Western Governors University Reviews of Bachelor's in Accounting

"If you are just trying to check a box for education, WGU is probably a great choice. I felt that the instructors were pretty much doing this as their side gig and also did not find them very helpful when I had questions. They just seemed like maybe I was taking too much of their energy with an occasional question or need. It always cracked me up how they would not help me, but would tell me that if I needed anything else to be sure and contact them. Overall, pretty lame. The last straw was just the horrible customer service that I have seen there over the last year or so. Taking tests was difficult for me because I could never understand the proctors...they were from India and their accents overrode their understandability. Sure, the tuition is cheap and the books are 140 a term which is a bargain. In this case, you do really get what you pay for, though. WGU will always say they want your opinion, but they really don't care about it. I would fill out their questionnaires with the lowest possible scores and would never hear back for any further input. I just did not feel heard at WGU and did not feel that anyone really went out of their way to really listen to constructive criticism. I probably could have just ignored all of that, but it interfered with the whole student experience and kind of ruined it for me. Hopefully this helps in some way. Again, if you can just ignore all of the horrible customer service and having to explain/do things many times to get something done and just need a box checked for your education, WGU is probably a good cheap and quick alternative! Definitely not for me! Also, important to note...my last University and Community College experiences over the years were excellent, so not really a chronic complainer. Their bar was just much higher than this institution's bar was. Again, hope this helps!"

"First off, let me state that in my opinion, most of the people who complain about this school are unable to make it all the way to graduation and then give WGU a fair review. Again, in my opinion, these complainers came to the school expecting a pay-for-degree hand-holding online business transaction. Newsflash: WGU IS A REAL UNIVERSITY, and will put you through the wringer to really make you earn your degree. This is exactly the way I want it, because rough programs like WGU's demand respect. Granted the first term or two may seem easy enough, but courses soon increase in difficulty by orders of magnitude. At this point, the stakes are high because you've already invested so much in your introductory terms. The school does not accept just any random applicant. You must meet their admissions criteria first, which often means having an AA - or at least some college credit - or, failing that, several years of real work experience under your belt. Good. The WGU Business degrees are ACBSP accredited, the course of study is rigorous, and the core exams that comprise the degree can be more difficult than at a traditional college (I've graduated from both). The mentors are helpful, and most of the course instructors I worked with were quick to respond, in addition to being extremely knowledgeable CPAs and doctorate-holders. Of course there are a few course instructors who should not be there, but you can say that about any school. *****HOWEVER*****, recently WGU has decided to "lighten up" its accounting program. The Bachelor of Science in Accounting no longer exists for new students, and in its place is the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - Accounting. I have no idea why the school would choose to water down such a rigorous degree, but the two are NOT the same. The new "Accounting" degree does not contain some of the difficult and important classes needed to be a "complete" accountant. One class, particularly known for being a killer, has been eliminated from the new degree. In my opinion, WGU took a step backwards and hurt its reputation a bit by doing this. Keeping a full BSAcc degree would continue to propel them down the path to becoming an even better school. -BS, Accounting graduate (I completed the real BSAcc degree, not the BSBA replacement)"

"Words that are thrown around regarding success at WGU: motivated, self-starter, independent learner, competency. These are pretty indicative of what people need to convince themselves about themselves to succeed as they go through a course of study at this school. It’s also what you are told in advance before you start. It’s bootstrap baloney or kool-aid, but if it works for you, I think that’s great. You’ll maybe, possibly do very well, but please let’s not imply that people who cut their losses and go to a school with actual educators or just suffer disappointment with this one don’t have those qualities too. They just need the music that goes with the lyrics. If, like me, you are realistic (on top of hard working and independent and motivated), it will be difficult not to wonder when all those fine qualities you have aren’t cutting through the misery of the WGU experience, why that might be? WGU is contradictory on so many levels. First, you can earn a teaching degree here, but they have no teachers, no solid structure for lessons, novice-level PowerPoint lectures...ahem, “cohorts”, with terrible audio and perpetual chat, inconsistent study guides, poorly written self published texts and outdated professionally written learning material, and lots of referrals to look elsewhere to other poorly created learning materials. After wading through shoddy lessons that need editing, reorganization and correction, I have often found myself wondering why the course mentors are not actually working in their experience professions. My program mentor isn’t even familiar with business, let alone accounting. She’s really good at pressure to meet her goals, and alternating pep talks with negativity. I utter under my breath regularly, “I can’t believe I’m paying for this” and something I never considered might happen while attending college, “I think I’m getting dumber.” Second, competency-based learning is anything but. Competency requires the ability to apply in real life (hands-on experience or skills), rather than the ability to learn the tricks to study to a multiple choice test every 6 weeks or include the elements needed in a paper to be graded by and satisfy a bot. I passed an written assessment where my bot missed an entire section that I completed and scored incompetent, to which my program mentor told me, “Move on. You passed, that’s all that matters.” For a detail oriented person pursuing accounting, that’s alarming. The system grading your competency isn’t even competent, and nobody cares as long as you pass. So, while that phrase sounds appealing, and I agree that we need competent people in today’s workforce, it’s just one of those words thrown around by WGU without taking its definition into consideration. Finally, something visible in reviews and on various online message boards is what should be painfully obvious, WGU is a good way for people who are ALREADY working in their degree’s industry to acquire a piece of paper to show for it. In that instance, WGU is great. Seriously. We need to tip the equality scales somehow. However, I personally would NOT trust or hire a person with no experience who fast tracked their way through a degree here to handle my physical health, my children’s education, my money, or my internet technology. After laboring through self taught studies that mostly take place outside of the subpar learning resources, the best I have to show for it (even when supposedly “exemplary” and competent) is a 3.0 degree, which is also the score I would give WGU. For the record, my 3.0 doesn’t equal competent, it equals meh."

"The comments in here about the lack of support for their Accounting program is absolutely TRUE! When I signed up for this school over 2 years ago, I was told there were excellent on-line texts and supporting resources, including live and recorded cohorts for all classes. It is NOT true. Most of the Accounting program classes have zero cohorts to one or two outdated recordings with outdated info. The "course instructors" or "mentors" or whatever they call them this month can't even do the problems in the less than 2.5 minutes given in the assessment. So pretty much, support stinks and you will be teaching yourself all this stuff. It is very frustrating. I would never, ever, ever do this again. I am down to my final 2 classes and you cannot believe the struggles. Yeah, some people can pass these courses, but you will find that most of them either have a ton of experience and know Accounting fairly well or they are just excellent test takers. I am neither. I have another month to finish one (Cost & Managerial Accounting C250) before I have to pay for another term to complete my final class (Accounting Capstone). I know a few others in the same boat and what most of us are doing is hanging in there to see if we can get through the last one or two courses and if not - we're out of here and going elsewhere. REALLY BE CAREFUL!"

"I encourage anyone with even a passing curiosity to learn the history of this non-profit university founded by state governors. The WGU Business degrees are ACBSP accredited, the course of study is rigorous, and the core exams that comprise the degree can be more difficult than at a traditional college. The mentors are helpful, and most of the course instructors are quick to help and extremely knowledgeable. Of course there are a few who should not be there, but you can say that about any school. In my opinion, most of the people who complain about this school are unable to make it all the way to graduation and then give WGU a fair review. -BS, Accounting graduate."

"While I really excelled at WGU, it is not for everyone. At WGU, you are responsible for your own success- you have plenty of resources available, but you are required to teach yourself the material. In the Business Department- many of the classes have live or prerecorded "lectures" to help you, but in order to pass the class you will still need to review the material. WGU's setup is perfect for working adults who already have experience in the workplace, as you will have already learned about many things informally in the workplace. While you are required to pass certain courses, you have the ability to do those in almost any order as you which. There is also a really great balance of Exam based courses and Paper/Project based courses. I've raved about WGU to almost anyone who will listen, as I think their Competency based model is the model of the future when it comes to Higher Education. Since graduating with my degree, I've been promoted 3 times and have significantly increased my salary. WGU has completely changed the trajectory of my career."

"I love love love! Western Governors University. I love the concept; that some students would benefit from a competency based education presented with legitimate instruction, effective support and professional staff. I love my student mentor, Audrey, and her persistence in making sure I completed my classes on continued my education. I don't believe I would have completed the program without her. I love the idea that my ability to complete a course isn't determined by preset semesters or quarters that arbitrarily dictate how long it will take a student to learn the subject; not taking into account the student's proficiency or lack thereof in each subject. I love that there is a university not driven by money money money. I attended several community colleges which are affordable but often has personnel the resemble other government agencies like DMV, the IRS and state agencies. I attend USC (Univ of Southern California) and I loved it there and really appreciate what I was able to achieve there but I could never shake the fact that my education there was going to cost approximately $150,000 and knowing that the school has billions in cash and even more billions in net assets and still find it necessary to charge higher and higher tuition year after year. I felt hypocritical participating in that system just because I enjoyed the pageantry and history there. WGU is the perfect mix of affordability, student support and effective learning. Overall, I love that I got my degree from WGU and that I'm preparing to start the Masters of Accountancy followed by the MBA program. My only disappointment is that there is no doctorate program. If you're reading this WGU please please please! offer a doctorate program. I would be the first in line."

"Myself and many others have been struggling along at WGU because the support for the accounting program stinks. The professors are called Course Mentors and really just answer questions about the study guide and occasionally conduct a live "cohort" which is just them talking about, well, pretty much nothing. Their standard answer is that they can't get specific because they don't even know what's on the exam because they don't make it up. You try to make appointments with Course Mentors when you have a question, but 90% of the time, when you need an appointment to talk, none exist, so it is worthless. The cohorts cover just a very small piece of the large amount of material you have to know and cover on your own, so it doesn't coincide with the course text/material. It is very different from other on-line schools that have structured classes held on a regular basis and they cover the material you need to know. I think WGU maybe have just pushed the envelope with their accounting courses, yet students in other majors seem to be able to "accelerate" through their courses better than those in Accounting. I wouldn't do this again-that's for sure, unless they update their courses and have better student support because you essentially have to know every darn thing in the books, work every problem, struggle and hope that you pick the right multiple choice answer because so many are worded so stupidly and you cannot even figure out sometimes what they are even asking. Originally I had hoped to continue here for my Master's in Accounting, but that's an absolutely NO after this. I would suggest you talk to some actual students and get their "take" on this before you commit to WGU."

"Please read what others say about this school for their Accounting Degree. It is so true that the support for the required classes are just not there. You are basically teaching yourself these concepts. Reading horrible textbooks, listening to what they call "cohorts" that are a joke with little to no value in the content. The Course Mentors or Instructors or whatever they are calling them this month are really just not very helpful. Remember that old saying, "You get what you pay for" because it is so true here for this degree program. If I could do it again, I would be at a brick and mortar school for this type of degree. I just PRAY I can get my last 9 courses done so I can be done with this place!"

"I needed additional finantial assistance and thought Going to school was going to be a great way for me to supplement my income. I later found out WGU has what they call the responsible borrowers initiative. Which In a nut shell If you have already over X amount of dollars in student loan debt they will not allow you To borrow loans. I believe That it should be the student's choice if they need to borrow student loans not the schools. This is pretty frustrating for me because I'm a single mom and I needed additional finantial help while I was studying. If I woulda known that I was going to be opted in to This program that does not allow you to borrow student loans I would have never attended the school. If you have any financial need and you already have loans do not go to this school because they will limit you on what you can borrow I wish I would have found a review online that informed me of this."

"The accounting department course instructors are unresponsive and not helpful at all. One accounting dept. instructor (Bryan Dixon) promised on three occasions additional study material for Taxation 2 but failed to get the information to me. The tests for Taxation 1, 2 and Managerial Acctg. are not written by the same company that writes their tests. The pre-assessments have a massive disconnect between info learned from the text and videos vs the final assessments. The course instructors are not allowed to know what is on the final assessment so don't expect any help in specific areas that may cause you trouble. WGU may be okay for other degrees, but for accounting they provide no support to the student at all. It's frustrating to say the least."

"I am finishing up my third term at WGU and will graduate next year (Dec 2019) with a Bachelor of Science, Accounting degree. This is not a degree program for the freshly graduated high school student. Its a degree for a busy, working adult that is competent but needs the piece of paper to prove it. Im not the type of person that enjoys lectures and homework. I want to learn the material, test and move on. If this sounds like you, WGU, Accounting is perfect."

"Wgu does not care about students walking across the stage and being proud of what they have achieved. I called the student services about the graduation ceremony and they told me that they would choose where the most students graduate and not care for other students that may have to drive 2-8 hours on the road to attend it. This is crazy and now I may never walked across the stage because WGU is selfish and just money hoarders. I would go somewhere else that respects students walking across the stage. Go to h***, WGU."

"My course mentor and student mentor could not agree on my sequence of classes. I had to retake an exam and on my third attempt I could not get it approved due to the disagreements. Also they felt I had test anxiety so I had to meet with their psychologist. I felt I had to jump thru so many hoops, and that they had more control over my progress then a normal schedule in other universities. The school may be cheaper but I was beyond frustrated and stressed about not finishing in the term allotted due to challenges beyond my control."

"The Bachelor's of Science in Accounting at WGU was absolutely outstanding. WGU, as whole, is a fantastic school for anyone, but especially if you are a non-traditional student with a busy work and life schedule. It deserves all the praise and more that it gets--much more. The accounting program at WGU is very thorough, and the bottom line people want to hear--I was able to get a job with my degree. I was actually hired as an accountant seven months before I finished the accounting program at WGU. I was able to solve real-life problems right away, and I can credit WGU for this, and after speaking with others that graduated from 'traditional', four-year universities, ones that only provide nice, clean problems with a very clear solutions when it comes to accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, etc., WGU's program is ahead of the curb. It prepares professionals more so than the traditional university. I was able to advance to supervisory accountant within two years. I was going to go for my CPA, but an opportunity at a local college was too great to pass up. I am now pursuing an online MBA degree in hopes to further advance my career, and yes, I am doing so through WGU. WGU is special because it is so unique, they do not hold you back with time constraints, they present materials to you throughout the program that force you to critically think. I hope in-time that WGU gets more and more praise, because they are what universities are just now realizing they should strive to be. WGU is a pioneer and I expect to be at the leading edge of some of the top-ranked universities someday."

"I wanted to point out that this was a very difficult school to complete classes. I thought a new wave of learning and using a competency based approach was useful for us as students, but I hate to say it, I was completely and undeniably wrong. It absolutely didn't work for me at all. The school has two ways of giving credits for courses, it's either an objective assessment (multiple choice questions) or a performance based assessment (rubric / analytical / essay questions). I was in the accounting program and I was disgusted by my results with the program. I didn't have much help from the course mentors on most of my classes and the professors don't really contact you all that often. They say they care about wanting to help you, but I didn't really feel that way at all with them. It took me several months to try to pass classes and it wasn't easy. The unique thing about this school is you can take exams in the comfort of your own home, but the problem is the exams are all proctored via a webcam that the school distributes. And it's the fact that you can't use any notes or textbook resources to help get through the exams. I think what really upset me is that if you fail an assessment, you don't know what mistakes you made and I thought that you learn in school by learning from your mistakes. The motto at WGU doesn't have a learn from your mistakes principle. It's more like you will struggle and you won't get the help you need to pass the assessments. And with the accounting degree, almost all the exams are objective based assessments. And I'll be honest, even though you don't have to turn any assignments in for objective based assessment courses, you have little to no leverage on the courses as you are only tested on assessments (one exam for each course that determines if you can pass). You are also tested on the entirety of a course with no outside resources and only a whiteboard that can be wiped easily (which the school provides) and only distinct calculators that the school recommends. I think if all schools were to stick with a competency based approach to passing courses, it would be ludicrous to assume that everyone would pass. I learned alot for each class I passed at this school but it was extremely tough and am deciding on going somewhere else. It is pathetic to see how long it takes me to pass a class. And I feel like I haven't accomplished anything when I take a stupid assessment and don't pass. This style of learning hasn't advanced jack sh^t in a career for me. I'm still in a dead end job and I'm still struggling to find a legitimate career. And by the way, this is my second degree I'm trying to complete. My first degree was in civil engineering where I attended a traditional in person campus. I felt like I accomplished so much more over there and never failed any classes in that university. But I'm not happy with the fact that I still haven't found a career job and am still stuck in my useless dead end job that has a garbage salary, no progression, and pathetic opportunities to advance. I really hate the situation I'm in and I never realized that having an applicable degree will cause you to work a job that only entails an education that is less than a G.E.D. It's absolutely pathetic and disgraceful as SH^T!!! And I'm really getting tired of where my life is right now. All the hard work I did in college has done absolutely nothing to give me a career in something. I realized now that all I ever really needed was a high school diploma to be honest and live that futile paycheck to paycheck salary bullsh^t. And I say this because I didn't utilize any of my essential mathematical, science, and logical reasoning skills whatsoever in a job. I'm absolutely disgusted with everything that has been going on in my life. I haven't seen an opportunity in anything since I've been born and it's pretty sad considering how educated I am. I say this with deep regret but it is the pathetic truth! I have been in stagnation in the futile job I do and am in stagnation at WGU. What a great wonder of futile and bs digression. I haven't seen progression at all. And people who say that education can give you opportunities is an idiot and doesn't know sh^t. Im living proof that education has done nothing for me based on my current stupid job and the education I received in college has never gotten me a career either. Overall though, I wouldn't recommend WGU to anyone, unless they do a very easy major, but based on how these assessments are conducted where you cant learn from your mistakes and you cant use any outside resources for exams and you are really only tested on one objective based or performance based assessment for each course makes it that much more difficult to pass a class. It has been a total fluke to say the least for me and Im really surprised too that getting through bachelors level classes can be this pathetically hard considering I got through a BS in Civil Engineering. Im still confused by the whole situation. No thank you to WGU and no thank you to America for not giving me the opportunities I really wanted but NEVER got a chance at EVER!!!"

"I was able to transfer my associates degree and then get 2 years of school done in 6 months! Totally have to be a self starter but it got the job done and helped me get a great job. Considering going back to get my masters degree here soon! I would highly recommend this school."

"I attended WGU for about a year under the BS accounting program. I completed 12 classes towards that degree, then I made it to Inter. Acct 1 and it stopped me right in my tracks. I have an associates in accounting and work in accounting. However, given my past experience and education for accounting I was not able to make it through that program. I have now dropped out and will try to go back for the BSMG degree next year. So is WGU a good school? Overall I was pleased with the school. I hate I wasn't able to make it through the accounting program but all I can try is my best and if that is not good enough I have to move on. Lots of ppl pass and graduate in the accounting program, however I will not be one of them. Hopefully I can come back with a success story with a BSBM degree. Best of luck to all!!!!"

"I would not do this school because they cannot get my accommodations right and tried to find other alternatives. The only solution is that I retake the test again, which was not helpful and did not resolve the issue. The test proctors are a joke and do not follow rules especially when it comes from disabled students. This school is unstructured and does not respect their students especially when it comes to accommodations. If you do not believe me, try it out for a while and you will see the truth. also, i have talked to other students on facebook and have said the same thing. so sad."

"I see all kinds of complaints about this program. I found it challenging and informative. I am in my last class and then my capstone project and I am done! I have several other degrees so I have some experience with school. You must be a self-starter and have good time management skills. My mentor has been great. Some of the course mentors are better than others but you find that in any school. Great place to earn a degree on your time. Just now starting a job search and we shall see how it is received."