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

[Zara, RN]

I spoke to them today and my counselor stated that this decision was made this week.

[AmyRN303, BSN, RN]

I spoke to them today and my counselor stated that this decision was made this week.

That's good to know. I can't wait to start. Actively seeking a job so I meet the employment requirement.

[Ambition13, MSN, RN]

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.

Yaaay! I'm a June 1st start also. I know the feeling. I feel nervous and excited too.

[Ambition13, MSN, RN]

I spoke to them today and my counselor stated that this decision was made this week.

Darn it! I was a month too late. But the assessment was ok.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Darn it! I was a month too late. But the assessment was ok.

Yes, I found it to be not that bad. A person could pass the readiness assessment if one can read, write and do math at about an 8th grade level.

[Zara, RN]

I can see how this assessment can be designed for pre-licensure for example, but not for nursing BSN prospectives who already hold a degree and an RN license.

My opinion is that the baseline is above the passing level once an ADN is completed. I found it to be redundant and annoying. WGU now shares my belief!

I will be starting July if everything goes accordingly, god willingly.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

My opinion is that the baseline is above the passing level once an ADN is completed. I found it to be redundant and annoying. WGU now shares my belief!

Unfortunately, many people (including licensed RNs) have failed portions of the Readiness Assessment in the past. However, I think the people at WGU realize that many of these people who failed are still capable of successfully completing college level coursework, and that the school would lose out on tuition dollars by maintaining yet another barrier to admission.

I will be starting July if everything goes accordingly, god willingly.

Good luck!!!

[willmakeit]

Congrats bsn2b09RN, so glad to know you are also starting on June 1st.

[chariese]

Plan on starting with WGU on June 1st tried to get in discussion group on FB but it is closed. Is there a secret handshake or something that I need to know? . I need 17 classes and was wondering what is quickest that someone has done?

[featherzRN, MSN]

Plan on starting with WGU on June 1st tried to get in discussion group on FB but it is closed. Is there a secret handshake or something that I need to know? . I need 17 classes and was wondering what is quickest that someone has done?

The group is WGU RN to BSN discussion group - you just request to join and they should let you in. If you are doing the MSN and are trying to join THAT group, I think they want you to state something in your request like when you start(ed). I'd advise joining the BSN group even if RN to MSN, as a lot of the classes are the same and that group is a lot more active.

[dandk1997RN, MSN, RN]

Just verifying that indeed, the assessment is no longer required of licensed RNs. I got an email saying I needed to do it, but having seen this thread, questioned my enrollment counselor about it. He said they are in the process of changing the verbiage on the website and automated emails. So thanks to the poster who save me a couple hours. :)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I think it's the same or similar - I thought it was fun and I was able to get it done in less than a week - just seems like lately it's getting a bad rap if you go by Facebook. Was it a pile of powerpoints for you back then as well? I felt like I was in kindergarten, but it was fun. :)

I passed Biochemistry last week. Tasks 1 and 2 passed on the second attempt, task 3 passed on attempt number three, and tasks 4 and 5 passed with the first and only submission.

In my opinion the course was more tedious than anything. I passed the course in a couple of weeks and suspect that a true biochem class at a brick-and-mortar university would have had a greater degree of difficulty.