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Earning my degree was challenging! But worth it! And I was able to achieve this goal with the help of Western Governors University. Seriously! The support and communication that I had with my student mentor was outstanding. She was my cheerleader. As a matter of fact, I just received a card from her in the mail; checking in with me to see how I'm doing....and I graduated two months ago. I did not have this kind of support at the last university I attended. I also had a great experience working with... Read More the finance department, tech support, and course instructors. I always got a quick response when I was in crisis and needed help. Trust me, when your computer is having technical issues; or you are stuck on a Statistics equation; you are in a crisis. Most importantly, I had all of the resources available to help me be a successful student.

I am so appreciative of WGU I have been through so much in life and no matter what my mentor was there for me, the school really has helped me through all my trails and tribulations and I am a true believer that with people that are there to help in school you will succeed , there were times where I wanted to give up but I stat strong with the help of WGU and their entire staff , they are truly a blessing to me because they offer so many tools to help you get closer to your dreams and its up to you... Read More as a individual to put forth an effort to work hard study and use what they give you and believe me you will pass you will get through it and they will always try their best to accommodate you in anything you need , from counseling, to job seeking to guidance and I have come so far with them. I learn I am a online school student. Put the work in and you will get out what you need. WGU is a awesome school and the care whether to do well.

WGU Indiana has thought of the whole picture for working adults. Books, links, libraries, etc are all at your finger tips. No hidden costs. Student mentor for you through the whole program. Course Mentor for each course. 24/7 Tech support and many more venues for every student. Career center and resume assistance for those near graduation. Very personable. You are definitely not a student number you are recognized as a student, by your Name! I completed 2 degrees with WGU Indiana (BSN and MSN)! I... Read More would love to work for them someday!

I was very skeptical of attending an online university. However, logistically it just made sense for me. The mentors at the school were wonderful in helping me when I was stuck, and great at motivating me to push on. One thing that I liked about WGU's teacher prep program was that it gave me a ton of preparation, and the requirements were higher than I expected. Even the teachers hosting me through my practicum and student teaching were shocked at how much I had to do to prepare to be a teacher.... Read More I received a job immediately after graduation and I felt extremely prepared to teach. Also, the tuition costs at WGU can't be beat.

I love this school! It is perfect for highly motivated, independent learners. You are able to go as quickly or as slowly as you like. The value cannot be beaten. The annual tuition has not increased in YEARS. The flat fee is great as a motivator to learn as much as possible in as little time as possible because students are charged per term, not per credit or per course. I liked the challenge of pushing myself to see how many classes I could complete within a 6 month term. I am also proud of the... Read More quality of the courses. The text books and expected learning outcomes are the same as those of any brick-and-mortar state college/university. The learning resources are abundant and there is always someone to ask for help if you get stuck. Academic integrity is taken very seriously at WGU. Exams are proctored via live webcam and they WILL stop your exam if they even think they see something suspicious. I can't say enough great things about WGU. I am a cheerleader for them for life because they have made such a huge difference in my life.

As a student who is just about to pass from Western Governor's, I feel obligated to let any prospective students what to expect from a Western Governor's degree program in IT - Network Design and Management. The idea of the college is great, it is a performance based program that tests you on your competencies. For someone who has been in IT Networking/Architecture for 19 years, this is a perfect situation. In general the program has it's pros/cons like any other school, however, the Microsoft aspect... Read More of this program is a different story. When initially registered, the Microsoft tests were proctored through Microsoft's certification program. This is a problem, because if you read the requirements of each test is requires a few years experience and hands-on experience. Not something that should be a college level test. WGU acknowledged the issue and brought the exams in house. The problem is that the tests are more difficult! I score higher with the Microsoft version of the exam than I do with WGU's internal test which seems to have quite a few technical errors. To compound the issue, as I mentioned I am a Network Architect with engineering background, but Microsoft is not networking but a systems technology. (For anyone disagreeing on this point, just ask yourself: Can a network exist without a router or a switch? How about a windows server, can it do switching and routing? (and please do not try the RIP approach, it is deprecated)) I have studied for each test for at least 250 hours per exam and still am hobbling through the tests. On the whole, if anyone is considering this degree program, consider whether or not you have Microsoft mastery. If the answer is, "no", then try some other school. If the answer is yes, than this may be a good fit. Just also be aware that the goal of WGU is to save the student on hours in the classroom, but the student makes up for it in homework and studying. There are not many "cake walk" classes in this program, and work at your own pace may mean spending 4-5 months on the same course (the 6 credit courses are brutal)

Completed MSN-Leadership and Management program while working as a full-time Director of a MST dept. in a year span. Don't let the time frame fool you as this program was demanding and challenging. The reason I was interested in completing my MSN program through WGU was the fact that you can accelerate through the program and the financial aspect was manageable without taking loans. Although I serve as a Director in a hospital as previously mentioned, I learned a great deal through this program.... Read More I highly recommend this University and I plan on taking the path for the MBA-Healthcare Management after I take a couple of months break to rest as I was very dedicated over the past year completing my MSN.

Exceptional value. Appreicate that work and life experience counted for admission, rather than GREs. Student and Course Mentors are critical to success in returning to school. Competency based education is meaningful for immediate application to current and future work. For more 'mature' students, the myriad of technology required for an online program is a challenge and education in itself. Self-discipline, time management, and working independently are essential skills for success in this program.... Read More

It is simple if you are a procrastinator or have had problems with online classes, this school is not for you. I am somewhat of a procrastinator and that made it harder than it should have been. My mentor is AMAZING! If you can I would request John Shumway. I have seen some reviews that call your mentor a cheerleader and I would say they are that and many more things. I have someone to answer to, which helps me stay on track. He is always positive, helpful and honest. This was perfect for me and... Read More if I could do it over again, I would definitely want John as my mentor and finishing faster. Course mentors will help you with your issues as long as you can explain in detail what your are having a hard time. You also need to keep up on announcements.

My experience at Western Governor's was very positive. An on-line degree program is not for everyone. But, for myself, I was already working in the IT industry and am an adult learner. The information and experience I gained from my courses and capstone project had a direct impact on my real world work projects. My mentor was instrumental in keeping me on track and graduating on time. Without his help I may not have ever graduated. I graduated a month late. I already had an associates agree at a... Read More community college. My degree has helped my career and is worth every bit of effort I put in to it.

Having attended both traditional brick and mortar college to obtain my AS and now WGU for my BS I can say WGU does a great job of preparing students for the real world. At work I do not have the option to have someone walk me through problem solving. When I have a project or issue I have to find the answer quickly and put the information together in a package that will be easily understood and accepted. The is classes at WGU prepare students for this type of work. No one is going to hold your hand... Read More and tell you how it should be. The information is presented to you and it is up to you to decipher and interpret it. My degree has filled in the gaps of my experience and education and made me a much more rounded individual. I use some of my new skills on a daily basis. I highly recommend WGU to anyone who is motivated and disciplined.

After finishing my degree program in March of this year, and waiting to write a review of WGU after a few months, I can honestly give the closest to an objective review of my experience here I can. I found the almost the entire program to an experience that was frustrating and torturous! This university's program is basically for people who are working or, perhaps, not really ready for the full university experience. I'm a reasonably intelligent person and found this education with "training wheels"... Read More limited and stultifying. While in community college, I discovered that I had a knack for writing. Almost every paper I received after grading were marked with comments of: "well written", "good research", and "interesting perspective." I love writing so much that I even took three journalism classes and wrote for the school paper. That love of writing was nearly ruined by WGU and the inane writing style you must adopt to pass papers and classes. This is done because all papers are graded by a third party and not by any kind of instructor. The people who grade your paper are looking for key words and phrases and not the serious content of your paper. I found out that I had to devolve my writing style to the ninth grade high school level and fill my papers with bulleted points and simple sentences made to be scanned easily by some disinterested person sitting six states away from me. I call this "assembly line" writing and it very nearly bored me to tears. And then there's the reading, there is so much duplication, I wonder if the people who decide what you read has actually read what they want you to read. For more than one class I had to read as much as twenty chapters from two books to prepare for a test. I have no problem with reading, but when there are five overlapping chapters between the two books. I certainly would have gotten through the reading quicker if I were not reading several duplicated chapters of information presented slightly differently. Lastly, the people in the Financial Aid office are only slightly nicer SEPTA train conductor or the Einsatzgruppen!

I just wanted to say that WGU has been a great experience for me. It has offered me a graduate program that is affordable and credited.I could never afford to get my MSN any other way, the cost will be twice as much at least. Yes, WGU is a lot of work. Yes, you will work on your own, but you have mentors and Capstone Evaluators who work with you and guide you along the way. You get exactly what you put into it. The program is very doable. It has helped me developed the ability to work independently.... Read More Yes, you will do a lot of writing, but if you follow the rubric for each course, you will succeed. I have finished my MSN in 13 months. I highly recommend WGU to everyone.

Currently I am in the BSN program and it's a total waste of time and money. The "course mentors" (teachers/instructors) are usually 20-30 something years old and have spent the majority of their short lives in degree programs with little to no work experience to have as a reference point. So far, it has been a disappointing experience dealing with a bunch of kids calling themselves "course mentors" that are masquerading as experienced RN's. I think I was expecting something much more out of this... Read More program than what was delivered. But since I'm already thousands of dollars in to this and no where else to go, I basically just need to hold my nose and finish this "program". The bigger issue is there is a real danger in the sense that most facilities are now buying in to the "requiring BSN's" nonsense. The danger is evident when these newly minted 20 something year old RN's with a "Masters" degree in nursing starts taking care of critical patients. I have witnessed more than one bad outcome from these young kids. The old proverb, knowledge does not equate to experience...........that applies here. It truly frightens me to know that this is the trend education is going. To have a bunch of kids teaching and they don't even have grey hair yet was laughable when I was in my 20's. When I was in my 20's and 30's you were selected by people who had a masters degree because they had truly mastered the field. When you received your masters degree it meant something to you because you had been recognized by other well respected people in the field as having matured and grown as an apprentice to have a skill set that was unique to a select few. With that skill set came a huge responsibility to your field and to the next generation. These young people have no idea of the impact this is having on the future of education and the next generation to come. When I see a these young people walking around hospitals with MSN on their name badge all I can do is shake my head and think of how cheap that word actually has become. With a computer, a pair of pajamas and money you to can become a "Master"