RN to BSN program. I want to hit the ground running

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 15, 2014

Do you have a user ID and password for the WGU portal? If so, your preliminary degree plan should be on the website, and you should have early access to your courses and study materials (Ebooks, articles).

By the way, do not immediately tell your mentor you plan to accelerate through the coursework. Just do it. In addition, you might want to start with C228 (Community Health) as your first class, because you cannot do C229 if C228 is not complete.

DangerRN · Aug 15, 2014

Thanks for your reply!

Yes, I do see the preliminary degree plan, but I are the assignments posted as well?

Just curious, why shouldn't I mention my desire to accelerate through the coursework?

And, should I take one class at a time or multiple?

Thanks!

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 15, 2014

Because mentors are notoriously discouraging when it comes to accelerating. The longer it takes to get through the program, the more tuition one pays.

They will load all your classes for that semester into your portal at the same time. So you can work on all of them if you want. I'm a linear thinker, so I have rarely worked at more than one task at a time, let alone more than one class.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2014

Just curious, why shouldn't I mention my desire to accelerate through the coursework?

Several reasons exist for not mentioning your intent at first.

1. Your mentor does not yet know you or your abilities, so some tend to be conservative scary cats until you complete the first few courses and prove your capabilities to them.

2. The school wants to avoid developing a reputation as a degree mill, so getting as many students as possible to move slowly through the coursework means that less students get to say "I completed my BS degree in less than six months!"

3. As klone mentioned above, money plays a role. The student who accelerates through the degree in one term pays about $3,750 for the degree, whereas someone who took three terms to complete the coursework is going to pay roughly $10,500 in tuition and fees. The difference between $3,750 and $10,500 is significant, so some mentors discourage acceleration.

And, should I take one class at a time or multiple?

It depends on your style and your mentor's comfort level. I personally prefer to spend a couple of weeks studying intensely for a course before finishing it and moving onto the next one. However, some people work on two or three courses at once.

Personally, I started May 1st and have completed 18 CUs so far. Once you complete your first 12 CUs, your mentor will start 'accelerating' your load by adding additional courses to your first term. I have a somewhat conservative mentor who feels uncomfortable accelerating more than one course at a time, so I talked them into accelerating two courses instead of one.

You must pass your preassessments (PAs) for the objective assessment (OA) courses, or else your mentor will feel uncomfortable allowing you to schedule your final OA. Your mentor is a gatekeeper of sorts: they add courses to your term, unlock courses for you, enroll you in courses, and allow you to schedule your final OAs.

DisneyRNMSN · Aug 16, 2014

Because mentors are notoriously discouraging when it comes to accelerating. The longer it takes to get through the program, the more tuition one pays.
They will load all your classes for that semester into your portal at the same time. So you can work on all of them if you want. I'm a linear thinker, so I have rarely worked at more than one task at a time, let alone more than one class.

I'm sorry but that is simply not true. In fact, one of the goals that is set by WGU each fiscal year is the number of graduates. Mentors want to graduate as many students as they can as quickly as they can. I would agree that a for-profit school might want to try to get students to hang around as long as possible but WGU is a non-profit and with no shareholders to answer to, I promise you they don't want (or need) to have students take any longer than they need to. Remember, if students don't graduate and more keep enrolling, WGU has to hire more and more faculty to handle the increased loads.

Having said that, another factor is how many students successfully complete all of their CU's each term. Mentors are leery for accelerating a student who has not proven themselves because MANY students go in to the program thinking it will be easy, and as they begin to go through their courses, they realize some work will be involved. Then, "life" gets in the way and the student isn't able to complete all of their courses. WGU has been doing this for over 15 years and they collect a lot of data on student habits. Students who work on one course at a time, for example, have a higher success rate. Students that work on 3-4 courses at a time tend to not get all of their courses done.

DangerRN · Aug 17, 2014

Is there any course work I can start now?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2014

Is there any course work I can start now?

Which courses are listed on your degree plan for the first term? Once I know this information, I might be able to make suggestions.

DangerRN · Aug 17, 2014

Biochemical GRT1, into to prob and stat CJC1, Care of the older adult DPV1, and Health Assessment C349

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2014

Biochemical GRT1, into to prob and stat CJC1, Care of the older adult DPV1, and Health Assessment C349

You can download the Panopto software to your computer since you will need it to record yourself as you perform a full head-to-toe assessment on an adult friend or relative.

You can also start looking up the 'death cap mushroom' for task 1 of biochemistry. Or you can start with biochemistry task 5 and start assembling your model of a saturated fat and an unsaturated using stuff around the house (toothpicks, gummy bears, jelly beans, etc).

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 17, 2014

I'm sorry but that is simply not true. In fact, one of the goals that is set by WGU each fiscal year is the number of graduates. Mentors want to graduate as many students as they can as quickly as they can. .

I'm sure it's not true for the individual mentors. But even non-profit businesses still want to make money. And I would guess one of the reasons for not encouraging acceleration is financial. Plus, as Commuter mentioned, they don't want to be viewed as a non -legitimate diploma mill.

DangerRN · Aug 17, 2014

Can someone send me a list of the tasks for my courses?