Western Governor's University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Arienna, Nov 16, 2009.

Loading...
  1. Arienna

    Arienna New Member

    Anyone have first hand experience at WGU? I started at University of Phoenix, and realized it's a JOKE! I want to transfer after I am done with these classes, as I will have 12 credits and a semester done. I don't want to continue any longer at UoP. I have classes through 1/31/10 already. I am going to major in Accounting and looking for a school that won't be considered a joke when I graduate. However, at the same time, I need a school that isn't any more expensive than UoP, hopefully cheaper! Thanks for all the help in advance!!! :)
     
  2. graymatter

    graymatter Member

    UOP is a joke? Really? Can you give more information? I'm curious as to how someone would come to this conclusion?
     
  3. brow276

    brow276 Member

    Let me guess, you nearly bombed your composition classes.
     
  4. Arienna

    Arienna New Member

    No, actually I got an A in both of my first classes, VERY EASILY (which is kind of why I say they're a joke). I'm just sick of the lack of communication among a few other things. First of all, a ton of people in my class didn't even seem like they graduated high school, which was very aggravating! Having to converse with them was somewhat stressful at times. As far as communication, I had tried to get a hold of my academic advisor for about 3 weeks before he finally called me; and what he called me for wasn't even in response to my question. I e-mailed him and kept getting back auto replies, I left him voice mails, had left messages with my financial aid advisor for her to try and contact him to get a hold of me and also my enrollment advisor. These people are soo inclined to help before you start but then they are so difficult to get a hold of for anything after the fact. Also, the price is just ridiculous for what I feel I get out of it, not to mention a few potential future employers I have talked to have told me they wouldn't consider someone with a degree from UoP over someone with another degree, which seems a bit silly to me, but it is what it is. Also, after comparing their curriculum to other school's I just don't think it compares very well for what I want. Also, it would be nice to just go in for my Bachelor's and work at my own pace like they allow you to at WGU.
     
  5. mbaonline

    mbaonline New Member

    Hi Arienna, welcome to the Board.

    Are you undergrad or graduate level? (I'm assuming undergrad based on what you've said.)

    Have you done any testing out ....like CLEPs?

    Have you considered doing the rest of the lower-division credits at a cheaper community college and then transferring to a four-year school?

    WGU is a good school but its learning system is totally different from UoP and from a lot of other schools. There are some threads on this board that have info...use the search function. I don't agree that UoP is a joke but perhaps another program would suit you better.
     
  6. Arienna

    Arienna New Member

    No, actually I got an A in both of my first classes, VERY EASILY (which is kind of why I say they're a joke). I'm just sick of the lack of communication among a few other things. First of all, a ton of people in my class didn't even seem like they graduated high school, which was very aggravating! Having to converse with them was somewhat stressful at times. As far as communication, I had tried to get a hold of my academic advisor for about 3 weeks before he finally called me; and what he called me for wasn't even in response to my question. I e-mailed him and kept getting back auto replies, I left him voice mails, had left messages with my financial aid advisor for her to try and contact him to get a hold of me and also my enrollment advisor. These people are soo inclined to help before you start but then they are so difficult to get a hold of for anything after the fact. Also, the price is just ridiculous for what I feel I get out of it, not to mention a few potential future employers I have talked to have told me they wouldn't consider someone with a degree from UoP over someone with another degree, which seems a bit silly to me, but it is what it is. Also, after comparing their curriculum to other school's I just don't think it compares very well for what I want. Also, it would be nice to just go in for my Bachelor's and work at my own pace like they allow you to at WGU.
     
  7. Arienna

    Arienna New Member

    Undergraduate level and I have taken some CLEPs exams. Also, I have looked into community colleges here, the closest one to me is about an hour and fifteen minutes away. They don't offer online right now and I cannot drive that distance several times a week. I have a 5 and a 6 yr old at home and I would end up paying a lot more in gas and day care, because my husband's work schedule is crazy.

    I'm sure UoP is a fine school for some, but it's not for me. I don't feel challenged at all and keep hearing negative things, and have had some negative experiences personally with my advisors.

    I did not bomb my classes, in fact I passed both with A's, easily. This is partly my problem. I am attending classes with people who don't seem like they could have even graduated high school. It just aggravates me to an extent. I have had no issues with my instructors and the class work is very doable, there are no surprises and they give you an adequate amount of resources. There is also a HUGE online library as well as a writing center (which has been very useful) and a math center which I have yet to use and probably never will. So, maybe saying they are a joke is out of line and I wrote that after receiving yet another auto email from my academic advisor, which he never responds to and I don't think he even reads. They might not be a joke, but they are not for me and I like the idea of independent learning better because most of the time I have lots of extra time to do more work than what I am currently tackling.
     
  8. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    U of P is a joke, so is Wal-Mart, the Yankees, Microsoft, our Country, and anything else that is successful and popular.

    Its an RA school. Nothing wrong with that. If you are so vehemently against the school, what does that say to a future employer about you? Does not care enough about her own education to do research before hand?

    I looked into schools before I attend them, and decide if they will work for me. UofP did not so I won't/didn't attend them. An online school will not have the same reputation as a B&M school...period.

    What makes WGU any better? Can you point to specific accounting courses that you will complete there? What the heck are these learning assesments? How will we know what accounting (GAAP) fundamentals you are learning when we don't have course numbers and descriptions.

    Man, bashing schools is fun.
     
  9. Arienna

    Arienna New Member

    First of all, I did extensive research for two months on schools before I enrolled. AFTER enrolling at UoP, all the promises your "graduation team" makes goes right out the window. They don't care about the students that are attending, and I should have been more aware of this seeing as though they are a for profit school. I do not have a problem with the work or instructors other than it's ridiculously easy.

    I DO have a complete guide of the accounting classes (as well as every other class) I will be completing at WGU, as well as their descriptions. In the accounting program there are 17 exams that I will have to go a testing center, to confirm my identity and that I am the student actually completely the work. That alone tells me that they care more about what they are doing than UoP and lots of other schools. UoP has no idea if it's actually ME doing the work to get a degree. It's Independent Study at WGU. You do all the class work you would do in a normal setting only at your pace, which is GREAT because I have lots of time to work on my studies. After you complete the work assigned for each class, you take a test to make sure you actually KNOW the information. Which is basically what you do in a class setting. You have to do assignments and pass tests to the class.
     
  10. badproduce

    badproduce New Member

    Well,for me WGU is/was a joke.That must be why I washed out.:)

    It is important to always research a school/program before you go for it.
    Maybe the UoP just isn't right for you.Maybe WGU is or isn't.I earned 50 of
    "their" credits towards my degree before we had to part ways.Now I have to
    find a school to accept the credits.

    If my PC hadn't "died" at a bad(very,very bad) time I may have graduated with my BS in Business Management from them.But it did,and I can't call them a "joke" for that reason.I can call them that for other reasons,and they can do the same of me.

    I guess that is why we have a "washout" thread.
     
  11. consultco

    consultco New Member

    I completely understand about the need to be in the right program, so if UofP isn't right, it's not worth it to stick around. I tried WGU, and didn't care for it, although the only real caution there is that the work can be difficult to transfer, because they don't use credits. You may be interested in the Bachelor of Individualized Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University: http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=1510. I tested out for my entire BS degree through Excelsior, which allowed me to enter graduate school very quickly, or you might also like St. Joseph's College of Maine: www.sjcme/gps/.
     
  12. mongoose65

    mongoose65 New Member

    I'm sort of shocked that everyone is jumping down the poster's throat. As if many of these schools are not known for great service UNTIL you enroll then shoddy service after. It's fairly common. UoP is known to be quite overpriced and to address another post, is becoming a bit like Walmart due to their exhaustive marketing approach. Good school or bad they are quite oversaturated in the marketplace. It loses a little muster with employers when they see ads for it on every bus, train and taxi in NYC. The explosive growth has been noted in many forums as a factor in poorer service. Infrastructure not keeping up with growth, that sort of thing.

    I researched WGU but found it to be a little too progressive (aka weird) for me. I'm leery of programs that do not provide a clear timeline for completion.

    There are many, many other inexpensive options for getting an undergrad degree on these boards. If UoP is a "joke" go somewhere else. No big deal.
     

Share This Page