Western Governors University - M.A. in Mathematics Education (K-6, 5-9, or 5-12)

WGU ok so far

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on December 21, 2007

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This is my first term at WGU. I went to a state school for my undergrad degree and I have to say that there will always be minor (occasionally major) complaints at any university but overall I’m pleased with my experience at WGU. I think it is what it advertises to be: online, affordable, accredited, and accelerated. 
	I have been able to accelerate my progress but it means putting in extra time. During your first month you talk with your mentor and select which assessments you will be taking that term and set dates when you will complete each assessment- if you don't meet your goal, it counts as your first "failed attempt" but you can still pass it before the term is over and it will be a "pass" on your transcript. Your tuition covers the first few attempts, so that is why not taking an assessment on time is a big deal- it counts as one of your "free" attempts even if you do not take the test. A term is 6 months long, but you can't sign up for assessments that involve writing papers later than the 5th month there is also a limit on how late you can take an objective exam. Their rationale behind this is you may have to make revisions/wait for work to be graded. Their graders do take a while- it took about an average of a week on each of my assignments to get graded the first time, and then if you have any revisions, there's another week you have to wait. They do let you have access to "learning resources" and the course of study (syllabus) the last 2 months of the term so you could always start other work. I think the quality of education I'm receiving is comparable to my undergrad degree in science education I received at a state school. My mentor does call me every week or so and that makes me feel more connected. The competency based approach is a good idea. It seems like some people have the idea that you could just test, test, test, and then be handed a diploma without "doing anything." What I have found is that my program does have some "objective exams" and if I had come to the program having already majored in math education perhaps I could test out of some/most of them. But over half of my "assessments" are assignments or papers. Even if a person came with all of the knowledge for the degree, the person would still end up writing hundreds of pages of work, plus complete a research project. You don't have to take classes over what you already know, but WGU does require quite a bit of work- someone could not take tests for a week straight and walk away with a degree. The biggest complaint I have so far is that my mentor is very nice but never, ever knows the answers to my questions and they signed me up for the "wrong" assessments this term and then wouldn't change them when I pointed that out. But I worked through it and it's fine now. I do think they require depth of knowledge in the MA in math ed degree and that it's a good value for the money. I'm glad they provide an accredited way for me to get my degree online at my own pace.