Western Governors University

I'm very please with my experience with WGU. Like other reviewers said, my mentor is only, "meh" but I don't really need one. With hard work I managed to complete 34 credit hours in one term. I do think this school is easier for those who finished their first two years of college at a Community college as it better prepares you for writing college level papers. The competency based model requires you to actually learn the material, and as a result I feel like I learned a lot more at WGU than other conventional colleges.

I'll keep this simple: I completed the equivalent of 21 semseter hours in 6 months. I was a highly motivated learner, invested the necessary time and according to the school, I did well. But college is about more than just demonstrating "competency." It's about working with others, learning together and networking with fellow professionals. This school offers essentially zero support on the academic side, not even from a basic Teaching Assistant, and no opportunities to work together with fellow students. We spent lots of time introducing each other and then interaction was essentially banned because WGU is convinced that interaction = plagiarism. Really really bad. So on paper, I was highly successful there, but my satisfaction was somewhere between 0 and 1 on a scale of 10. Don't believe the hype.

I'm surprised by all the negative reviews, myself. I've not had an issue with Taskstream... they send things back within a few days, including on weekends. My mentor is sort of... *meh*... but I don't really need a cheerleader. Some of the lecture material is better than others (I'm a fan of thinkwell, myself)... but as far as a good use of my time, this is excellent. I'm not sitting in a class while other students ask inane questions, I'm studying and learning on my own at my own pace. I know that my state accepts WGU degrees for teaching, and I know that the local middle school accepts student teachers from WGU. The tasks are not easy (and not what I would call 'busy work'... you ARE supposed to demonstrate that you know the material, after all). I have previously attended the University of Texas and many of the classes I've had at WGU have been at least as challenging as those at UT, if not more. In addition, they accepted most of my previous college work, allowing me to skip all but a few pre-reqs. I would and do recommend this school to anyone who asks. :)

I would recomend this University only to self motivated learners. You will not get much help from the "teachers" and you will write and write and write one paper after another. However, it is duable if you have the time to study and are dedicated. I was told that my degree will take me 2 years, and now am going on year 3, taking over 14 semester hours each time. Did not like my first mentor, however, was assigned new one and she is wonderful!