Walden University VS Western Governors University

[jamsammom]

I am torn between both schools.

I am interested in an MSN in Nursing Leadership and Management to start this fall. I have been reading the message boards about both schools and see the pros and cons for both.

I like the price of WGU and most people really seem to like the quality of educational experience. I am unsure about the grading system pass/fail and ultimately what that might mean. I don't plan on continuing my education beyond a masters.

I am also unsure about not having an instructor for the classes but a mentor.

I like that Walden gives grades and most graduates also seem to like their experience. I also like that the instructors at Walden have a doctorate degree. I don't like that tuition might go up every fall and my advisor does not answer my questions correctly. I asked to change advisors.

Any advice or shared experience with those programs would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Michelle

[jamsammom]

I have basically decided against WGU. I have heard from a prior graduate that they don't recommend this program due to the grading by task stream and the mentors. Basically, the mentors were not much help and someone different graded their course work. One mentor/instructor was not comfortable with qualitative data in a statistics class and had her redo her project over to qualitative data. This caused her to have to retake the class. A statstics instructor/mentor should be comfortable in both.

I have also started looking into South University because they have a Military spouse discount and would be a little cheaper than Walden. Also, they have an actual campus as well as online classes. I would like to finish in 1.5-2 years so I need to inquire about the class structure and time to completion with South University.

[ProgressiveActivist, BSN, RN]

No GRE no experience no interview and only a 2.6 GPA required for University of Walden. Its a diploma mill.

[jamsammom]

One mentor/instructor was not comfortable with qualitative data in a statistics class and had her redo her project over to qualitative data. This caused her to have to retake the class. A statstics instructor/mentor should be comfortable in both.

I meant to say quantitative data for my friend's project.

[jamsammom]

Libbyliberal, I realize some may have the perception that Walden is a diploma mill but it is not. A diploma mill is a non-accreditated institution that takes your money and gives you a worthless degree. Walden is fully accreditated and is a better bet if you have a job and need the degree to advance. Your employer knows you and your experience and work ethic speak for themselves.

[ProgressiveActivist, BSN, RN]

But you aren't earning a degree.

You're buying one.

Employers recognize that as well.

[DisneyRNMSN]

I certainly wouldn't say Walden is a diploma mill. They are a for-profit school. One of my colleagues went there and her tuition did raise during the program. WGU is a non-profit and their tuition hasn't raised since 2008 (and they just announced it would not raise again this year).

It really depends on what type of student you are. I am a very independent student and I hated having discussion boards every week. I went on a cruise and had to purchase expensive internet time to complete those stupid things! LOL

Traditional schools (like Walden and Chamberlain, where I went) measure your success by time sitting in a class (or discussion boards and papers). Competency-based programs (like WGU and Northern Arizona, for example) measure your success by what you know (based on you proving competency in an area).

As I said, I went to Chamberlain and if I could do it all over again, I would've chosen WGU. It would've saved me a lot of time and a whole lot of money!

As faculty in higher education for the last few years, I love the WGU model. Instead of one faculty member doing it all (preparing lectures, lecturing, making exams, grading exams, holding office hours, tutoring, etc.) their model disaggregates the roles. The evaluators don't know the students so the bias is removed. Course mentors (many of which DO have their doctorates) are the subject matter experts. The student mentors act as your weekly cheerleader/goal setter/liaison and all have MSN degrees.

As I said, ultimately you have to pick the school that works for your learning style. My GPA has never been discussed at an employer. Shoot, 90% of the doctorate programs I'm looking at only require a 3.0 and above in the nursing courses. It's a shame too because I worked very hard for a very high GPA.

Good luck in your decision!

[jamsammom]

Thanks for the feedback DisneyRNMSN. I am now also considering Grand Canyon University. They have the same format as Walden but have an actual campus in Phoenix (although I would need to go online) and are much cheaper than Walden due to a military discount for spouses. I can finish in 18 months and GCU has regional and CCNE accreditation. I plan to start this fall but want to weigh all of my options.

Thanks again!

Michelle

[MyCall2Nsg]

I have also looked at these three and chose WGU because of the tuition, flexibility with completion and the competency based curriculum. I have researched a lot trying to decide which program suits me. I find that this can become quite a task because there are so many programs out there and if you start looking at each one you'll find one or two things that applies in one that

may not be present in he others. I dear say after two yrs of attempting to start and stopping, and after three months of doing nothing but completing applications and requesting transcripts be sent to one school or another for evaluation I decided that WGU it is.

I wish you much success in your endeavour and trust that whatever program you decide on will be the best fit for you. Best wishes on the journey to higher education.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I selected WGU for my nursing degree completion needs because of the affordable tuition, nonprofit status, regional accreditation, and CCNE accreditation.

Some hiring managers have bias and an unspoken practice of tossing an applicant's resume or cover letter into file number 13 (a.k.a. the circular wastebasket) if they see a for-profit entity listed such as Walden, Kaplan, UoP or Capella.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Satisfied WGU grad here. (And former employee) I have nothing but good to say about them.

[jamsammom]

I started at Grand Canyon University in December 2014. I left during the first week. The work load and expectations for the first calls were too much for my schedule. I was planning on doing school work on the weekends but quickly realized that I would have to post 5 days a week for the discussion board according to my instructor. Plus there were 8 papers and one project for the 8 week class. So every week I would have to write a paper and then write all of the discussion posts and post for 5 days.....according to the instructor it had to be separate days. I decided to go to WGU instead and start on March 1st. I like that there are no message boards on WGU and you can complete the assignments on your own timeline. Thanks for all of the feedback in helping me make my decision.