Western Governors University

HI Everybody,

I am new to the forum. I was reading all of the information that everybody provided and found it very helpful. Thanks. I just had a couple of questions regarding WGU and I was hoping somebody can help me.

1. Will the credits that a person earns at WGU transfer to another school?

2. How their degrees considered reputable?

3. How is their teaching certification program? Do they certify you for the state that you live in?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Bianca

 

First of all, WGU is regionally accredited. They are also a NCATE school for teacher certification.

1. Yes. As much as any school will transfer to another

2. The are RA, DETC, and NCATE. Does not get much better than that.

3. I loved the teaching certification program. I busted my toushee to get through and I did. I would highly recommend to anyone who cannot go to a BM school.

3b. When I was there in 06/07 the only problem states were:

NY - NY has their own set of problems, the best way, at the time, was to be certified in NJ and then apply to NY.

KS - The problem according someone I talked with, was WGU was supposed to do something and did not. From what I have heard more recently is there not a problem anymore with KS. It did stop me from accepting a job though back in April 07.

IN - IN has some problems with out of state canidantes. This is just IN, not anything WGU, according to one of the top certification people I talked with WGU in IN is not a problem.

MN - This is the funny one and caused me all kinds of anxiety as I was living in MN at the time of WGU. This really depends on who you talk with a teacher certification at MN DOE. There are at least three grads from WGU currently working in MN, that I know of. MN does NOT like out of state grads at all and they are one of the only states that does not have reciprocity with other states. There are two specific classes they do have with SD, ND, WI, and MT.

These were the problem areas in early 07, when I was at WGU. I graduated from WGU may/June 07 and had a job before I the diploma was printed. I currently work in SD.

 

Thanks. That really helped me out. I think I will start going to WGU. Thanks again for your time.

 

MyWGU experience

This is my experience with WGU.

Rosalba Dominguez the customer service rep had been calling my message number several times with an "urgent message". I emailed her and asked her to just email me the important information and I would get back to her. She then emailed me a long paragraph dictating how WGU does things and that she couldn't share her "likely marketing info" by email. I emailed her back and asked what the big deal was and why she just couldn't email me if it was so important. That day she had my wgu email and account suspended. This is after I had paid and been accepted as a student. I contact her boss Kempe Nicol he was an a-hole as well.

This information can be affirmed by my email history in my suspended wgu account. I just can not believe this is an online university that won't communicate by email. Now, they don't return my calls or emails.

Sincerely,

Mark Stephens
MBA
substitute teacher

 

I looked into WGU for my undergrad and chose TESC instead. It seems like WGU's programs, especially the IT majors, are designed for those who already have knowledge and experience in the field. Supposedly, the instructors aren't very helpful. It's a "you're on your own" type school.

 

I will concur that this is not a WGU problem, it is an Indiana problem. The Indiana department of education is notorious for its difficulties. I came to Indiana with licenses from three different states. I then earned a doctorate in education from an Indiana University and still did not qualify for an Indiana teaching license. The irony is that I now teach elementary educators at an Indiana college.

 

This is about as funny as it gets.

 

Sad is more like it. IMHO, this is one of the main issues in education in the United States - although from the post, Indiana has more of an issue than others.

The education cartel (the NEA) has a strong influence in legislation in many states, as well as the federal government. I believe the cartel is petrified to have other qualified people teach, so rules are written stating to the effect, if you don't have our certification, you can't teach.

As a result, most college teachers, along with many bright professionals, can't teach in the public schools.

Shawn

 

Has anyone graduated from wgu and continued their education with a traditional school?

 

Yes. Please note my signature.

UMass was not made aware of my Northeastern credentials at time of admission. I was as curious as you are now.

 

Yes, Shawn, it is amazing. I have a Masters in Psychology, a Masters in Counseling, a PhD in Counseling, as well as being a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Counselor Supervisor in Alabama for over 25 years but I cannot teach psychology or serve as a counselor in Alabama unless I jump through hoops. I also have the MBA with a concentration in Accounting with 20 years experience in the business world but, again, without jumping through hoops I cannot teach accounting at any school in Alabama. I have taught both subjects and served as an academic counselor in three different colleges, but thanks to the NEA and AEA, I cannot teach in high school.

 

I agree with you guys 95%. But part of me wants to defend the NEA process. I don't think the NEA is worth much at all, and have probably done more to hurt education than help it. But at the same time, I can see why they have special hoops to jump through.

If you have a PhD in Chemistry, it means you really know your stuff. It means that you're a perfect fit for research and disseminating that knowledge to other willing minds that are looking for it. In other words, you're great for a university.

However, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools are MUCH different with a MUCH different population. In a typical public high school class you'll have about 2-3 gunners that are shooting for the highest grade in the class. You'll have another 5 that want A's and will do what they need to in order to get an A. You have another 10 that will be decent enough, do most of their work, never study, turn most things in, and be satisfied with a B or C grade. You'll have another 5 kids that try and never get anything, and out of the goodness of your heart you give them a C. Then you have another 5-10 kids that literally don't give a crap what you teach, do, or say, their goal is to whatever they feel like and there are no consequences that can get them to straighten up.

Given that population, it doesn't really matter how knowledgeable you are in a specific subject. What matters is that you understand what population you have, and that part of the population is going to try and deride what you do as a teacher. These certification programs (theoretically) are designed to train you to manage a classroom and manage young people from diverse backgrounds that may or may not have an ounce of respect for you as an authority figure.

As a teacher myself, I guarantee that most of my college professors wouldn't last a month in a high school classroom. Some would probably quit after a few days. High school is a totally different animal than college.

Now I'm not saying that these certification programs are effective in the least. In fact, I think they're terrible. But I believe in what they are trying to do.

 

As far as WGU's education degrees are concerned, I'd check with your target school district before enrolling. Some, like LA Unified, are notoriously picky about who they'll pick new teachers from.

 

Hi Odin -

I agree with your entire post detailing classroom demographics, but I'd like to present another point of view in regards to what I've quoted above.

Opinion: You don't go through the ups and downs, chutes, ladders and flaming hoops of a doctoral program because you want to deal with the high school demographic. Therefore it stands to reason that they wouldn't last.

That doesn't make you better than they are at tolerating the nonsense. It means you've made a choice to tolerate the nonsense. Whether that's because you have little choice if you want to teach due to not having a PhD or because you really like the career of high school teaching, I've no clue.

Personally, I found the for-profit college experience little different than what you described above. Speaking to what I know of myself, I agree with your original premise that I wouldn't last as a teacher of those not motivated, because I'd just give them the option to fail and send them to the library with a hall pass instead of dealing with them. Eventually it'd catch up to me, but my attitude isn't because I'm a professor.. it's because I've got an ego and over inflated sense of respect for my self and time.

 

Good post.

About 50% of high school teachers quit and move on to another field in the first five years. So those that make it usually have a higher tolerance level for the riff raff.

Teaching secondary school is really a completely different job than university teaching. So to be fair, it's not easy to really compare the two. My statement about professors being destroyed in a HS classroom was probably no different than saying an insurance salesman wouldn't survive. Sure, a professor teaches, but HS teachers are really more like group psychologists that teach things too.

 

Teaching secondary school is really a completely different job than university teaching. So to be fair, it's not easy to really compare the two. My statement about professors being destroyed in a HS classroom was probably no different than saying an insurance salesman wouldn't survive. Sure, a professor teaches, but HS teachers are really more like group psychologists that teach things too.[/QUOTE]


True, but even psychologists aren't given the opportunity to teach in the school systems. Another point, someone stated that 50% of teachers left -- do the other 50% stay because they aren't qualified to do anything else or simply can't find anything else?
Just asking.

 

Psychologists aren't given the opportunity to teach in school systems unless they become certified teachers. It doesn't matter who you are or what your background is...aint gonna happen unless you've been certified.

I'll assume that your question isn't a typical condescending remark by someone that hasn't the slightest clue about the workings of the public education system and treat it as a legitimate question. The 50% that leave have the exact same credentials and work experience and the 50% that stay. Sure, there may be some in that 50% that feel like they have to stay in public education because that's all they've known. But in all honesty, if they really can't hack it but try and stay, I'd bet that they would only last a few more years. It's really a different type of job that requires more than just the 'put the square peg in the square hole' mentality. The majority of those 50% that stay do it for the time off and because they love the art of teaching. They have figured out how to manage these adolescents and get them to work. They enjoy motivating them and helping them shape goals for their future. At least that's been my experience and the experiences shared with my coworkers.

 

"They have figured out how to manage these adolescents and get them to work."

Statistics in most school systems do not support your hypothesis. And, I am somewhat familiar with education - I have taught over 25 years, in three disciplines, at two colleges and one university; and I have walked down hallways of schools and saw teachers that I taught and wonder how in the world!

 

Teaching in two colleges and one university means you may know about post-secondary education, but you aren't familiar with secondary.

And what statistics are you referring to? If 50% of the teachers are burning out, then that means that likely half of these adolescents teachers already have one foot out the door. You aren't likely to get positive overall results with that happening.

Furthermore, the 'statistics' in education are terrible. The way they are compiled, the tests, the data, it's all trash. Everyone knows it in secondary education. There are schools that have amazing scores, but kids aren't learning much and have a very mediocre learning experience.

I think you're problem is you really think you know what you're talking about when you have no experience in the field, dealing with the people that secondary teachers deal with. It's quite a bit more complicated than you think it is. Teaching secondary is more than just spewing out information and having people take notes. When I first started teaching I thought it would be like college...a room full of students that would always behave, wanted the best grade possible, would work hard, and with the majority coming from decent enough homes. Well, I quickly realized that the college/university population is nothing like the real world. Sometime you should step outside of your bubble. You might learn something.

 

Is that your in-classroom teaching methodology or is that just your online teaching methodology at chat forums? mfg: