Western Governors University Reviews

I love WGU. I received my associate degree in Healthcare Administration from University of Phoenix online and although it is a good school, I don't feel like I learned much, just did a lot of book work. I am now doing my Bachelor in Health Informatics at WGU. Besides they are more affordable, the system set up is incredible. Minimum of 12 units in 6 months... one course at a time with all of the learning resources, including mentors a phone call away, it is just better for me.

I feel like I am learning the material and do not feel pressured. The work is hard but apply yourself you will do great! The main thing that sold me on WGU was it is competency based so you know you will learn the material... not just earn units.

I enrolled at WGU in August, 2010. Enrollment was a somewhat painless process. One negative about the enrollment process is that they are so overwhelmed, that they heavily depend on canned responses. However, one major positive that offsets that is that they do NOT engage in hard selling/pressure tactics. Once I enrolled, I had a wonderful mentor that had called me once every week to see how I was doing in my classes.

I was able to knock out my remaining general education requirements in seven months and eleven months later, I had fulfilled my IT certification requirements to obtain my Bachelor's of Science degree in Information Technology--Network Design and Management. I am now enrolled in graduate school which is in my home state of New Jersey, and I am very proud to hang my degree on my wall. I can't wait to hang my MS degree up within the next couple of years.

Student Services is excellent. If there is ever ANY problem that you need handled, your student mentor and/or Student Services will take care of it for you immediately. Also, the coursework is 100% legitimate...if it is not passing, you will not go through until you pass. You are given up to four attempts to pass for a Taskstream task (it never went more than two for some tasks for me...usually some dumb oversight on my part...lol) The certification exams I had to pass were done because it dealt with my current field. Forced me to really study for those.

Bottom line...you will EARN a degree at WGU, and not be handed one. The writing skills that you will pick up for writing capstones will be used later for graduate study (I'm so far getting As in my classes....hoping to finish up strong!) I 100% recommend WGU to anyone needing a degree who is a working adult and professional.

I am extremely happy with my choice of enrolling in Western Governors University. I started my program at WGU on February 1st 2012. I have attended other colleges both online and brick-and-mortar alike so I will attempt to provide fair comparisons to each.

Tuition: This is what initially drew me to WGU. At $3,000 per 6 month term, it is hard to beat. Add to that the fact that you can take as many classes as you want during that 6 month period. This helps to accelerate your program and keep your tuition costs down.

Thanks to this setup, I am accelerating at a very rapid pace. This is not because the classes are not challenging. This is because I study more than 30 hours a week to make sure I pass the assessments and complete the assignments in record time. I am motivated to study as often as I can because I know that I can get on from one course to the next without having to wait 16 weeks to progress.

Support: There is always someone to help you find the resources you need. My student mentor is phenomenal when it comes to getting IT issues squared away, getting in contact with course mentors and the like. My mentor is also one of my biggest cheerleaders. Each course has a mentor as well. These mentors provide support if your study materials leave you with more questions.

Credibility: The course modules apply to academic theories as well as real-world business issues. The assessments are designed to test students for both theory-based and reality-based knowledge. The exams are proctored live online to ensure academic integrity without forcing students to drive all over the place to be tested. The textbooks and evaluation methods are the same ones used at brick-and-mortar universities all over the country. My mother attends a state university in Maryland, one sister graduated from a state university in NJ and the other graduated from a state university in Florida. We all have to write papers using APA formatting. We all use text books published by Prentice Hall, Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Harper-Collins and Harcourt Brace. We all submit writing assignments through TurnItIn to make sure we do not unintentionally plagiarize. We all have papers to write, tests to take, classmates to interact with, projects to develop.

Accreditation: WGU is regionally accredited. This is important because I intend to go on to graduate school. Graduate schools and employers look for candidates with degrees from regionally accredited colleges and universities.

I am looking forward to graduation, but I am also enjoying every minute of learning while attending WGU.

I have only been at WGU for a month and have experienced multiple system outages. The website is down as we speak so I am wasting a day of work making no progress towards my degree. WGU uses Adobe connect to record lessons, but they let their subscription expire so that doesn't work even when the site is up. DO NOT enroll. You will be frustrated beyond belief.

I am an older student. I found WGU courses to be difficult, but well worth the time and effort. Because I work full-time, I had to schedule my school time carefully and remain organized. The main benefit - I really learned new information. The courses challenged me and my views on teaching. The price is amazing. I did not interact much with other students, but that was my choice. There was plenty of opportunity to do so. The overall experience has been great.