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Go"My Experience with Western Governors University"
I am trying to pursue a Bachelor of Science Information Technology degree.
So I'm going through the process to evaluating two schools; Western Governors University (WGU) and University of Phoenix (UoP).
Both schools have a process, a sequence of things that you have to do to be admitted into their programs. There is a definite difference between the two schools.
While this is not an exhaustive review of the application process, it should give you some things to consider. Both schools have enrollment counselors to help you through the enrollment process, answer questions, take care of the financials, and so forth.
Both schools need official transcripts of whatever credits you may be trying to transfer.
One school gives you the impression they have been in business for years, their staff is well versed in school policies and procedures, and the matriculation of students has been done before.
The other school feels more like it's more important to get you to commit to the school first and then later they'll answer questions.
When working with the University of Phoenix I was immediately impressed with how they went about inviting you to become part of their school, their program and their culture.
A single phone call put me at ease, and they demonstrated they were more interested in helping me get my goals accomplished, answering my questions, and explaining the whole process.
When the initial telephone conversation was done, it was followed up by an email that summarized our conversation; there were additional contact people's information, links to additional program information, all without a hint of being pushed to commit to anything.
A few days later, after I'd had a chance to look over the materials, I had a few specific questions about the degree program, like prerequisites, length of courses, how labs would be conducted over the Internet, and if my work would be impacted by other student(s) that I might be teamed with on projects. The enrollment counselor answered all of my questions and I was invited to talk to a faculty member in the BSIT program in case I had questions about the program she could not answer. I really got the feeling she had done this before and that questions were very normal and no big deal. Because I was going to be self-paying I wanted to get a ball park estimate of the number credits that would be accepted which would determines how much I had to do and ultimately the cost. Since I had a copy of my transcripts I asked her if she could give me an unofficial estimate of the number of credits that would transfer. The very next day I had the number of credits that would likely transfer, which courses from the program they would apply to and which classes would be remaining for me to take. Outstanding
My experience with Western Governors University (WGU) started off ok. The enrollment counselor explained how the university worked, we talked financials, and he was happy to read to me information about the BSIT program. That's when things started to go downhill. When I say downhill I don't mean the conversation became heated or anything like that; it just became like pulling wisdom teeth.
The counselor said the he was also working on his degree at the school. Naturally I asked what it was like going through his program. His answer was that the school policy did not allow him to discuss his experiences with me. Of course I was taken aback, first of all he volunteered the info and second, why not. Ok, policy is policy. Because the BSIT program had a physics and biology lab requirement, I asked how the labs were conducted via the Internet.
In my mind I'm wondering if I had to dissect something or mix chemicals how would this be done over the Internet. His answer had nothing to do with biology or physics, then it became policy not to discuss specifics, then it became he'd get back to me. That was 2 weeks ago. I asked if I could speak to someone in the specific degree program like a mentor or teacher. He said they didn't have teachers and the people in the program were too busy managing the program and could only talk to me after I was enrolled. But wait, there is the "Ask a Grad" program that I could submit a question to a current or prior student and they could respond from their personal experience at the school. I submitted the question about the labs 2 weeks ago, still no answer. So I asked if someone could look over my transcripts and give me just an idea of what might transfer. The answer was no, and that would be part of the enrollment process only, and that would cost $65.00
The last time I talked to the WGU counselor was 2 weeks ago, but I got a call from him today. This was a total waste of time. He called me to go down the list of things we talked about 2 weeks ago that were unanswered.
In my mind, I;m thinking why call me if you have not done anything to resolve the questions from two weeks ago. The "Ask a Grad" question about the labs had been never been delivered to any grad, but had been referred back to him to answer. It's obvious he didn't know the answer, was not familiar with the degree program, and had not done any prep before he called me. But he was trying to get me to commit to a start date in a few days and wanted to know if I'd have the money in in time to make the start date.
Lastly, I ask you the reader, which school do you think I'm going to go with? A better question is, which school would you want to go to?
