Has anyone heard of Western Governor's University?

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I received a flyer from a close friend of mine regarding Western Governor's University. I've never heard of this program before but am interested in their BSN program. But how legitimate is this program? Anyone ever heard of it or attended any of the nursing programs there? I consider myself an excellent self directed learner and since a majority of this program is online (other than the clinicals) I feel this program would be ideal for me. THanks!

WGU's nursing programs, including the BS in nursing leading to RN licensure, have earned CCNE accreditation. The pilot program in California has also been approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing. All of our degree programs have been both nationally and regionally accredited. For those not familiar with WGU, I urge you to visit our website to learn more. Our programs are rigorous and challenging, and they are competency based, which means that rather than earning credit hours for time spent in class, students must pass assessments to earn their degrees. The assessments and requirements for each degree program are established and updated by program councils comprised of industry leaders. For more information regarding our nursing education, go to http://www.wgu.edu/online_health_professions_degrees/online_healthcare_degree.

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The framing here seems to suggest that a "competency based" program is somehow better than a traditional class. I argue that it is not. There is a big difference between learning human anatomy in 16 weeks and learning it in one year. Given an unlimited amount of time, anyone can learn anything, but what does that prove?

At traditional college, there are standards that all students are tested against. The "competency based" program has no standards because everyone is graded individually. A student who learns the material in 16 weeks is given the same standing as a student who learns the same material in 32 weeks. How does that make it better?

Our programs are rigorous and challenging, and they are competency based, which means that rather than earning credit hours for time spent in class, students must pass assessments to earn their degrees.
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That's actually not correct--in WGU's competency-based model, all students are assessed individually, but all are assessed against the same industry-approved standards. Each degree program has standards and requirements that don't change for indiviidual students. The time it takes to learn the material and complete an assessment is not really relevant to this discussion. Students work with mentors to schedule their studies for each 6-month term. How much they complete in a term is determined by their time commitment to study and ability to pass assessments. More on this at http://www.wgu.edu/student-experience/life.

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The time it takes to learn something is not relevant? Really? In the beginning of my human anatomy class, we were given two weeks to learn the entire skeletal system, every bone in the body, every process, rough spot, hole, smooth surface, attachment point, etc, of every bone. After two weeks we were expected to know it ALL and were tested with a lab practical exam.

Let's put aside, for the moment, that WGU can't do a realistic lab practical because doing so online is impossible. The thought of having to learn the entire skeletal system in two weeks quickly separated the serious nursing students from the non-serious students. Many people dropped the course because they were unable to do it.

Now if you told those students that they had a month, two months, six months to learn that same material, how many do you think would drop? How many would fail a test after having an unlimited amount of time to learn the material?

There is a big big difference between being able to learn a concept in two weeks as opposed to learning the same thing in several months or however long some student feels like taking to learn it. The speed that we learn things is very important. A student who can learn a difficult concept in two weeks is much more valuable than a student who can learn it in two months. Bug WGU doesn't make any distinction between the two students. As long as they can both pass the "competency based" assignments, they both get an A. The student who learned it in two weeks gets the same A as the student who learned it in one or two months. How does that make competency based better than traditional time-based credit hours?

In the real world, we have managers who give us deadlines. I've never heard of a professional being assigned a task and given an unlimited amount of time to complete it. In school we are given classes that last a certain amount of weeks and assignments with due dates and tests that can't be postponed or made up later. The fact that a deadline exists teaches valuable time-management and multitasking skills. It seems that these skills are not required of WGU students. When are they going to learn these skills? In the workplace?

That's actually not correct--in WGU's competency-based model, all students are assessed individually, but all are assessed against the same industry-approved standards. Each degree program has standards and requirements that don't change for indiviidual students. The time it takes to learn the material and complete an assessment is not really relevant to this discussion.
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For degrees that require clinical experience, WGU has partnered with hospitals and simulation labs, and all clinical work is supervised by RNs who serve as WGU adjunct faculty. Students at WGU must complete a certain amount of work during each six-month term to maintain their standing with the university. With regard to grades, WGU doesn't assign A's, B's, etc. It's Pass/Fail, but to receive a Pass, students have to have earned the equivalent of a B in each subject area. WGU's mission is to produce well-trained and qualified graduates who are prepared for jobs in high-demand fields like nursing. We monitor our success in doing this by regularly surveying employers who have hired WGU grads. You can see the results of the most recent employer survey at http://www.wgu.edu/about_WGU/what_others_say.

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I have never attended WGU but I have taken courses online and I find that I learn better in this environment than at the brick and mortar schools I attended. Even though you have a right to your opinion you are comparing the fact that the qualified board of nursing and CCNE members passed the program versus online students review.

When I am in a hospital I don't care where the nurses and other medical staff went to school. I judge their personality and their mannerisms. I hate when (esp nurses) are rude and treat you like you are an idiot. I hate when professionals carry themselves in an ignorant, unpleasant manner. You can call WGU a diploma mill but hey if the grads get hired and pass the NCLEX they are as good as any nurse out there on paper. Intelligence is determined by more than your grades and where you went to school, the greatest nurses are the nurturing ones who can show compassion without bias and aid someone selflessy in times of grief. I know I am getting off topic but whatever this debate is just pointless and dumb at this point.

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I currently am a student at WGU in their RN to BSN program. Since I am already an RN and have been for 12 years I don't have clinicals. I do have to take proctored tests and turn in assignments which I do take seriously since I am paying for this education. The program is new and has just been accredited by CCNE and the students are eligible for government student loans. I do not consider this a diploma mill as I have to work hard to get my assignments in. In my other RN school (Baptist) I made B's all the way through and A's in all my prereq's.

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What is the minium requirement to enroll in the B.S Nursing Prelicensure Program? Can I get in without any pre-reqs? Do I need to be at least a CNA? Can I get in with just a CNA? Do I have to have prior exprience or currently working in the medical field? Thanks for any info.

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Specializes in Extreme generalist.

rneung,

In order to qualify for the BSN program, you need to have a valid RN license. The clinical experience in this program is limited and can be done at your own hospital.

They do also have an RN program, but it is based only in specific hopitals in Southern California. This would be a full clinical program, and you would need to attend all clinicals at one of their affiliated hospitals.

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Interesting debate here... I personally am interested in the RN to MSN program. I am currently in my 4th semester of an ADN program. I've been told by many people (co-workers, managers, current instructors) that the RN-MSN route would be a great idea. That being said, can anyone tell me how the clinical portion of this program is handled? They say it's entirely online, so how do you handle clinicals - or aren't there any required? I'm interested in the MS in Nursing Education track. Thanks!

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Specializes in Agency, ortho, tele, med surg, icu, er.

no but I have now, maybe Ill use it. I do want my bsn in nursing. Seems inexpensive.

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I have looked into WGU. The problem is that they require a previous BS or AS degree and current CNA licensure. I am a respiratory therapist with a BS degree. If I have to become a CNA that would be going backwards. In Texas there aren't many (if any) CNAs with a BS or AS degree. I think WGU needs to re-think things and state any medical professional can apply. THis program seems better then Excelsior because you actually have clinicals.

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