Western Governors University Reviews of Master's in Teaching

"The school has not been able to place me for observation minutes that are required. I had to take a 5 month term break and then finally withdraw from the university because they could not get a placement for me. I am in a major city with no shortages of school districts. It is beyond frustrating. I am not a young person and returning to school with a family I need to provide for, so its not optimal and very stressful. It has been 10 months so this is very concerning."

"I had to write my review after seeing so many negative reviews. I found WGU's program excellent and exactly what I needed. The work-at-my-pace was very important since I was working full time as a teacher while working on my master's degree. While it is work-at-your-own pace, you do have to finish a certain number of credits per semester to stay in good standing. My mentor was good at putting the positive pressure on me when I needed it and also connected me to additional resources. While all of the course instructors were helpful, when I got into the higher math classes like Abstract Algebra and Advanced Calculus, I had one that was a favorite and helped some much. It was definitely rigorous, but I was able to easily pass the Math Praxis exam on my first attempt after going through the program, and I wasn't a previous math major. I would definitely say this works for a certain type of student - I have always done well with online programs and am highly self-motivated."

"I am a current student of WGU. Let me share my experience. As any organization, WGU have pros and cons Pros: They assign u a degree mentor who stay with u during the whole degree. My degree mentor is amazing. She is so helpful. Try to help me as much as she can. Always contacting people in my behalf. Provide a lot of info. She there for emotional support as well. Each course has few course mentors they will assign u one. They also very helpful, they go out of their way to help u. Sometime they answer u during their days off. Cons: Academically: how they set the course? They give you the book and tell you knock yourself out with a little resources. No human lectures. Youll have no idea what to focus on and the course mentor doesnt know these things or they never saw the real test to give you an idea about what to focus on and whats important in the book Quizzes: In the end Or during Every chapter they give you quizzes that has nothing to do with the final exam, not in the same format not even related to the final test it only try to measure your knowledge about the subject. Then it comes only one realistic test to practice on, the pre-assessment. If you fail the the final exam even within one point there is no compromise with a paper or extra credit project to make up for this one point. All the questions in the final test or scenario-based questions they dont give you a direct question. If they messed up on The final they wont fix their mistake they will tell you poops sorry but you have to redo the test. The class that Im taking right now they told me it will be 66 questions and I found out during the test that they increase the number of the questions without notifying me before hand so I had to rush through the test and I end up failing with two points only. Of course they tell me we sorry its our fault but there is nothing we can do youll have to take it again. The system of the college: all the people that you have access to, have no power whatsoever except for giving you advice or support you emotionally. If you ask for the dean of student or anyone with power they will tell you, no such a person exist. its a mechanical system that has no human emotion at all. Degree mentor: they have no power over anything, so if u encounter any problems, all what they can do is to send an email to some department who they dont know anyone in I really do not recommend this university unless you have no other choice"

"I love the competency-based model at WGU because you can accelerate your program as fast as you want. Speaking about this, I finished the entire program in half a year, which enabled me to get a $19,000 raise and a promotion. The added benefit is that I can now teach Community College courses, too -- the job listings say you have to have either a Masters in Math OR Masters in Physics OR a Bachelors in Mathematics AND Masters in Mathematics Education! I fit into the latter category (I have a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and a Masters degree in Maths Education.) Thanks WGU! You changed my life! :-)"

"This school is the best school in the world. I'm going back now for my THIRD DEGREE!!! I finished my BA in SPED in 2013 and was immediately hired as a teacher. The work is not simple by any means. You cannot just whip something together and expect to pass with papers because everything is graded on a rubric scale meaning you met the standard or you didn't. Everyone needs to understand that you are essentially demonstrating mastery of the subject you are learning. Don't go to this school if you plan to transfer after you completed a few classes. If you are dedicated and want to learn on your own then this school is for you. Its amazing and if you are a full time employee and a parent then this style of school will surely make you happy. Say you can't sleep, then just open up your laptop and get some work done.....it doesn't matter what time of day it is because you can study on your OWN time! I just love WGU and it has completely helped make my dreams come true of becoming a teacher here in California. Don't worry about the negative reviews.....most of them come from people that were not self motivators. GO FOR WGU!!!!!! I DID THREE TIMES!!!!!!"

"I got my Masters Degree at WGU. The experience was an excellent one, the curriculum was challenging, I was in contact with my advisor on a weekly basis which kept me on track and on pace to graduate. I would recommend WGU to any person who cannot get to an on-site school."