Interested in WGU

So, I just submitted my Capstone Project at WGU. I'm about two seconds from graduating with an MSN in Leadership and Administration. My stomach is a mess right now... But, what I have to say for this program. If you do the work, read the assignments and work your *** off, this program is absolutely AWESOME! I've heard students with experience in the nursing profession say that they whizzed right through the program and didn't learn a thing. I don't advise going through the program at a fast pace and shorting yourself the opportunity for understanding what is happening in the healthcare environment. The information is all laid out, IF you take the time to read the recommended texts and journal articles. Your education is what YOU decide to make of it.

That said, I have really enjoyed the last two years of my experience at WGU. I felt that the program is reasonably well laid out for an online program. The online platforms in these education programs are all working out the kinks because online curricula are still a relatively new concept. That is especially true on the graduate level, where many schools are just now adding the curricula to their existing schools that already offer BSN programs. The platform is laid out well, the curriculum is solid, and the tuition doesn't cost an arm and a leg. The aspect of the program that was most valuable to me, outside of the curriculum, was the support offered to students. Each student has a program mentor, who is helpful in keeping you out of the quagmire of procrastination. This helped me a lot! The course mentors are exceptional resources with solid backgrounds in practice and education. The library wasn't better than my last program, but it was easily searchable. It also gives the user the ability to filter down results to peer reviewed, within the last 5 years, professional journal articles. The librarians are spectacular and responsive. And the writing center is an incredible resource for helping work out the writing kinks and teaching you how to proof your work/maintain strict APA. The program is designed in a way that lets you work at your own pace. There are set deadlines for terms, but you can take as many courses or as few as you want. Regardless of the number of courses that you choose to take, the tuition is a set rate for the term. That means you don't have to deal with a ton of extraneous expenses on top of your tuition. Overall, this was a very well rounded curriculum, if you choose to deep dive into the recommended materials. And, the school has kick *** support for the students.

Program cons... Ok. To avoid sounding like an advertising clip, I am also going to share the cons. The ONE thing that I didn't love was the feeling of isolation in the program. There are not many live recorded classes in this program. And, none of the cohorts offered are mandatory. So, you're a little on your own out there for easily accessible PEER networking. HOWEVER, there are helpful Facebook networks set up that are specifically for BSN-MSN or ADN-MSN. The FB networking group was... I just can't even tell you how wonderful they were. Very nice to have some people out there catching your back when you just need some super quick pointers on a paper or a little moral support.

Another con... the grading is on a pass/fail basis. They are perfectly accredited. But, some universities will not accept the pass = 3.0 transcript. So, that is the caveat. So, I recommend making sure that the next program you are looking at accepts the transcript before getting into this program. You do not want to have to repeat the courses that you have already taken for another University offering a DNP. That would definitely annoy me.

I loved this University. Really, really, really loved them. I would recommend them until my dying day. I just pray that I can find a DNP program that has the same level of support!

So there you go. That is the whole shabang of my review. I hope this gives you the information you need to make your decision!