from a community college. So, yes you can learn a lot Yes it is fully accredited. Yes it can be inexpensive to get a B.S. degree Yes it is online. NO - Your credits will not transfer out of WGU People may deny you promotions based on the fact that nothing separates you from any other student. No difference between someone who gets all 60% on ever test and the person who gets 100%. NO - You probably will not get a job as soon as you graduate. Big companies recruit out of state universities and private colleges. Those are the top picks. It is a good school, you will learn a lot. Getting a B.S. from here beats not having one, and it will open up doors; however, it may shut some as well. Remember, check your state colleges and see if they have distance education. Here are some that do : East Carolina University, Penn State, UMass, University of Wyoming, University of North Carolina Pembroke, Colorado Tech, Ohio State, University of South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytech, Worcester Polytech. All these schools are state or private tier 1 schools.

first of all - WGU is NOT for everyone - WGU is a compliment to experienced professionals lacking degree credentials. It will benefit the person who has good english. math skills already and who is willing to study very hard ON THIER OWN. A person who has been in an industy such as IT - is a good example. WGU may be weak if you have never been in IT for example. Why give the school horrible ratings when it did not work for you - do you give your past school a poor rating as well because you could not finish it either. WGU works for those prepared and understand career compliment - and wholly self movitivated or do you work for the other online schools - mostly the latter since anyone can put up a horrible review. WGU is the future model - compentency based testing on any level is honorable.

Great Value

I've been going to WGU for almost 2.5 years and just about to complete the program. For IT professionals who are self-learners with limited time to sit in traditional college or university classroom, this is the perfect program. The competency based learning model has allowed me to use my existing IT and work experience to take advantage of the program and accelerate my degree (I'll have a 4 year degree completed in 2.5 years). Even if you need a little hand-holding (which is understandable for an online degree), WGU has mentors that are much more hands on then Universities counselors. They actually require communication every couple weeks and are there to help you every step of the way. Additionally, the work can be challenging and arguably more difficult then a traditional class as the range of what is covered is much broader. For example, in traditional college class you may take say Algebra I as a 3-4 SH class. With WGU, there's a Quantitative Literacy objective exam that covers Algebra, Statistics, Geometry etc...Very difficult exam that requires real knowledge of the subjects in order to gain competency.

I beg to differ with the previous poster's comment regarding WGU being difficult for a military student. I recently graduated from WGU with a Bachelor's Degree in Business. I have also completed thirteen years service in the military to date. Additionally I am a veteran of several distance learning programs including American Intercontinental University, University of Phoenix, and Central Texas College's online program. I found WGU to be both a superior learning experience and much more affordable. The first class which acts as a sort of introductory course is a little tedious, but it ensures all students have an understanding of the way WGU operates. It IS a different learning environment and the "one credit hour class" serves to indoctrinate new students. WGU is not for everyone but should be considered a valid option for many adult learners seeking a flexible, affordable degree option.

I am in my third year of WGU. It is fabulous. I had the same mentor all the way through until recently, and the only reason she ceased to be my mentor was because she was unexpectantly promoted. She is still a major source of support for me though. The program is work at your own pace. Meaning, if you can possibly do it, you have the option of receiving your bachelors degree in one term. You have to realize though that, as with any other school, there is a minimum you must complete each term in order to continue (75% or 12 units), and this is especially true if you receive federal financial aid because it is government regulated. It is a school better suited to those who work independently, and are capable of learning on there own. But this is the case with any online institution. They provide all the help possible, but you can only do so much when you aren't face to face. The test are hard, but they are trying to make certain that you know your material. Currently many tests are large, and a few are equivalent to 4 college course finals and one would be equivalent to 7 college course finals, and you take it in one test. On the other hand, you are learning much more much more quickly. They are, however, in progress of breaking these large tests up. I haven't had a problem with the school. In fact, it has been a fabulous experience so far, and I am looking forward to completing my degree a years early. Actually two, considering I changed my major a year into this (from Information Systems to Business-Information Technology Management). The price is awesome compared to any other school. I highly recommend this school to anyone who hasn't the time (or in my case patience) to sit in a traditional class room who is capable of working independently on their studies. Oh, and one more thing, the school has regional accreditation, which is the best form of accreditation a university can receive. Some businesses and organizations won't accept any other form!

I am currently attending Western Governors University full time working toward my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. I have attended both on-line and traditional universities in the past and they all change their programs… it’s a part of life. I have read the other reviews here and have this to say; WGU is very upfront with all of their requirements. You have to plan and manage you time accordingly. This is not a university for those who require a lot of hand holding. This is a competency based school and as such you as a student are required to learn on your own. I have had no issues meeting the requirements that WGU has established for my degree program. I too was affected by the "policy" change that was referred to in another post. This change has no effect on my ability to complete more then the 12 required units of study per semester. This policy was instituted to help those students who were having problems meeting the requirement to complete at least 12 units per semester. I have been able to complete 18 units in less then twelve months and should have my degree in six months. The beauty of this school is you have the opportunity to complete as many classes as you want for a fix semester fee. As with anything in life, WGU is what YOU make of it…

I would highly recommend WGU. Their mentors are nice and will help you with every step of the way. The tuition is very affordable, usually cheaper than most state universities. They are FULLY accredited.