Western Governors University

WGU is the third college/ university that I have attended. First was a college with a scholarship that was to expensive, the second was a community college and now WGU. I can say that I have had less issue with the staff here at WGU than at my community college. The courses were challenging but not impossible. I often used outside resources, but I did this at all schools I attended. It helped me gain a better grasp on the subjects and helped me pass my classes faster. WGU is a competency based model. This means that you don't have deadlines, don't have busy work that is graded, but you do need to learn the material and prove your knowledge with an exam or performance assessment. This is great for students who hate sitting in classes and feel like the semester is a waste of time when it is being spoon fed to the rest of the students. As such, you have to be on top of your game. YOU have to make sure to set deadlines for yourself and do the work. You will speak with a mentor weekly who will check on your progress, but they don't grade you. This university is for adults who don't want their course materials spoon fed to them. There were classes with better course instructors than others, but I found this to be the case at brick and mortar schools too. Some professors just don't want to work well with students. At least here they don't get to hold your GPA hostage. I left with a 3.0 GPA which was good enough to get me into all the graduate schools I applied to. One even gave me a 5,000 scholarship. I realized though after taking a single class session, I can't go back to normal semester schedules so I am back at WGU for both of my planned Master's degrees. Or at least for one, I deferred at the school with the scholarship, so we will see what happens. Pros: -affordable - regionally accredited - online - CAHIIM accredited - there is help but you have to reach out yourself (writing center, math center, tutors, etc.) - HIM program director is awesome and she runs great RHIA reviews - flat rate tuition, and take as many credits in six months, they also didn't charge me for my transferred credits, which was nice - can take breaks if needed and not miss out on credit for work ( there is no homework!) Cons: - some course instructors seem uninterested - some courses have typos (though this is something I have found in textbooks and courses at all my schools) - uneven performance grading (again though, this happens everywhere, like people wanting the "easy" professors - terrible intake process. I hated admissions. Once i was accepted, I had no other issues, but man admissions sucks. Don't expect this to be easy. No college or uni should be, but if you work and can prove your competence your classes, you can save money and time. They will not baby sit you. They will not hand you the answers, but you can always find help. Also if your credits didn't transfer, don't despair. If you still remember the material, you can quickly get through the class once it is part of your degree. I finished Principles of Management before my course instructor was able to send me a welcome email. (I have been a manager for 6 years).