Western Governors University WGU Nursing Masert's program is a joke Salt Lake City, Utah

 

Hi,
 
If you are online and looking at this I am going to jump way out there and guess that you are thinking about enrolling at WGU. As a student I have one thing to tell you before you rush into enrolling here. DO NOT RUSH INTO IT. You are doing the right thing by reading these posts because from what I have seen on this board that maybe some of these students were not good fits with the way that WGU is set up. That is not saying they are bad students.

This is unlike any college or university that you will ever attend. I cant tell you how many times I have taken my niece to McDonalds so she could play and I can use the free Wi-Fi as put the last touches on a written assignment before I turned it in to be graded. I have even been known to haunt Starbucks for the exact same reason when I was not on kid duty. Yes, that sounds cool but you have to realize that WGU is the only university in the country that grants degrees based on demonstrated competency. That means that you have to know what they are teaching you/ show competency in the subject. You do this by taking test, or doing assignments. Trust me that some of the horror stories are true that you are in fact going through the course by yourself for the most part because there are a great of self guided learning. Now in this regard I want you to know that they do have course mentors who do weekly meetings on the subject they teach, and yes they do teach you. They call it whiteboard but really it is exactly like a normal lecture but you attend via the computer.

I cannot speak for the nursing program but I can speak for the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Human Resource Management. I am very close to finishing my degree. The program is challenging. I was worried at first about how very easy some of the classes where for me. These easy classes had concepts that where exposed to me from working 10 years in HR.  Yet, I did reach a turning point when I was learning new things, and picking up skills. I think that this is the goal of the University for the students to bring skills to the table and walk away with new ones after all is said and done.  Yet, all that glitters is not gold. This is not for everybody. If you cannot keep on task and be proactive about your learning you will fail without a doubt.

Now I would like to talk about some of the problems I have faced with the University. Even through this sounds like a glowing review there are some things that WGU really need to work on. One thing that I do not like is the large amount of nepotism in regards that they do tend to Hire "their own"  former or current students. Also I am not a fan of how they handle their student disabilities program. There treat this position like it is something that can be ran by a Paraprofessional, when in fact it should be ran by an experienced professional who has some type of Licensing in Rehabilitation Counseling. WGU is the only university that is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to treat this as a paraprofessional position.

Yet, I think that has been the norm from any dealings when things have gone wrong. I really think that the staff and all the people that work here care deeply about their students. I have personally witness the staff go out of their way to be overly helpful. I not going to say that there is not be bumps in the road but I will say this you will never be alone if you just ask for help and let the school know what is going on. Anyway I know I am pro WGU, but please do more research. Dont just look here. Look other places too. Try reaching out to the staff, talk to students who are enrolled, talk to students who have dropped out, talk to students who have graduated, talk to former employees, call the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, but please dont rush into this without first finding out if this model of learning is a good fit for you.  Also once you get here dont be scared to ask for help if you needed it.

Good luck!

Aaron

I am writing to correct misinformation about the prelicensure nursing program at Western Governors University. A previous writer who is unhappy with her experience provided inaccurate information. I am the Director of that program so I can speak with authority on these matters.
1. WGU does not make money on this program. The allegation that we get more hospitals to make more money is untrue. WGU is nonprofit and this program was developed to assist students who couldn't get into nursing school (over 50,000 qualified students are turned away each year due to lack of program space).
2. The program is rigorous. This is true. The clinical intensives simulate actual practice in a hospital and as a result are very challenging.
3. The graduation rate of the first group of students was 60% not 20% as claimed by this unhappy student. The graduation picture included only graduates and more graduated than were pictured as not all could attend. This is a serious allegation without substance. We do not fabricate numbers or pictures.
4. We take all feedback seriously and use it to improve however misinformation does not serve anyone. I am saddened by the claim that the nursing department doesn't care. The nurses and educators I work with agonize over each students experience and work diligently to continuously improve our programs. I realize this program is not right for everyone and regret this student has such a dissatisfied and unhappy view. There are many of students in the program now in for states and their views are not heard here.

What you read in bad reviews about WGU Nursing program is all true. I cannot comment on any tech, or teaching programs. I was a student for over two years before I quit. WGU lets their partner hospitals get away with racial discrimination, harassment, verbal abuse and other illegal activities becuase WGU needs those hospitals to make more money.WGU cannot fire people what are employed at those hospitals.  Remember, the people who are going to pass or fail you at these are hospital employees not WGU teachers. From my experience at WGU, these clinical partner hospital teachers do not like the WGU teaching model, nor do they exactly know what you have learned.  They will ask you questions on material you have never learned and then criticize you or fail you becuase you do not know it.
Here is a basic formula for WGU Nursing Program. More Hospitals + More Student= more money. They do not care about the students, only your money. The WGU nursing department suffers from denial and apathy for their students. They simply do not care. They do not get paid to care only to get more nursing student, so they can fail, take longer to graduate, and make WGU more money.

WGU will most likely respond to my message that this is not the way that the program is supposed to be. BLA,BLA,BLA. Well, I am telling you the truth, that when WGU tells you to do your clinicals at a hospital and the staff at the hospital humiliate you, tell you that you are from a foreign country and should not be a nurse, tell you that you are too young, bring you to the point of crying in front of your peers, and still harass you more, then WGU will respond by telling you how lucky you were to be at a great hospital and that they are there to support you in every way.

In case that the abuse or personal conflict from the hospital employees causes you to fail, then you get to spend more money at WGU. Lastly, if you do your research, check out who is on the WGU board of directors. You may find several persons who work at these partner hospitals and are overlooking these incidents. That could be a conflict of interest.

Some of the first WGU classes had a failure rate of around 80-90% in clinicals. I believe only 2 out of 20 actually graduated. We were sent pictures of a group of people in the graduation. They had to put extra people in the shot becuase there were only two students.

In conclusion, what WGU states about competency based is the biggest lie ever told. Do you think nurses from a community college are not competent? Have you ever heard of an incompetency based school. WGU teaches you nothing. They will let you view books on line, require you to take meaningless tests online,write a bunch of papers no one cares about. There are no online lectures, they teach you a several very important skills at a local community college, schedule your ATI exam at the end of most courses and send you to a hospital of their choice where you may encounter hospital staff who really do not like your program, and they can do whatever they want to you. In conclusion, I even had one hospital teacher say to me that "it does not matter what you tell WGU, I will still have my job tomorrow". Not for profit, does not equal ethically based.

Please do not believe their lies and spend your money anywhere also. Find a nice local 2 year college, get your A.A degree and pass then RN. They you can take the classes to become an BSN on line and never go through what we have gone through.

I am a prospective student looking for constructive criticism of WGU. I have only found two comments so far and neither reflects poorly on WGU. This complainant has never been a student at WGU but is angry because she says they insulted her and said she wasn't smart enough to attend. I don't believe her.

The only requirement for admission to WGU is to pass an admissions test. If she could not, then...what is there to say? This nurse of 40 years either can't spell "Master's" (Maserts?) or she didn't double-check her work. Either failing is serious for her credibility. As we all know, precision and care are among the most essential qualities of a health care giver. Hospitals are dangerous places precisely because of careless doctors and nurses. This nurse seems to be sloppy as well as unaccountably angry.

I read her as a person who feels that she already knows everything (with her many degrees) and who resents having to get another degree. I think she would be a very difficult person to teach, and I can understand WGU giving her a pass.

If WGU was a for-profit company like most others in this industry, I have no doubt they would have snapped up this over-qualified and self-entitled nurse of 40 years: her money is as good as anyone's. I am impressed that they would pass on her application.

I represent Western Governors University, and we are sorry to learn that you are not happy with your admissions experience. The situation you describe does not describe our process or the way it is supposed to operate. We would like to investigate further, but need more information to do so. Please contact us so we can follow up. You can reach us by calling 801.580.8224. Thanks.