Western Governors University Reviews of Bachelor's in Nursing

It is true that WGU costs less than traditional school, but I went through hell with the program at WGU. Instructions for the projects are not very clear. Projects are extremely time consuming. And worst of all, grading is unfair. My portfolio course which I submitted on time but does not get graded until 3 days after my term ends. I misunderstood the instruction and attached an IHI certificate of completion for Quality and Safety module instead of certificate of completion for the entire 16 modules... Read More and received a "not pass" on my transcript. It was useless trying to explain to them because they didn't care. Making me pay for the course again when in fact I resubmitted the correct certificate and already received a "pass" that same day my work was sent back for correction. No other school will fail its students for something that minor after they already went through explaining the situation and the circumstances. I am more than heartbroken because I now have a "not pass" on my transcript which will be my permanent record. No other schools will admit me to a Master's program because "passing" at WGU is equivalent to a "B", and a "not pass" is of course an "F". Even though I completed my course of study and received a degree, it served no purpose. There is no one at the school to contact besides your student mentor, who will not be on your side because she would say something like "it is up to the student to be accountable for their actions", like I did not hold myself responsible. I understand it is my fault for submitting the wrong IHI certificate, but the instruction under Quality and Safety specifically told me to submit "A" certificate of completion. That was the only reason I'd chosen to submit a certificate that I completed for the Quality and Safety module. This is killing me. How I wished I'd never enrolled at WGU.

Like everyone else, I did tons of research before deciding on WGU for my BSN in Nursing. My HR department at the hospital where I work also researched it before allowing me to use their employee tuition assistance program. My mentor was wonderful and if it wasn't for her, I don't know if I would have finished, You definitely need to be self motivated to work, be a wife and mother and still stay on top of your studies. But I am happy to say that as of yesterday, I am finished! I was so happy with... Read More this school that I am considering continuing with them for my Masters. I attended community college for my Associates degree and did several classes with other well known brick and mortar schools, these classes were every bit as challenging and I loved the acceleration option. College is all about self-learning, and WGU provided an excellent experience for me.

The RN-BSN program is a cakewalk. I would give "0" stars if I could for quality of instruction if I could because WGU does not employ instructors- rather "course mentors" that did not truly help and seemed to only monitor the student message boards and post the rare Q&A to attempt to involve students. My degree helped my career and I would recommend it to others because it was so easy and cheap. It was basically a series of CLEP tests compared to a full 16-week semester at a regular university. Very... Read More few stars given overall because I honestly don't feel as if I learned any new information other than becoming the APA formatting queen. Will be going elsewhere for my Master's degree for a more challenging education

Currently I am in the BSN program and it's a total waste of time and money. The "course mentors" (teachers/instructors) are usually 20-30 something years old and have spent the majority of their short lives in degree programs with little to no work experience to have as a reference point. So far, it has been a disappointing experience dealing with a bunch of kids calling themselves "course mentors" that are masquerading as experienced RN's. I think I was expecting something much more out of this... Read More program than what was delivered. But since I'm already thousands of dollars in to this and no where else to go, I basically just need to hold my nose and finish this "program". The bigger issue is there is a real danger in the sense that most facilities are now buying in to the "requiring BSN's" nonsense. The danger is evident when these newly minted 20 something year old RN's with a "Masters" degree in nursing starts taking care of critical patients. I have witnessed more than one bad outcome from these young kids. The old proverb, knowledge does not equate to experience...........that applies here. It truly frightens me to know that this is the trend education is going. To have a bunch of kids teaching and they don't even have grey hair yet was laughable when I was in my 20's. When I was in my 20's and 30's you were selected by people who had a masters degree because they had truly mastered the field. When you received your masters degree it meant something to you because you had been recognized by other well respected people in the field as having matured and grown as an apprentice to have a skill set that was unique to a select few. With that skill set came a huge responsibility to your field and to the next generation. These young people have no idea of the impact this is having on the future of education and the next generation to come. When I see a these young people walking around hospitals with MSN on their name badge all I can do is shake my head and think of how cheap that word actually has become. With a computer, a pair of pajamas and money you to can become a "Master"

I started school on June 1 and have made good progress through my courses. I am 28 years since my last college nursing course and even though I have lots of great experience, I am learning so much!! This way of finally getting my BSN is challenging mostly in part due to the technology, but I have been supported well by WGU's technical support. The course content up to this point has been stellar and the classes challenging. I was not sure I would be able to pass... Read More Statistics, but the course mentor goes above and beyond with his webinars, support and availability. Other nurses I work with have had to drop out of their online programs just because they could not pass their Statistics course. I really like the self paced part of this program and so appreciate not having a weekly deadline to submit "papers" like I know other courses make their students do. This is the perfect environment for learning.

I am a long term nurse who has avoided getting my bachelor's for far too long. This is the only course for me at this point.

I tell young nurses all the time, get your BSN now!! There are so many options to doing this, just get it done!!