Western Governors University

I am currently one term away from completing my B.A. In the other reviews I've read people were saying WGU doesn't help find placement for PCE & DT & that schools would rather students from nearby colleges. I did not have this problem. I gave field placement a list of several schools in my area & they placed me at a school within walking distance of my home. The staff at the elementary school is thrilled to have an online student. The course work for this program is not for the weak, lazy, or students who are looking to get an easy degree. It is a very time consuming, and tedious, yet rewarding process. It is the most challenging thing I've ever done in my life!!! But the nerd in me has to say that overall, I've enjoyed this adventure and will miss learning at WGU.

If you are going to apply for any of Western Governors University Educational Programs/Degrees then make sure you have Pre-Clinical placement and Demonstration Teaching placement already set-up because WGU is not a very well recognized online University. I did not finished the K-8 BA because WGU could not place me for either.

A rip off! You get what you pay for! I have a B.A. and a M.S. in other subjects, but wanted to get an elementary teaching certification. WGU told me that I would have to complete about 20 prerequisite credits before even enrolling in the teaching cert program (International Baccalaureate credits are not accepted, either). You also cannot roll into the teaching cert program until after you completed the 6 month prerequisite program. The majority of the required credits had duplicate content of undergrad and grad courses I have taken at other universities. They want your money and it is a farce that they say the program is based on competency (only if you pay for their courses!). They did not tell me about this until after I paid to have 3 transcripts sent to WGU and paid their online nonrefundable application fee ($65). I spent 6 weeks and over $100 trying to get answers and replies before giving up on the program. In addition, the enrollment counselor would take at least 2 weeks to respond to my emails and phone calls. I never did receive a response from inquiries with the transcript evaluation department. Poor, poor service. You are a number to them, not a person!

I will say that this was the most challenging program ever. It is not a FREE ride if you are not ready to devote 20 hours minimal a week in completing work then don't even bother. However it is a univiersity were the only way you do not succeed is if you fell to try. I love the wealth of information available. The wealth of materials and the inexpensive Tuition was the best. You get out what you put in and what you put in is what you pay for. If you dont want to work you will spend alot if you are a hard worker you can spend half of what you would spend in a regular on line course. The mentors were the best support of all! Having someone to answer your questions and provide you ongoing support is something I will never forget. Also havign the opportunity to redo assignments when I did not understand it the first time was also a GOD sent gift. I would recommend this program to anyone that really dont have the time to sit in class. I will say the cohort seemed to be a waste of time.

I am almost finished with my teaching degree and am loving is program. I always hated waiting for the class to catch up and to move on. This university allows us to all move at our own rate. The mentors are awesome and there is always more resources if you need more help grasping a concept. I would recomend this school to any self-motavated student.

I have just earned my teaching certificate after completing WGU's teaching certification program. There were very many tasks for each domain; many tasks I personally felt were inconsequential and were just busy work. I was lucky and had great mentors. I felt that the cohort was a complete waste of my time. The one thing that I would caution anyone who is considering earning their teaching certificate through WGU is to first check with their own school district to see if WGU students have been placed into student teaching programs. This is very important. Many urban school districts have close relationships with nearby college teaching programs and will not even consider placing anyone from WGU into a school as a student teacher. After two nerve wrecking months of waiting for WGU to find me a placement (they went through every school district and private school within 50 miles of my location)I found my own placement because I personally knew a teacher who agreed to be my Host Teacher. You do not want to do all of the work and pay for all of the tuition to find, at the end, you cannot complete your program because no school within a 100 miles will accept you.

While attending WGU, I found out that my mentor/ and graders did not hold a BA degree. When asked why their BIO was not posted on their web site I was given the run around. Before attending WGU, I would strongly recommend that they assign you to a mentor that has the qualification. WGU no longer post the Bio’s of the mentors because of this particular incident.

I completed the post-baccalaureate program for elementary education while teaching on a provisional certificate. They worked with me, DID NOT hold my hand, and helped me succeed. If you want to be spoon fed, this IS NOT a program for you. You actually have to do the work, not just attend class and pass a test. The scheduling was fine and the work was hard. Finally getting my certificate was worth it. I also knew a lot more than my colleagues about the basics, including fundamental concepts, special education requirements, how N.C.L.B. works, etc. This knowledge has given me a competitive edge in the workplace. I've had some problems with financial aid, but they were resolved. If you’re self-motivated, this is definitely the program for you!

First, let me say that I did graduate from the post-bacc elementary ed program-with far above average scores by the way. This review is not sour grapes from some one who needed too much "hand-holding" and could not finish. This is a very scary program. The basic premise seems to be that competency is demonstrated by the ability to produce amazing quantities of low-quality busy work and pass exams that often call for demonstably incorrect answers. I checked, the exams are not designed by subject matter experts; the tests are easy to pass by figuring out the answers to the pre-tests then projecting the same error frame-work to the test. If you are the type who feels really proud that you got all the way to end of your coloring book faster than the the kids and get the wear a little gold star for the rest of the day-this is for you. If you're interested in actual suject matter knowledge find a school where professors teach.

WGU's competency-based model has allowed me to complete 57 units in 6 months! It is a great school for self-motivated people. If you need a lot of hand-holding, WGU is not for you. But for me, it was exactly what I was looking for. And at less than $3000 per semester (with no per-unit cost) it was an unbeatable deal for me. And I feel secure that it is well-respected due to it's accreditation.

The ONLY way you should consider WGU is if you're stay-at home person (mom, busy professional,social phobia). I've been there for a year and a half. The administration is beyond surly, bordering on rude, incompetent and apt to change rules as they go along ( always to their financial benefit). Mentors are better,they try their best but are overworked and underpaid, hence few stay put. Mentors manage 60 students at a time). There's a strong quasi-political bias in faculty and curriculum ( hint of Christian right wing). Instructional material is beyond pathetic. Tasks are written on a cheap, many are incoherent and wrong. The tasks are graded by ANONYMOUS sub-contractors with wildly differing standards (rubrics notwithstanding)!!! The community boards are beyond pathetic. Typical comment: "Help! Stuck on Task 607.123.2. What is..blank... blank." The pros: Only Two 1It's cheap, IF and ONLY iF, you can work very fast. BUT if you like to take your time, it'll be more expensive than a State U and a LOT more hassle. 2. You don't have to get out of your house. Oh, wait you have to take some proctored exams... never mind. And pay $60 extra for it if you fail it twice. The reason given.. to encourage you to study better. What crock of sh*t. Conclusion: Stay Away...go to your State U, get a decent education and a social life. P.S. I am actually being optimistic. It's a lot worse.

My WGU experience was a depressing slog through low quality materials (20 year old Cantor training videos) and mind-numbing busy work. This is really not a university -it's just an opportunity to write assignments (that are graded by people with low substantive knowledge) and take easy tests that don't match the assignments anyway. After a while I pretty much gave up trying and just made stuff up. It didn't matter -I still passed. I would never hire a WGU grad based only on a WGU credential.