Master of Business Administration

Just a warning that many of these reviews are based on the old MBA program. In 2010, WGU launched a new MBA based on simulations and group based projects. It's highly experimental and still going through revisions. Students currently complain that some of the group work requirements slow them down and there is not appropriate academic support for some of the assessments. This program has very few exams and instead relies heavily on written work judged subjectively by anonymous evaluators online.

Dear "Thomas Baze",

I think its pretty funny that you assume that because this MBA program is getting positive reviews that it is coming from "shills".  WGU is composed of many different ages and backgrounds of people.  While I cannot speak for everyone, I know there are very talented students in the program with high standards.  I have no affilliation with the university other than being a student, so I am here to correct your assumptions.

#1- "persuade clients to buy an M.B.A. no one will respect"  
While it is true that the program is not AACSB accredited, this is considered the gold standard, and only the top schools get this designation.  The MBA program IS regionally accredited, and is non profit.  I have told many corporate employers about my pursuit of an MBA at WGU and they have all given positive feedback.  The fact is that unless you go to an Ivy League school, once you get into the corporate world it makes little to no difference if you have the education. WGU is not a paper mill and you have to work hard to finish the program.

#2 "the courses do not provide a teaching environment, merely a self-learning environment, why not do your own research and save your money?"

You act as if an MBA education is as easy as searching for it on Google. WGU has a well implemented mentor system both at the overall level, as well as for each class you take.  Also, a library of thousands of books, as well as e-textbooks are provided for next to nothing.  You are provided the right materials, and the mentors make sure you stay on track.  They are there to answer any problems you may encounter. 

#3 - "I was almost fooled by the M.B.A. school. Do your research guys"

Yes you are right.  Do your research, and figure out which program is best for you as an individual.  I have done the brick and mortar Big Ten school routine for my undergrad.  People learn differently, but no one is getting "fooled" here.  If you choose WGU that is your decision.  If you find a different program that suits your style better, go for it.  Personally, I like to be able to move through the material at my own pace, rather than going at the pace of what a professor sets.

#4 - "Oh, and I can't wait until the shills post three or four 10 paragraph essays on why I am wrong. Yeah, normal people with lives do that... shills"

I am the first person who has responded to your post so far.  I am an MBA student and have no desire to promote the university.  I simply wish to educate students who are interested in the program, and explain to them my personal experience with it. Nobody is pushing anything here.  Before you write off WGU as a worthless degree (like University of Phoenix and the other for-profit online schools), I think you need to do YOUR research buddy.

I love how 90% of the reviews on here are SUPER positive and repeat the sales pitch of the school as reported on their website.

Notice the honest reviews lack proper punctuation and a paragraph structure, while the shills hired by the school are grammatically correct and implement rhetorical techniques designed to persuade clients to buy an M.B.A. no one will respect.

As for the teaching degree, it may be legitimate, I am not sure on that one.  

I wish we could read honest reviews from real people, instead of corporate shills hired to post positive reviews as a dishonest marketing campaign.

If the business school is NOT accredited by the standards that businesses judge their employees by, and , even as the shills admit, the courses do not provide a teaching environment, merely a self-learning environment, why not do your own research and save your money? 

Maybe you will have the money left over to invent your own accrediting agency that no one respects and/or knows, then give yourself a master's degree no one acknowledges.

I was almost fooled by the M.B.A. school. Do your research guys. 

Oh, and I can't wait until the shills post three or four 10 paragraph essays on why I am wrong. Yeah, normal people with lives do that... shills. 

I have read your experience and comments on WGU word by word and, I appreciate for posting out here. you've answered my questions.

Don't plan on attending Western Governors University if:
•	You are not prepared to work,
•	You are not self motivated, and
•	Need face to face contact to learn.
I just completed my MBA and even with thirty years of business management experience I found the curriculum to be challenging.  My undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering and the WGU MBA was a challenge.  WGU provides great support with their mentoring program and I never asked a question that was not answered or took over 24 hrs. to receive a response.  I just wish they offered Phd’s.

I have attended a few schools, including WGU. I have stuck with WGU for several years because, although challenged, I am learning a lot. Getting a degree at WGU requires that you actually demonstrate competence in the subject matter for each course.  

It is humorous to see the remarks from people whom cannot handle the demands of college. They dropout and then blame the school. For example, University of Phoenix accepts anyone and even though they are a good school for those whom apply themselves, the dropout rate is high and these life-failures blame the school.

WGU does not accept everyone but their admissions is liberal enough that some people do start degree programs they have no capability to finish. This in itself does not reflect poorly on the individual but blaming the institution does. Kudos to all of you whom do complete your degrees!

I am currently looking to get an MS in Health Admin.  I have a BS, but not in Business.  With no business background, do you find it wise to go to WGU??  Would I be completely lost??

nuhw4w4itollw][

Hello All,
I am half way through my MBA program in 5 months.  I do have an undergraduate degree in business.  It doesn't make the MBA any easier.  I have studied extremely hard.  They say 20 hours a week.  I am doing 8-12 hours a day.  That is why I can do so many classes in 5 months.  I am no genius.  

Before going back to school, I have done extensive research.  Other schools want $630 per credit hour.  That is $30,000+ for a Master Degree.  Since WGU is nonprofit, they don't charge that. This is also not a diploma mill.  You will need to work really hard.

Now for the program, I find it quite challenging.  You have to love to READ and STUDY on your own.  If you need hand holding, then this is not the University for you.  You have to do your own research.  GOOGLE is my best tutor.  In the real world, no one is going to hold your hand. So far I manage to pass all of the exams on the first try.  The papers are really interesting to test your knowledge.  I have not written papers in over 25 years, but manage to get 3.3-4.0 on my cases. 

There are "course mentors and personal mentors."  They are not there to babysit you.  The average MBA student age is 40 years old. Needless to say, MBA students are not high schoolers.  You need to be able to manage your own time and set goals. This is no different than real life. You get what you put into it.   
 
If I can finish by December 2010, then I may take 4 more classes and get an MBA for IT in addition to my MBA in Healthcare.  

If this is a "fake" school, then they would not be expanding with the help of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  

I am not working for WGU.  I just want to share my experience.  I have a background in Consulting and Sales.  I learned to be resourceful while working in these fields.  

Good Luck to all...Let me get back to my studying...
Current MBA Student

I've been quite pleased with my experience as a graduate student at WGU. Like most students who appear to be the right fit for the school, I am a full-time working mom who has the experience and depth of knowledge at the mater's level, but without the extra time to devote to commuting to a university to sit through classes I could probably teach myself with some level of confidence (Of course, I'm oversimplifying to make my point).

WGU mentors and course faculty offer encouragement and resources as needed, but they are not -- and do not claim to be -- teachers. While "teaching" in the traditional sense of the word does not happen like a high school math class, certainly a lot of "learning" by way of guiding and assisting does happen. And like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it. In other words, if you are struggling in a particular subject area, I can guarantee that you'll get the live assistance you need via chat, email, telephone conversation, etc., if you plan ahead and schedule it.

Again, let me emphasize that "learning" is the objective, measured by exams and papers and the like, and that happens quite successfully at WGU... Assuming that you're not hung up on the process of "teaching" in order to reach the goal of "learning." I mention this because in those  pile-it-on brick & mortar classes, you'll still only retain a small fraction of everything thrown at you, so I personally do not see an advantage to upholding "rigor" to the point that we lose sight of the practical objective of an adult postsecondary student: to be recognized for what we do know and be empowered to learn the rest in the manner that works best for us uniquely and individually.

WGU students work independently, but never alone. I thrive as a WGU student most likely because I do greatly prefer to work at my own pace and at my own discretion. Case in point: Last summer, I breezed through a couple leadership courses, largely because I taught leadership training for my corporation as a training manager; however, this winter, I took an extended period of time to work through my accounting and finance course because I wanted to genuinely master the content "this time" since I pushed through it as an undergrad to keep up with the class at my brick & mortar college.

In summary, WGU is great for experienced adult learners who already have a background and a frame of reference in a particular area from which to draw. I absolutely do not, however, recommend WGU to those who do not have sufficient experience or knowledge in their field to serve as a reference point during the learning process. It's all about the outcomes, not the process, at WGU.

I hope this helps!

May 1st, 2009, I started with 27 courses at WGU (BS in IT), plus 7 courses transferred. Now, a year later, I have only 5 courses left. As several former and current students stated, this is not a college where someone teaches you. You are expected to do the hard work. Course mentors are availble online for most of the day and if not, expect an email within a day or two. I have never had any problems with any of the courses. Although I had to take TOEFL, majority of the courses are exceptionally well explained and they are even getting better. At the beggining, as an IT person, I was having problems with writing a lot of essays, but as the time progressed, I realized that this is the correct way. For example, I was cursing and yelling when I had to write essays 10-15 pages long about reasoning and critical thinking, but once you realize that this has to be done, silently you'll start working and within 15-30 days you'll realize that it's not that hard. It just requires devotion and study. Course materials, as someone mentioned earlier are also available for a fraction of a price if you browse amazon or ebay. Let's say that some brand new books cost about $100, but you can find them (same edition, acceptable and readable) for $20-$30. Also, someone mentioned that performance assessments take way too long to be graded. This is not the case anymore. While I have to wait for maximum of 3 days for an essay to be graded in my first term, my last essay (today) was graded in less than TWO HOURS.
Saying all of that, I highly recommend WGU. Once I am finished with my 5 courses left (probably within two months), I will definitely apply for the MBA program.

Sue, don't worry too much about the time crunch.  If you got your assignments in on time, the school will usually extend your semester to get them cleared up, especially if academic progress(for financial aid) is an issue.  They did for me.  WGU MBA 09

This is my second term.  I would reccomend anyone starting out at WGU, to NOT start when your 6 month term is up in December. They seem to not have many graders working around the holidays. So, just because I have all my tasks/assignments turned in, they have not been graded. With 4 days before Jan. 1st, they have not been looked at still. I do not feel that it is fair that mentors are no longer able to expidite any assignments for those who have a term ending in a time crunch.

What WGU is and what it isn't.

It is regionally accredited and insofar as its undergraduate programs go, this is all that's needed to establish transfer and admissions credibility for that grad program if you're so inclined.  

Once you get into graduate programs (Masters level) you really need to make sure that your institution of choice has a secondary accreditation that's usually governed by a different body of scholarship from the regional boards (at least for any field of reasonable age.)  Business is AACSB.  Teaching is NCATE, IT does not have one that's uniformly recognized but IEEE is slowly getting there.

This secondary accreditation is important because most states require AACSB schools in order to sit a CPA exam or broker's exam etc.  NCATE accreditation is really important for teaching careers.

So if you're a teaching candidate, run, don't walk to WGU. If you're a business candidate at the Masters level and have any dreams of research academia, credible doctoral work, CPA, whatever.. run away until WGU gets the AACSB down pat.

It's worth it to note that their CMBA designation was put in place directly in response to the decision to not pursue AACSB accreditation.  WGU owns the rights to the CMBA.  A bit shady.

But that stated, I do carry an undergrad from WGU in IT.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and got an education that filled in a lot of gaps in my overall skill base.  I'm not in any way bitter, and still keep in touch with my mentor.  It was challenging and I believe harder than work taken during my undergrad history program at another brick and mortar school.

To each their own.. just make the best decision for you and don't do a MBA with caveats.  If you're going to do the work, make sure you get a degree that gives you access to all of the career options the degree should.  If WGU got their act together, I'd transfer back.

Thanks,
Alan

If you are looking to get a professional job then you should choose a college that is AACSB certified. You won't find out about the importance of the gold standard accreditation until you go to register to take the state accountant exams and they reject your degree.

Hello,
YOU NEED AN MBA OR MS TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN LIFE.

I'm a current MBA/IT student.  Specifically, I need a school that is regionally accredited.  National accreditation offers no benefit in my opinion.  I chose WGU as I don't have the time to sit in class after 11 hour work days but I need a graduate degree in less than 18 months.

PROS:
I am assigned a mentor to guide me.  We must talk every week to be sure I am on track.
Ever class has a blog/chat/talk mentor to help you with the course if need be.  For example, I was stuck on an essay so I checked the blog.  Wow, the exact answer I needed was there.  This is not strange, as I feel the course content is fairly well thought out.
I can learn alone or get on calls/ chats with classmates that might be in the same course by chance.

CONS:
Requires discipline as no one teaches you. 
You have to be a professional so you can teach yourself. 
When each course is started, I have to hassle to go to three different areas to pull together the course content in to one binder.

I would select WGU again.  The classes are setup so you can take two at a time.  Currently, I am taking the IT Mgt courses.  These two course have three essays based on a 15 page Frito Lay case study.  The other ITM course is a proctored test.  

The cost is VERY inexpensive.  I pay about $3k with tuition and books you can buy on the open internet every six months.

One final thought is: it is not possible to fail a course as the mentors work to help you get resources so you can pass the courses.  I already failed one essay.  The essay grader gave me feedback and I passed with the revised submission.  

Need more insight?  See me on linked in.

In response to Ken, here is WGU's accrediting body: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. I am not aware of any other required business school accreditation. Please advise.

I'm considering WGU for my MBA or MBA-IT. Thanks for the mixed reviews :)  

I completed my BS from Excelsior (formerly Regent's) of New York--one of the oldest distance programs in the country. The nice thing about this institution was the ability to go out to a brick & mortar school and "grab a class" if the topic was one too difficult or foreign for solo study. 

I'm a little ocncerned and have also noticed that WGU doesn't have any business school accreditation. Education program yes! Business program no. 

Any feedback from the program is welcomed kengeeoh@yahoo.com

WGU is an excellent school that has developed a model that should be adopted much more widely. It ensures a top-notch education because you MUST demonstrate competence to graduate not just attend lectures. You can rest assured that any negative reviews are from students who need sunstantial hand-holding to learn. Any true independent learner will love this school. Regarding credibility, WGU is the ONLY university to be accredited by MULTIPLE regional accrediting boards. They are also innovators. For example, to ensure the quality of the MBA education, students are REQUIRED to pass the Certified MBA exam to graduate. Other so-called "first-tier" schools rely on their names but WGU proves the quality of every graduate in an objective manner. There is no better MBA program for experienced professionals and as a non-profit it is a great education that is also affordable. That being said, if you need to be spoon-fed information you will want to look elsewhere. This program is for responsible adults who know how to learn.

I am a graduate of Rutgers University and currently enrolled in the MBA program at WGU. I can say without a doubt that WGU is definitely as challenging if not more challenging than Rutgers. I have had to study more hours per week than I ever put in at Rutgers. The bottom line is in order to graduate from this program, you need to pass the CMBA which is a monster of an exam. If anyone thinks that this program is a degree mill I suggest you look at the CMBA website and decide for yourself if the 6 hour 3 part exam is easy! Contrary I believe that if you don't have an undergraduate degree yet and you are considering getting one from WGU you should probably think about going to a traditional brick and mortar school to develop dedication and commitment. Most of undergraduate work is busy work, and it teaches you to be organized and forces you to not be lazy and go to class which carries over to life. I compared the MBA curriculum to that of Rutgers Business School and other major universities and they are essentially the same the only difference is WGU is mostly pass fail, if you don't know the material you will not do well at all!! The traditional MBA programs work mostly off of group work and project work which is thankfully missing from WGU. That being said I think WGU's MBA is a great program for working parents that do not have the time to waste by sitting in a class for 15 week semesters.

First, I would not give much credit to public message boards where anyone can post anything whether they went to the school or not. I am a student at WGU and must say it is absolutely perfect for me. The books are not that expensive, especially if you shop for bargains and buy used. No matter what school you go to, you will have to buy books, right? My mentor has her degree and most of the community leaders teaching my discipline are PHDs. My suggestion to anyone thinking about attending WGU is to do your research and consider whether or not online education is for you. Then you should check out the WGU Student Hall and see what real students are saying. Yes, WGU has had its growing pains, but with over 10,000 students worldwide you can see why. Lastly, WGU is NON-PROFIT and has the best fee I have been able to find anywhere. They are in it for the education, not the money!

I hope WGU would review these complaints and reshuffle its policies to better serve future students. Some of these complaints are too grievous.

I'm sorry to hear of Jane's experience.  I have recently completed the MBA program at WGU, and I had a positive experience.  My undergraduate and prior work experience were also in business disciplines.  Because of that competency, I was able to complete the program without sitting through lectures of content I already knew, reading chapters from texts that I already had a grasp on, etc.  

The most important point for any reader of these comments to take away is that DISTANCE learning is precisely what it sounds like.  It is NOT the traditional educational environment students like Jane are used to.  It is designed for students who are comfortable with their subject matter who wish to translate their competency into a degree and to do so in as little time as possible.  If they do not have that knowledge, they are presented with a number of learning resources to utilize to GAIN that knowledge.  It is not a spoon-fed, do-this-assignment, now-do-that-assignment, now-take-this-test type of program.  WGU is clear about that to students upon application.  

There is an unfortunate stigma that because it is an "online school" it must be "easy."  Not the case!  In fact, I would argue to the contrary and perhaps second Jane's advice to steer clear IF you are looking for an easy degree.  If you like time and location freedom and flexibility, affordability, and you want to put your best foot forward and complete your degree from an accredited institution without the need of someone to hold your hand through the process, then WGU may be for you!

WGU is HORRIBLE.  I wish I had NEVER started.  From day one, they were more concerned with making money than teaching.  They told me to buy over $1,000 worth of books and other "cases".  Once they saw that I was completing courses faster than they expected, they procrastinated in giving me assessment scores, which procrastinated my completion dates.  They lied about what assignments were due and when.  Then, they changed their minds about what needed to be done in order to fulfill course requirements.  The "Capstone", which is similar to the thesis, has been changed 3 times in 6 months.  Worst of all, THEY DO NOT TEACH.  They tell you buy book after book, to go to website after website, but NEVER TEACH YOU.  In fact, when you ask for help from their "community leaders", they only send you to MORE websites and tell you to buy MORE books.  Most mentors and community leaders don't have the degree themselves, so they avoid teaching anyone, because they don't know anything!  They give national tests for material they can't teach or know themselves.  They are sneaky, greedy, and unethical.  Like I said, this university is more concerned with money than education.  DO NOT ATTEND.