Any Western Governors University (WGU) MSN graduates?

robynheart716 · Mar 6, 2011

I am currently in the program and I do not recommend it. They give you a syllabus a book list and projects. No real instruction, just a blog to talk with each other. My mentor is more of a task master instead of being a resource person. This is my expereince, but I hope there are other people that have better experiences.

Lauri8218 · Mar 6, 2011

Thanks, Robynheart716

There's some info from these posts about that program:

https://allnurses.com/distance-learning-nursing/lowdown-wgus-online-524424.html

https://allnurses.com/distance-learning-nursing/wgu-online-programs-254937-page2.html#post4770877

Are the mentors encouraging towards students to finish competency units during the 6-month time frame?

Can we choose our mentors?

(I would assume if students pay $3,250 for 6 months, we could choose our mentors.)

sheronep, MSN, RN · Mar 24, 2011

What specifically is the problem with the program?

I am currently in the program and I do not recommend it. They give you a syllabus a book list and projects. No real instruction, just a blog to talk with each other. My mentor is more of a task master instead of being a resource person. This is my expereince, but I hope there are other people that have better experiences.

robynheart716 · Mar 25, 2011

the problem is that there is little interactions with the instructors. If I have a question, I try to speak with the mentor, but she does not have the answer and will refer you to the community boards. the community boards have many anxious student who keep saying they do not understand and no real questions are being answered. I dont blame the mentor, b/c she is doing what she can, but she is not at the school, she is 1000's of miles away. I believe the school is not as organized as it could be. I see a lack of communication between instrructors, mentor, recruiters, and other staff. I would love more interaction between the instructors and students. I will be graduating soon, but I do not recommend the program to any of my peers or the students that I teach.

Its very hard to do a program with only a sylabus, book, and an assignment. I think WGU could do a lot better. It would be very benificial to the students to have at least some interaction with the insructors scheduled weekly or the instructor could offer a weekly pod cast style question and answer session.

I would be willing to pay more for the school if they offered a TELEtechnique style or webinar style learning platform.

thanks, I hope this helps.

Tex201 · Nov 4, 2011

the problem is that there is little interactions with the instructors. If I have a question, I try to speak with the mentor, but she does not have the answer and will refer you to the community boards. the community boards have many anxious student who keep saying they do not understand and no real questions are being answered. I dont blame the mentor, b/c she is doing what she can, but she is not at the school, she is 1000's of miles away. I believe the school is not as organized as it could be. I see a lack of communication between instrructors, mentor, recruiters, and other staff. I would love more interaction between the instructors and students. I will be graduating soon, but I do not recommend the program to any of my peers or the students that I teach.
Its very hard to do a program with only a sylabus, book, and an assignment. I think WGU could do a lot better. It would be very benificial to the students to have at least some interaction with the insructors scheduled weekly or the instructor could offer a weekly pod cast style question and answer session.
I would be willing to pay more for the school if they offered a TELEtechnique style or webinar style learning platform.
thanks, I hope this helps.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I looked at WGU and thought it sounded very doable. I didn't realize that you don't have any interaction with actual instructors. Do you actually have "hands-on" skills labs? How are your clinical rounds? Where did you do your clinicals? (Sorry for all the questions, just haven't found many who have actually completed the program yet)....Do you plan on going on for your MSN? Do you know anyone who has sat the NCLEX yet? What specialty do you want to pursue?

Best wishes for a bright nursing future! :lol2:

CraigB-RN, MSN, RN · Nov 18, 2011

Not every program is for everyone.

In my case prior to enrolling in WGU, I had been a Chief Nursing Officer, a Director of Clinical Education for a 1000 bed hosp and an associate hospital administrator. I knew how to do a large portion of those jobs already, and didn't need to learn them, I just needed to be able to prove that I knew it. This is what programs like WGU are designed for. If your starting from scratch or need face to face classroom interaction, then this type of program isn't for you. Since I know how to budget, I know what a rubric is, and already can converse about the domains of learning. WGU was for me, and since I knew a large chunk of the material, and could plow through it, it was cheaper.

Although it puts a lot of onus on the student to research the programs, one of the fun things that is going on now, is that there is a pretty much a program out there for everyone.

rwethereyet · Feb 26, 2012

Does anyone have any information how a degree from WGU is viewed? And if you want to get an MSN from WGU and then go on to an additional program, have people had success with that?