Western Governors WGU Feedback Requested

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by fritzy202, May 3, 2011.

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  1. fritzy202

    fritzy202 New Member

    I'm looking for some feedback on WGU from current or former students. I'm considering them for a bachelor's degree in healthcare informatics. I already have two bachelors degrees and I'm halfway through my MHA at Bellevue Univ. But this bachelors, while seeming to go backwards, would allow me to sit for a professional certification that I can't get without a bachelors degree or post bac cert. It would also give me C+ and C# certs along with another area of specialization for teaching. I currently teach at a community college, so this would just add another area. The cost seems reasonable vs the grad certificate in informatics I was going to do, but it didn't qualify me to sit for the specialty exams or certs. The professional certification exam would complement my MHA if I moved into the private healthcare arena in the future. Given cuts to education, that could be a real future need!

    My questions about WGU are they are accepting of transfer credits as they say on their website? I had the program head agree to do an unofficial eval so I could could compare a couple programs, then after I sent her everything she quit responding to my emails. I can't get a response from her at all. The customer service chat didn't yield any results either as they didn't even recognize the name of the program head and couldn't provide me with any other contact info for her.

    It is very frustrating, as I wanted to start in June. I'm wondering if it is worth all these hassles? I'm also a little concerned about their competency units instead of credits. Has anyone here who teaches had a problem with the competency units being accepted by your institution or regional accrediting agency? We are in the middle of reaccreditation so I don't want to do anything that would raise any flags or cause any problems.

    Are their programs truly proficiency based? I have 30 years of experience in most of the course areas either teaching, working or my classwork, so my goal was to hopefully complete everything in 6-12 months. Is that possible or do they make you stretch it out?

    I'm just leary given the sudden change in lack of response.

    Thanks for any feedback, suggestions or recommendations.
     
  2. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    They are indeed very accepting of credits, and flexible regarding their sources.

    It is competency based, not proficiency based as such. It is possible for some students to complete some programs in 6 months, but I think 12 is a more realistic minimum for most transfer students unless they want to sacrifice having a social life.

    The enrollment office is notoriously difficult to deal with, but they are not reflective of the school as a whole. You may want to call and ask to speak with a supervisor in the department if you are not getting the answers you need.
     
  3. fritzy202

    fritzy202 New Member

    Thanks for the feedback. I'm off tomorrow and plan to spend however much time is needed on the phone to get some answers. I wish I had more options for my needs, but they are very limited.
     
  4. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

  5. Orson

    Orson New Member

    Sorry, but I have no direct experience with WGU. They are fairly new, but well-regarded for establishing teaching credentials. But in general, for those wishing to pursue other opportunities, I generally recommend against them; there are too many other more flexible opps.

    IT sounds like you only need a good reason to go ahead for your narrower, well-defined needs. I'd keep at getting a response. It may only be staff turnover getting in the way.
     
  6. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    They are God sent for students who have DETC credit.
    As they WGU are RA and NA DETC accredited.
     

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