ONLINE COLLEGE REVIEWS

I can't stress how much I love WGU. I first discovered WGU in 2008 after doing extensive research on distance learning. Unfortunately, I was not able to start until Sept 2010. Now I'm nearly finished with my degree with minimal credits transferring in. I'm not one to like listening to professors and I much prefer learning on my own. 90% of the time I do not need to access any of the resources for courses such as the mentors or communities. You cannot beat how cheap it is and how you can accelerate... Read Full Review

I completed the RN-BSN degree in December within 6 months. It was a very positive experience for me from the enrollment counselors to the financial aid department to the mentors. I found the work to be challenging but doable for those who are self-motivated. There are several avenues of assistance if you get off track. My student mentor was very helpful. I will be beginning the MSN next month and have high hopes for another positive experience. WGU offers a good alternative for those who want a reasonably priced, accredited, self-paced program. Read Full Review

I completed my masters in nursing through WGU, and am working on my second masters in business administration. I love this school! When I am finished I'm considering perhaps a third degree from them. I did my bachelors in nursing through University of Phoenix. It took me two years and cost me 32,000. My masters in nursing through WGU took me one year (I was able to work at my own pace and speed up the curriculum) and cost me just about 3,500. My Masters was one tenth the price of my bachelors! The school work is challenging, but I never found it difficult to find the answers to my questions or to get in contact with course mentors... Read Full Review

I am almost finished. In the first term I completed 68 credits and had 15 transferred in from 10 years ago. If you are motivated and set your mind to working hard then you will complete the degree. Mentors are good and help push you in the right direction but I wish that they had more access to the classes we have to go through in order to complete them. Course Mentors are very good and accommodating. Most are very knowledgeable in their fields. Classes - this is where my opinion starts to turn... Read Full Review

I graduated this year w/ a BS in Business Management from WGU. I've read all kinds of reviews before I chose WGU and always vowed to do one, once (if) I graduated. Well I did, and here it is. First, the reason I chose WGU was Accreditation. They are the only on-line school, that I found at the time, which is "regionally accredited". That is the one that matters-I found. National accreditation from the US Gov't, (distance learning etc) and other minor associations are not cutting it for me. So all these "online" schools say they are accredited, but check it out... Read Full Review

To all you Naysayers out there, I have been a WGU student for over a year now. It does get more difficult as time goes by, HOWEVER REMEMBER: 1. It is an online college, so quit complaining about no student interaction, and also quit complaining that you don't have a professor. There are web chats for every program and almost every class that have an instructor and a power point presentation. Every one that I have attended they have answered my questions. Most reviewers that whine about no instructor clearly haven't looked at all of the course resources. 2.If you are not self motivated OBVIOUSLY this college is not for you. 3... Read Full Review

I am completing my BSN online for Nursing and it is more or less preparing for a Masters Degree. The papers you have to write are extremely excessive. Of course they ask for no more than 10 pages...with 3 questions in one, that never happens. You have assignments, multiple assignments, that you are writing 35+ page papers. This is very common. IN speaking with my colleagues in Master's programs, they express that they have never even written a paper of this length. Their capstone presentations are shorter than the papers we have to write!!! So maybe Ill switch...n ope you cant... Read Full Review

Great school. I got my Associate degree in Nursing through two year college and got my BSN through WGU. A traditional school will take around 2 years to complete ur BSN and I finished mine in a year and may be with half the cost of a traditional school. Read Full Review

I am a current adult student at WGU, and remember visiting this site to check out reviews as I was enrolling. I have to say that my experience has been far better than I could have ever imagined- especially for the price. Much of what is said in these reviews are accurate and there is some truth to some of the complaints as well. However, for 7k a year and the option to study at my own pace, I can't think of a better value. The courses ARE challenging, and no matter how self-disciplined you think you are, it will take a couple of months to settle in and get adjusted... Read Full Review

The school's education and mentor program is designed to provide the student all the tools necessary to successfully complete an MBA program within the two-year term or faster. Under the competency approach, the student doesn't have to waste time reading material or doing homework on familiar subject-matter. The student may move rapidly through the subjects he/she already knows and to take more time to learn unfamiliar subject-matter. As a result, the program is tailored to the students educational needs. Read Full Review

To all folks who critique the school please be fair, I cannot speak for other programs, but the program I took was one that I was well familiar with and actually am currently working in. In addition the school required me to take industry level certifications, which are useful in improving me at my current job. I checked out the school prior to enrolling and it is not only regionally accredited but also nationally accredited. The MS of Information Assurance is now accredited by the NSA; it is no MIT (far from it) but do not expect a cake walk, you will earn your degree is all I have to say. Read Full Review

This school is great, but DO NOT expect to get your Financial Aid anywhere near the given date. DO expect to have to call back the Financial Aid department many, many times each semester and ask what is going on... Because each time you will get different answers that will tell you absolutely nothing. Read Full Review

I am within my last term and overall the Master's with WGU has been awesome. Communication with mentor is great as well as support. I have three areas that I would give a 1 if I could. First, at the start of the last term there is an additional $1000 due to the college. This is suppose to cover technology, materials and support for the practicum. I was told I would get an iPad that I could keep after the course. What I got was 4 text books and a 8G iPod. For $1000 I could have got the iPad. My mentor mentioned later that he thought it was an iPad not an iPod. So, was the 2nd issue... Read Full Review

I was apprehensive about going into the online education experience. It took me several months before I chose WGU and I am so happy that I did. I have learned so much and am excited about finishing my courses with Western Governors. I do believe that with all of the support WGU offers in addition to its vast array of learning resources that anyone with the determination to finish there goals can succeed at WGU. Western Governors offers many different methods of learning to accommodate various learning styles and the beautiful part is that you are learning without even knowing it. This is the real deal... Read Full Review

I have been attending WGU full time for 18 months and completed by BSN studies today, I will now continue to complete my MSN. I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the school thus far. The teachers, mentors, and WGU community is awesome. The school is very interactive and knowledgeable. The school is not about just writing essay after essay like most distance learning schools, you actually interact with a community and have projects, tests, lab work etc...However it is not easy, you must study and work hard. Some assignments are difficult but the teachers and mentors are always helpful and can be reached very easily... Read Full Review

I had been wanting to obtain my Bachelor's degree for many years. I obtained my Associates in 2002 and was unable to find a Bachelor's program that fit my life. I could have attended some that would only be on Saturdays, but that would mean I would work all week and then be in class all day on Saturday (with only a few Saturdays off a year). I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about the different approach that WGU uses. After doing a lot of research on the school, I decided to give it a chance. I asked a few HR people if they felt the degree was acceptable and they all said yes since it is fully accredited... Read Full Review

I obtained a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Elementary Education through WGU, and went back three years later to work on an M.S. in Educational Leadership. I will finish that program in the next few weeks, and consequently feel qualified to offer useful opinions at this point. As with any school, there are pros and cons. On the pro side of things, this school is competitively priced compared to other online universities of similar caliber. Also, since it is competency-based, there are ample opportunities to accelerate progress. I finished my Bachelor's in two years, and my Master's in nine months... Read Full Review

I'm within three classes of obtaining my degree at WGU. I suffered through years of junior colleges, obtained my 60 transfer units the hard way, only to find that employed parents have very few options when it comes to the last two years of undergrad. U of Phoenix is really expensive and traditional brick & mortar universities have fixed schedules with very few online classes. I honestly thought it would take me another 5 years to finish my degree. Not anymore! After weeks of research, I found WGU... Read Full Review

I could see where some would have trouble with the WGU format. To be successful here you have to be organized, determined and persistent, as with any other school and in life. My biggest complaint of the school was with my two mentors, one quit and it took a couple of weeks for the school to assign me a new one, and the other was great until I asked him to fill out a letter of recommendation to grad school. He never did. On the positive side, I did graduate and was able to get into a "B&M" traditional grad school with my GRE scores, a resume and 3 letters of recommendation... Read Full Review

I wish I could give WGU a higher than 5 rating on value. If you are a hard worker, YOU CAN DO THIS! I have finished my BSN in 4 months of hard work, and it is well worth it! WGU recieves Pell grants, so the government approves it, and check out chea.org to see it's accreditation. Read Full Review

I think WGU provides a great experience for any student. I have attended both traditional, accelerated and online schools and WGU ranks the highest in my opinion. Yes they expect a lot from their students, but they should. Working hard only prepares you for the future and your career. I have a lot of respect for the mentors at WGU because they are very dedicated and care about the students. This is a great University! Read Full Review

Having had a lot of experience in Training & Development, I wanted to transition into instructional design. I thought my experience would translate well into this profession. I was right, and I enjoyed an accelerated program of study. This is a very big plus in my book. Another positive was having a personal mentor that guided me through the requirements, electives, etc. She called me at least once a month. She also tried to conduct a monthly meeting of students working on the same major, but this faltered due to student lack of participation. Regardless, her demonstrated interest in my progress helped enormously... Read Full Review

My educational experience with this school was excellent. I obtained my bachelors and masters degree. In my current professional position, I work close to 50 hours a week while traveling 2 weeks each month; WGU's program tailors its academic learning tools to the "on-the-go" professional. I currently am in a senior manager position where I work and I know that my WGU accolades help propel me there. As an online education becomes a more standard option, sustainable and accredited institutions such as WGU will be held in high regards... Read Full Review

The price of WGU is great -- financial aid covers 90% of the cost, but the coursework is too hard at times. They make you write long papers on pointless subjects, the study aids are all over the place, and the graders are never on the same page as far as what they are looking for. The point of doing online studies is to handle everything online, so I'm not sure why they want so many 30 page essays. If we had time to write long essays, we'd be in regular college! Plus, you have to buy books, which I find pointless. They could easily write their own WGU Course eBooks with only the info you need for the course... Read Full Review

I just finished my first 6-month term on 2/28/11. I am a returning transfer student with my A.S. in Business Management. I choose this degree program because I have been working in Healthcare for 10 years; 3 of those years in Health Informatics. Due to working full-time, with a toddler, and living in an area without access to a 4-year university, I started researching online schools to complete my Bachelor's degree. After about 6 months of research, I came across WGU... Read Full Review

As a mother to my first born, I didn't want to travel almost an hour away to finish college. We would have had many expenses (babysitter, gas, etc.). When I found this school, I was THRILLED! Now as a mother to FOUR children I am so glad to have a wonderful job as a teacher. I recently completed my Masters. With this college, you do have to be motivated. Being lazy will get you no where! I LOVE LOVE LOVE WGU!!!! Read Full Review

I don't know how many posts I've seen (here and other places on the web) that call WGU a "scam." It is NOT a scam at all, and a little solid research will establish its legitimacy beyond a reasonable doubt. For one thing, almost all "scam" schools are only nationally accredited and not regionally accredited. WGU is both. It is regionally accredited by one of the best-known accrediting agencies in the country, actually. If it was a scam, it would have been shut down long ago. Scam schools can't get regional accreditation because regional accreditors scrutinize schools WAY too closely for scam tactics to work for long... Read Full Review

WGU has provided me with a way to receive a fully accredited degree and reach a long term goal of mine, becoming a teacher. I had no problem whatsoever finding a job and receiving my teacher certification in my state after completing my Bachelors with this university. The mentors and professors are top-notch and I love the community of other students you can connect with. I am now completing my Masters in Spec Ed with the university and have been very pleased with this program also... Read Full Review

I was going to WGU but having had no math skills and decided that perhaps a brick and mortar University would better suite my needs. I withdrew from WGU only to find out that, for me, the WGU model is the best way for me to complete my educational goals. I like the pace of the 6 mth term. I enjoy being able to have the choice of what to study and when. I like being able to complete each course before moving onto another subject. Going to a regular B&M University was time consuming, a lot of driving and sitting in a classroom at night while knowing my family was at home waiting for me was stressful... Read Full Review

Well, I have now finished my first term and would like to post a review. This school is awesome! I'm so excited being a part of this University. You will learn and be challenged. You must be ready to be self motivated to get the most out of this school. I work 45hrs a week, married and have a 2 year old daughter so it's hard to find the time to study. But, this school is perfect for the busy people!! You take proctored test now from your desk while the proctor views you from the web cam. I plan to speed up my program next term and should be into my major by the following term. My goal is to graduate with my B.A... Read Full Review

I am still working towards my degree at WGU, but I do feel the need to give my review so far. First of all, iIve been to two Colleges before WGU, both being actual campus colleges. Neither of them were for me. I have a very hard time sitting in a classroom for 2-3 hours straight, listening to someone explain things to me I already know. Therefore, I either stopped going to class completely and failed, or I dropped out. I thought I was someone who just wasn't right for College, which disappointed me because you need to have at least a Bachelors Degree in today's time to get anywhere in life. I didn't know what to do anymore... Read Full Review

Western Governors University is a GREAT school!! It is relatively cheap when it comes to cost. HOWEVER, FROM MY EXPERIENCE, It is NOT FOR EVERYBODY. IT IS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SELF-MOTIVATED WITH CAN-DO ATTITUDE, DETERMINED AND FOCUSED!!! I WILL HIRE ANY GRADUATE FROM WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY IN A HEART-BEAT!!! Read Full Review

This school is overall great (so far). I am a single mom to a toddler, and work full time. I have just completed my first semester and completed 33 competency units. This school is NOT for everyone, if you don't have drive to work on your own, you will not do well. I have found my personal mentor to be awesome, she is always there when I have a question, and is willing to move my AAP up whenever it needs to be. I also have worked with a couple of course mentors, and they are always there to answer my questions... Read Full Review

I have been attending WGU for 2 and a half years. I previously attended a state college and was getting nowhere. I am almost finished with my degree at WGU and my friends at the state college are still having difficulties finishing due to budget and classroom cutbacks. When I first started they were a little disorganized and I had some issues, but they have gotten much better. They are constantly expanding and they actually survey students to see how to make things better. And for those who say that this school doesn't provide a quality education, it most definitely does... Read Full Review

I just wanted to add that I AM a teacher in Oregon and DID complete my post-bacc in elementary ed., so I believe the comment below is either false or a program not specified. The elementary program is accepted and harder than classes I took at the brick and mortar school I was in before attending. Read Full Review