Western Governors University Reviews of Bachelor's in Elementary Education

"I received my BA in Elementary Education from WGU in 2022, and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately re-enrolled to pursue my MA in Elementary Education, which I am currently working on. It seems that reviews here are mostly either 5 star or 1 star reviews. Keep in mind that most satisfied people never leave reviews. People, in general, are more likely to vent about a negative experience online than they are to write about a positive one. That said, I think the fact that so many here are leaving 5 star reviews shows how well this educational model works for many people. I'd like to address some of the complaints I've read here: 1. The idea that course credits don't transfer because WGU wants to charge you extra money is ridiculous. Most of the credits I earned during my Associates Degree DID transfer. A passing grade at WGU is 80%. If you passed classes at another school with less than 80% those classes will likely not transfer. If your previous school was not accredited, they probably won't transfer. If you are required to retake a class that did not transfer, but you know the material, you can usually complete that class in under a week - and often in as little as a day or two. If you know the material, you take the exam and do any tasks (written assignments that are often only a few pages long) required. If you pass, you just move on to the next class. It isn't a big deal. It isn't like other schools where you have to waste time and money sitting through material you already know for an entire semester. WGU charges a flat fee for a 6 month term. They don't charge per credit. This means that you can work at your own pace. You can take the minimum 4 classes to be considered a full-time student if you don't have a lot of time, or if you need longer to absorb information. However, if you are a fast worker with industry experience, you might be able to blast through 10 or 20 classes in a single term, at NO EXTRA COST. You won't find a more affordable college anywhere. 2. One person said that it is a lie that you can work at your own pace. She said that work interfered with her ability to be scholastically productive and she had to fight to stay enrolled. You CAN work at your own pace, but you are required to log in to your courses at least once every 2 weeks. You don't have to DO anything, take any tests, or submit any work. But you are required to log in to your coursework, just to show that you are still serious about being a student. Also, be transparent with your course mentor. Let them know that you are still committed to earning your degree, but work is crazy at the moment so you won't be accomplishing as much as you'd like. Work WITH your mentor to come up with a study plan that works for you. 3. Someone said that their mentor was not helpful and only had 2 minute conversations. Someone else didn't like having weekly check-ins by their mentor. If you don't like your mentor or s/he is not helpful, contact student services and request a new one. It is not a big deal. Some people go through 3 or 4 mentors before they find the one that really meshes with their learning style. WGU WILL work with you if you reach out. I love my mentor. Finding the right one really improves your learning experience. Also, if you don't like the weekly check-ins, they probably won't last past your first term. In the beginning, the mentors check on you weekly to make sure things are going smoothly because many have problems adjusting to an online learning platform. After your first term, once you've proven that you can deal with online learning, typically you will hear from your mentor less often. My mentor never calls anymore unless I schedule an appointment to speak with her. She simply sends me an email every couple of weeks asking if I need anything. If your mentor is still checking in with weekly phone calls after the first term, and you don't like that, then tell him/her. If s/he won't respect your preferences, request a new mentor. 4. There are no professors. The course instructors are unqualified. The course instructors don't teach. Blah, blah, blah. This is all poppycock. Every course I've had has had a team of instructors. Every instructor I've had has held a doctoral degree. Most of the classes include teacher created materials which might include written information/charts/graphic organizers, videos/podcasts/and cohorts live and/or pre-recorded. If you need individualized help, you can book an appointment with ANY instructor of the class - it doesn't have to be the instructor specifically assigned to you. Like any good school, WGU employs many excellent teachers, but even good schools can sometimes employ a few duds. If you are assigned a dud, reach out to one of the others. Also if you have a quick question, you will usually get a prompt response by shooting an email to the instructors' group email. Someone in the office will get back to you. I've found that most of the teachers are eager to help. As others have said, WGU is for self-motivated individuals. It is also geared toward those with excellent reading/study skills, since the vast majority of information you receive will in the form of e-textbooks, online articles, and book exerpts. You will do a lot of reading and writing, and you will be expected to seek out additional help if you need it. WGU offers far more support for students than my community college did. If you need extra help with math or writing, there are labs you can visit to get one-on-one assistance from a teacher. You have teams of instructors waiting for you to book time with them so that they can help you. If you need to, you can book several sessions a week. You have a course mentor who is dedicated to helping you succeed. The help IS there. You just need to ask. If one individual sucks, ask someone else. One or two crappy teachers doesn't mean the whole school stinks. I love WGU. I got my BA here. I'm working on my MA. If they ever offer a doctoral program, I'll be back for that, too."

"I am genuinely confused by some of these reviews, I think a lot of them show that some of them never actually attended WGU. It's against the rules to help a student understand their material and they're told to read it again? There are only mentors, not instructors? What? If that's the case, who did I make 30-45 minutes appointments with that had a doctorate that literally sat with me and explained exactly how to be successful, how to interpret the material, how to search and comprehend various concepts, among other things. They were a ghost? A random program mentor? WGU doesn't accept anyone, so not sure where that came from either. They have a pretty extensive admissions process, and they absolutely do reject applicants. They just give them a chance to meet their admission standards via their academy, and not at a community college. All in all, my experience has been AMAZING. The proctors are kind of off sometimes, but I had this issue at my previous college too. It's obnoxious but it's not anything that would ruin your time there. Some of these people need to get a life and realize that maybe they need to go to a community college and have their hands held, because they clearly weren't able to hang on at WGU."

"Honest review: started in the BAELED program finished with a degree in BAES (non licensure skipped PCE/DT). Enrolled 2/1/22 graduated 9/2/22. I'm overall satisfied with the program. I completed my associates but all of my credits did not transfer. This was mainly my fault I kept switching between nursing and education at the associates level so while some courses were more advanced than teaching required WGU did not allow me transfer. Let me explain why I was okay with this a regular college make you take a class over a 3 to 4 month period. Even though I was technically taking the class over I knew the information and passed within one week. The CI are like professors helping along the way. For those who didn't recieve help no offense they probably didn't ask. CIs have a calendar to make appointments and a booking link for all CIs (meaning access to multiple professors not just the one assigned to you) I took advantage of this alot usually preferring other professors than the one assigned. The course is laid out so you can access all information up front and fill in your specific gaps of knowledge. No need for group discussions and projects your education is yours and yours alone. I skipped pce and dt because my state has a high need for educators, dt is generally unpaid (not in my state), and it come with too many extra tasks onto of edtpa. I graduated with bachelors have a job and will complete the ppat within my own classroom for a standard certificate through my state alternative route. Which is less stressful than having extra task and a possible extra term to finish dt. Every state alternative route is different so make your best decision. I'm satisfied compared to others because I skipped pce dt. A bachelors in education or any field is a great thing to have. My experience with financial aid upon my switch to baes was one for the books. I was told on four occasions my Pell grant would cover the full tuition. That is not true. I advocated for myself after receiving a nearly 800$ bill to graduate. The fee was removed as the manager learned his team needed more training. But for reference any term of less that 6 cu will incur a fee. Wgu agreeing to work with me is why I'm satisfied as I was given an honest case review by financial aid. There are things I wish wgu told me upfront but as they provide teacher lisscensure they will not help you learn about your state alternative route which might be easier. All states alternative routes are not always easier."

"I have enjoyed doing school through WGU so far but I feel like they should help you more when it comes to observation and student teaching. I was misinformed about students placing themselves and I feel like I have had no help with Complio until after I ordered the wrong package. I have done everything by myself because I did not know who to contact. I will say my mentor has tried to help me as much as she could. I feel as if WGU should have someone reach out to the students to help them way before the students plan to observe. Now it looks like I won’t be observing this term as I had hoped for."

"Avoid at all costs, WGU is not a real college. It is comprised of a bunch of basement dwellers that couldn't get a job at a real college. You are better off asking your 10 year old for help, than the people they hire. In addition, the degrees they provide are looked upon very poorly. Save your money and your time and attend a real college."

"Awful program I fought with the school to prove myself. I studied 30 hrs every week and got no where in my effort to be a teacher. None of the credits transfer, none of the classes were traditional format. Students are expected to prove their knowledge by taking a timed test. IMPOSSIBLE NO PAPERS TO IMPROVE YOUR GRADE"

"I was so proud of all of my work completed at WGU until I realized that I will ONLY receive a 3.0 GPA. Anyone to graduate from WGU receives a 3.0 and that is it. No higher no matter how well you do on your courses. I think that is extremely important for incoming students to know! They say it is because of the competency based education and their pass/fail system. This is all fine and well for students who would barely meet a 3.0 criteria at an established institution. But for those of you that work consistently better than a 3.0, just remember, your effort is not reflected in your grades. You pass or you fail and that is it. When you go to apply for jobs your GPA will be a 3.0. If you're in a competitive field, like teaching and nursing this could really come back and bite you in the butt. With that said, I feel as, because I put so much effort into my own education at WGU, that I have gained a lot of knowledge from the university and will be successful in a profession as an educator. However, I can't say that I am confident that my future employer would see that with me carrying just a 3.0 GPA."

"This school was so much better than I expected. I loved how you actually had to prove you can apply the knowledge you learned. It was more rigorous than I expected but it made me a better teacher. My student mentor was always there to guide me through my degree plan and the course mentors helped me through my courses."

"You don't get help from the professors like you should. Beat around the bush answers and never anything direct. Even if I sincerely tried. Should have spent my money somewhere else where help would have been given. WGU=affordable, but not student friendly."

"I earned my associate's degree from a local community college and had taken quite a few classes toward my bachelors at the local university when I heard about WGU. I decided to go to WGU as it sounded very convenient. I work and have a family, so WGU seemed ideal for me. At first it seemed wonderful... perfect! My degree plan showed I needed about 12 classes to finish, which was a couple more than what I would have needed through the university, but I felt that was a good trade off. The first term with WGU went well, but then my mentor stopped calling and would not respond to my email or phone calls. I was on my own. For the most part, this wasn't a big deal as I'm very organized and motivated to get my assignments done. I was getting concerned though as things were not going as they should and no one would give me any answers. I had asked for Elementary Education, but they put me in Special Education saying it was just a couple more classes and would be good for me, even though it's not the area I wanted. I couldn't get anyone to change it. When it came time for my 2nd term, my entire degree plan changed... it now had 33 classes!!! Special Education was still my degree, so that hadn't changed, but they added a LOT more classes. No one could tell me why all of those classes were added... what a shock that was to me! Eventually, my mentor was replaced, and she was very nice, but didn't seem to know much. She always had to get back with me and never had concrete answers for me. Very frustrating. Just a few weeks into the 2nd term, I started to get so concerned that I decided to contact the local university and see what my options were to finish my degree. Only one course I took through WGU transferred, the rest were not necessary... so I wasted a lot of time and money. My graduation date through WGU was going to be 2017, but through the university, it will be 2015! I think WGU is a great concept, but there are many kinks they need to work out. I wasn't able to put forth the money and time needed to finish at WGU. Plus, I must be able to fully trust and gain the answers and information I need. I did not feel that way with WGU. I have also been told personally that the lack of letter grade and grade point average can be a big deal for some schools who are hiring. I hear mixed reviews about how WGU is perceived with those looking to hire teachers. I couldn't take that risk either."

"After reading some of the very negative reviews about WGU I thought I should put in my 2 cents worth. My overall experience with WGU was extremely positive. (That is not to say that it was easy or that there weren't times that I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was desired for certain assignments.) I had previously completed 4 years at a brick and mortar school before deciding education was the path for me. By this time I was 26 working full time and had a daughter on the way. I was able to accelerate my program and finish everything in 18 months. This saved me a substantial amount of money over staying at my brick and mortar school. I was also able to work full time and still be at home in the evenings. I was extremely busy with a new baby, working, and studying but I managed. My student teaching experience was smooth and I was offered a job at the school before the completion of my student teaching. I was able to finish out the school year as a teacher which was awesome. Then I received a job offer for a very competitive school in Wyoming. I was one of 580 applications for 1 job. (this is not to boast but merely my experience getting jobs with a WGU degree) I will start work on a WGU masters degree next year in Administration. There are at least 2 administrators in my district who received their Masters from WGU and landed administrative jobs. When starting WGU my primary concern was: Would a WGU degree put me behind other applicants when job hunting? Well I can honestly saw nothing but good has come from my WGU experience. I have recommended WGU to many friends and will continue to do so."

"I have been with WGU for almost a year now, this school fits well into my life. I do miss the social interaction of a brick and mortor school but with young kids and a job WGU is a better fit for my life. You do have to keep your motivated with help from a mentor and course mentors.Any time I have reached out for help my mentors have provided whatever help I have needed. My mentor is a friend that sometimes pushes me but I believe she always has my best interest at heart. If you need the social interaction, or regular graded assignments to keep you on track this is not the school for you.You must be self motivated since your passing of most courses depends on one test at the end of a class, and the courses with assignments can be a bit frustrating with a third party grading system. While WGU does have some faults overall I feel like I am getting the same level of education I was getting at a regular University at a fraction of the cost."

"I've read a lot of the reviews and if you are reading these to decide whether or not to choose WGU then you have to take some of the reviews with a grain of salt. Everyone learns in a diferent way and this learning model will not work for everyone. If you are someone that needs to sit and listen to a lecture or do not learn well on your own with a text book this is not the education model for you.I am in my second term at WGU and I love it. I attended University of Phoenix/Axia College prior to WGU and just did not care for the constant requirements to log on and participate in chats and the cost was killing me. All of my U of P credits transferred to WGU and it is truly a self paced program. Yes, you have a mentor that calls weekly the first term and then bi-weekly once you've completed your first term, but those calls are mostly goal setting calls and if you're staying on track there's no need to avoid the phone calls. I've only needed assitance from a course mentor once and she was very helpful so I can't attest to much else about course mentors. Also, I've not had a lot of issues with my work being returned from the evaluators. I've had a few that needed revision, but the evaluators provide specific details about what is lacking so it's pretty clear what needs work.I can also say that I've found the work load to be far more challenging than I expected and leaps and bounds more difficult than the work at U of P. I truly feel like I'm getting a well rounded education from WGU. In the end it all comes down to whether or not you can learn in a self paced, mostly self taught environment. The support is there if you need it but this isn't for someone that needs a lecture to learn and a set schedule of due dates to keep themselves on track."