Western Governors University (WGU) Readiness Assessment

[TheCommuter]

Western Governors University (WGU) is an increasingly popular online school because it offers various features that appeal to adult learners. Some of these appealing features include very affordable tuition, nonprofit status, multiple choices of majors and concentrations, legitimate accreditation, and an innovative competency-based model that facilitates swift degree completion.

Since WGU is designed for the adult learner who already possesses some experience with coursework at the college level, prospective students are not required to take the traditional collegiate entrance exams such as the SAT or ACT. Instead, the school requires all applicants to take and pass the WGU Readiness Assessment, which is an unproctored online exam that assesses a potential student's academic preparedness for university-level coursework. This assessment should not be taken lightly because applicants who do not pass it will not be admitted. The WGU Readiness Assessment is broken up into four separate sections. Prospective students may start with any section they choose.

Language Test

The language portion is a multiple choice exam that determines the applicant's skill level in essential topics such as reading comprehension, grammatical usage and writing. The test taker will need to answer questions after reading paragraph-long passages, select the one grammatically correct sentence out of four or five selections, and know the difference between passive and active voice. This portion contained about 30 questions and had a two hour time limit.

Math Test

The math portion is a multiple choice exam that assesses the applicant's skill level in basic topics such as arithmetic, estimation, and graphs. The test contains several word problems and perhaps one or two elementary algebraic questions. The test taker will need to be familiar with topics such as fractions, decimals, percentages, probability, absolute value, integers, plotting lines on graphs, answering word problems, symbols, the order of operations, and prealgebra. This portion contained about 20 questions and had a two hour time limit.

Admissions Inventory

This portion has an assortment of questions to help assess whether online learning is a suitable option for the prospective student. Some people learn independently with ease while others desperately need the structure of a brick-and-mortar classroom with a professor directly in front of them for guidance. This section of the WGU Readiness Assessment assists in determining if the prospective student has the self-motivation, tools and prior experiences to perform satisfactorily in online learning.

Essay Exam

Prospective students must write an essay on a randomly selected topic. Since WGU's academic programs involve numerous essay submissions, this portion of the readiness assessment examines the applicant's writing skills. Essays with less than 200 words or more than 800 words are disallowed, so the test taker must carefully monitor this aspect while writing. It is permissible to type the paper elsewhere before pasting it onto the exam. The benefit of copying/pasting is that it allows the test taker to run a spell check and word count before submitting. WGU's website advises applicants to set aside up to one hour to type and submit their essays.

RESOURCES

Guide to the WGU Readiness Assessment

[GeauxNursing]

sooo Commuter, I literally just had my information phone call with the guy an hour ago. I thought it was 5 terms, how did you get it down to just 3? is that due to prior coursework?

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

Have you had a chance to speak to an enrollment counselor from WGU by any chance? I had questions when I was unsure if the program would be a good fit for me. Speaking to an enrollment counselor made making the decision easier and he was also able to answer all of my questions.

I spoke with one named Hanna who was not very knowledgable at all.

[zcoq72mehs]

Have you had a chance to speak to an enrollment counselor from WGU by any chance? I had questions when I was unsure if the program would be a good fit for me. Speaking to an enrollment counselor made making the decision easier and he was also able to answer all of my questions.

I already know WGU is a good fit for me; I do not remember asking that precise question, yet it seems that is the perception, and perception is 'reality' for many.

I simply want to prepare myself, thoroughly, for the research paper component of ANY nursing program, independent of wgu, but since I am most interested in the wgu program, posted here accordingly.

It is true that I am concerned about being 'efficient' within a given term, especially since wgu is not on a given dollar per unit, but my inefficiency lies primarily within the domain of writing.

:)

[featherzRN, MSN]

sooo Commuter, I literally just had my information phone call with the guy an hour ago. I thought it was 5 terms, how did you get it down to just 3? is that due to prior coursework?

The 'terms' are fluid depending on how much work you can get done. I completed in less than one but enrolled as starting with four. 5 terms must mean you have 50-60 units to do- you could do that 60 units in one term, two, three, four, or five - it's all up to you and how much time you put in.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

sooo Commuter, I literally just had my information phone call with the guy an hour ago. I thought it was 5 terms, how did you get it down to just 3? is that due to prior coursework?

You are an LVN, correct? I'm an RN with an ASN degree who is enrolled in the RN-to-BSN completion program, so WGU automatically grants students an additional 50 credits for having an active RN license. This bumped me up to 86 credits, which means I need to earn 34 more credits before they'll grant me a BSN degree.

I worked as an LVN from '06 until I earned my ASN degree and RN license in 2010.

[featherzRN, MSN]

AH that makes sense - Yah, it's different for the prelicensure students, you have more set terms due to clinicals.

[GeauxNursing]

right, right. I was thinking about that last night. I knew you were already an Rn, commuter. I've been following you for years.

[willmakeit]

Thank you publishing this article. It was very helpful for my readiness assessment preparation.

I just wanted to share that, while waiting to take the assessment; I proceeded with the rest of the requirement for the enrollment.

I submitted my transcript and all other documents. I completed my assessment last Sunday and on Monday I received an email that I have been accepted at WGU :)

I will be starting my RN-BSN on June 1st. I am very excited and nervous at the same time.

[Zara, RN]

Just spoke to a counselor from WGU who just informed me that if you already have an RN license, the readiness assessment is no longer required for admission :)

[scifispam]

Yay!!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Just spoke to a counselor from WGU who just informed me that if you already have an RN license, the readiness assessment is no longer required for admission :)

WGU must have recently changed this requirement.

[lewisjj]

I completed my readiness assessment last week, and my enrollment counselor did not mention that I was not required to take it since I was a licensed RN......