chrisbutts

Has anyone ever heard of or attended this school? It seems like one of those "too good to be true" type of scams. Good enough to where you'll dive in only to find out it was a mistake later.

Apparantly you can earn a degree as quickly as you want, as long as you pass each assesment test that proves you know everything about that particular subject. There are no credit hours, and your past experience/college credit can be used towards your Academic Action Plan (what they call a degree plan).

I'm interested in becoming a teacher, so they're B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from their Teachers College is appealing to me. But I can't tell if this thing is legit or not. I've read some less than appealing reviews on the web, but I've found some good ones too.

I don't really care how a degree from WGU or anyplace for that matter looks. I'm just interested in getting my bachelor's quickly from a properly accredited school, and then getting certified to teach. What I mean is, I don't think it matters where your degree is from when becoming a teacher as long as you're certified to teach in that state. The cost seems to be significantly lower than all my other options. That's really the only reason it's grabbing my attention.

Any thoughts? Below is some info on WGU from their site and a link.

http://www.wgu.edu/education/teacher_certification.asp

The WGU Advantage

You know how important a college degree is to you. But you lead a busy life. How can you fit college into a schedule that already includes work and family?

Western Governors University is specifically designed to help adults like you fit college into your already busy lives. WGU's programs are delivered online to allow learning to occur more on your schedule. Working with a faculty mentor on a regular basis, you'll follow a personalized Academic Action Plan that builds upon what you already know in the field. You may be able to accelerate your degree depending upon the competencies you already possess and still juggle the demands of school, work, and family.

Understanding the competency-based approach

WGU is the leading regionally-accredited university that grants degrees based completely on competencies—your ability to demonstrate skills and knowledge through a series of assessments carefully designed to measure your knowledge of a field of study. The programs are not based upon required courses. Instead, you earn your degree by demonstrating your competence through a series of carefully designed assessments. This approach allows for extensive personalization.

chrisbutts

Anyone have an take on this?

Vincey37

Go for it. Most teachers don't go to well known schools anyway. You should be able to teach anywhere, as WGU is regionally accredited.

2collegewego

I know someone doing this. She is very motivated and is speeding up her program. She said you need to look at the grading rubric before you do each project because the grading rubric will give you very specific information on what they are looking for. She said some people get their assessments sent back to them all the time (which slows them down), but if you look at the rubric, it is much less likely to happen.

sclintz

I am currently attending WGU and am very satisfied thus far. I am pursuing my BA in Science with a focus on secondary education. I should be finished in Two years and certified to teach in my state (They help you with it all!). WGU has provided all necessary aid, assistance, instruction and has been one of the best schools I have ever attended. you are provided your own LIVE human to speak to anytime you need help with ANYTHING. They are professional and caring. The tuition in VERY inexpensive and curriculum is unmatched. I have previous College level experience and my transfers were accepted and used! I cannot say enough great and positive things about this rewarding experience so far! If anything negative should happen, which I do not foresee, I will post it on this site... but no news is GOOD NEWS! I hope everyone who reads this gives this school serious consideration... it is not a scam. I was, however almost scammed by other universities like The University of Phoenix, who does not have the same classroom expectations or stamp of a "highly qualified teacher" upon graduation. Be careful in your search and ask A TON of questions.This school is golden! (oh and no, I do not work for the University or anything, this is all true! )

elearningpundit

Time Magazine recently ran a piece on Western Governors University. From everything I've read, many IT personnel are really attracted to WGU.

Go Western, Young Man - TIME

The school certainly seems very legit.

bobbyw

It's been good to find someone who is currently working on their teaching credential actually going to Western Governors U. I would like to become a biology teacher and it seems we're headed in the same direction. How long have you been attending (or logging on, I should say)? If you don't like your mentor, who easily is it to get another one? I've heard some others say their mentors were good and others who really disliked them. Good luck with your education and thanks for whatever information you can provide.

sclintz

what's really sweet about WGU is the flexibility. If you don't like your mentor, you just ask for another. People who didn't speak up either A: have no backbone and just sit around *****ing or B: didn't pay attention in the mandatory first class you take introducing you to online learning and WGU itself, including rescources. Speaking of resources; You'll NEVER ever be left in the dark. They have EVERYTHING... from an online library to a live person to answer your questions. Students of the school are in constant contact with other students, asking questions, blogging or *****ing. there's a mentor around every corner and they are very prompt to respond. The grading process is so neat, too, with the goal in mind of everyone really mastering material and retaining information, they allow students to retake exams until you get it right, if you mess up on a paper, like misqquoted or misspelled, they send it back to you to correct. They won't take it unless it's 100%, but they'll keep going with you until you get it right. They are there every step of the way, it's like 1 on 1 online coaching- which is hard to believe when you think of being detatched and lost in a cyber universe. If you have a BA, go for your Master's... this school is one of the best and I've attended three!

bobbyw

I'll be doing the intake interview this week and I'm getting excited. I hope we stay in touch because what I need to hear is someone who's having a positive experience with WGU. There seem to be alot of haters out there. Anyway, hope you had a great weekend.

bobbyw

Hey Chris, have you decided to go to WGU or what? I'm going to begin probably in February, headed for a single subject BA to teach high school biology. If you haven't gone there, where did you end up?

mrpc9886

I too am a current student at WGU pursuing a BS in IT Management.

I attended Texas A&M for a time in the '70's but never really found something I wanted to pursue.

I have a professional position as a Business Analyst and at age 50 the absolute need to complete my degree isn't there but for the personal satisfaction and better positioning in the job market I began to look around. WGU got my attention via the Time magazine in November '08 and it was the cost that truly 'sold' me. I have friends who attended other, more well known on-line degree programs and the cost (for profit vs WGU, not for profit) seemed out of line.

The previously mentioned selfpaced learning is also a big plus. As you can imagine, having been in the professional world for 30 years you acquire knowledge and skills you're not even aware of...until you take a pre-assessment and pass. Case in point, one of my classes was a 21 credit Business of IT Management course that covered all manner of knowledge related to computers, networking, systems analysis and project management. I took the pre-test, scored a 79% and went on to take the full blown assessment (at Thomson Prometric) and scored an 85%- all without ever cracking a book but simply because of my experience.

This makes sense; why waste a student's time in a classroom or performing make work when they already know something? To take their money perhaps?]

My mentor encourages me to take every pre-assessment I want to and to test on those I pass, get in and get out! There are enough practical, e.g., lab courses to insure you can actually perform to an acceptable level in a real situation.

WGU kicks butt.

The only drawback is they don't have a football team. :-)