Is WGU just another money muncher?

Nursing Students Western Governors

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I am (was) due to begin the RN-MSN, edu on 5-1. I have jumped threw all the hoops that is the admissions process. I am so disappointed to find out that the only classes I got credit for with my associates degree are one math, one english, and one literature. My admissions person admitted the 14 prereq classes seems a bit excessive but she has done nothing to check into the problem. My orientation opened a couple of days ago along with the twenty odd classes listed. The admissions advisor is due to call today for her weekly check-in. I am going to tell her that I will not be starting the orientation or the program if I do not get a satisfactory explanation about the huge class load. I cannot help but feel that is trying to force classes that should be satisfied with my degree because of the money factor. I am so unhappy and disappointed at this point. When I read on AN about others who are starting the program with only 5-7 pre-reqs it makes me feel as if WGU is de-valuing my associates degree and its very upsetting. Is anyone else out there having this experience? Or is my Associate of Applied Science in Nursing just not as good as others?

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

You need to contact student services and request a re-evaluation of your transcript in that case. And make sure you are looking at actual courses you would need to take- and not a the whole laundry list of classes for the BSN generically.

Specializes in Home Health, MS, Oncology, Case Manageme.

I have an ASN and an additional year toward my BSN and I still have to take 6 prerequisites. I happened to have some other classes that fit because I started to major in another field before nursing. Both my husband (BS in marketing) and I tried to appeal our credit evaluations with no luck. However, my husband took his 6 credit course "Law and Ethics" (that they wouldn't transfer) and completed it in a week and a 1/2. When his mentor questioned how he was able to finish a 6 credit course so quickly, he said "I told you that I took it before"!.

Specializes in Home Health, MS, Oncology, Case Manageme.
My problem is that I am told that I have to take sociology AGAIN, anatomy AGAIN, (not one but three), nutrition AGAIN and two more comp classes in addition to the two I have already done, speech/communications AGAIN.

Personally, if I had to take all that stuff again, I wouldn't do it! I would go into another less stressful, field! It wouldn't be worth it for me.

How long ago did you take your classes? Most of my classes are from the '70's, but the powers that be have decided that we RN's must be BSNs. I have a BA in Speech Communication (I had planned to be a speech pathologist, but life got in the way) as well as an ADN. I aready know that I'll have to take A&P (my six hours does not equal their eight) and statistics. If they don't recognize credits older than thirty years, then I'll be taking it all over again. It would be simpler to get a Masters in another area, probably. Those are hours of my life that will be taken from time used for certifications-hours that actually make me a better nurse. I've spoken to but have not sent in my transcripts....no point if they don't accept most of the transfer credits. Does anyone know if there is a "cutoff" point where they will not give credits for older work?

I spoke with an enrollment counselor this evening and she told me statistics is the only course with an "expiration date" and it is 5 years.

Specializes in Emergency, Case Management, Informatics.

WGU definitely isn't a "money muncher". That's laughable to even think about, because (as others have pointed out) they're non-profit and allow you to complete as many courses in a 6-months term as you can handle, for no additional fee.

The problem is this -- you have an AAS and not an ASN. Now, in the real world, that doesn't matter. You have a nursing degree and a license, and that's all that counts. But, in academia, the AAS has more vocational courses and fewer GenEd courses.

I can't find it anywhere on the website, but back when I enrolled, they had a clearly-labeled chart of what courses you would be exempt from with an ASN. The same page with that chart also mentioned that AAS RN's would only be exempt from classes that they specifically had credit in.

It's unfortunate that they've seemingly removed this information from their website, because it could have saved you some heartache. However, if you'd have gone with any other BSN program, I can almost guarantee you that you would have to take the same number of courses, if not more. I'd encourage you to just power through as much as you can and as quickly as you can. I've read stories of people having to take as many courses as you're having to take, and still completing the program in under a year.

Good luck!

Edit: I just read your follow-up post. You should not have to repeat any courses, unless the courses you took were on a quarter-hour system and not on a semester-hour system. Sometimes, quarter-hours do not translate to the typical 3 credit-hours for those courses, and you end up getting the shaft. I would definitely have your enrollment counselor escalate your request. In the meantime, go ahead and start working on the courses that you are not challenging on the eval. It sounds like you're already enrolled, so you shouldn't waste time waiting to see what happens.

Even if you do have to re-take those courses, if you've already taken a similar course, you should steamroll right through them with no issues.

I believe you should try for a transcript re-evaluation and hope for the best. I was able to complete my BSN in just under 6 months and with only 4 pre-reqs, however I had almost completed an associates degree in another field prior to switching to the ADN track.

I know from past posts that if your anatomy class didn't have a lab associated with it you'll have to redo that course (or just the lab portion, I'm not certain). I had to do the written communications class despite having two rounds of it in college and I believe those classes were used to satisfy other requirements. I had to do a math class as my college math only covered the statistics portion of WGU's requirement. I'd never had nutrition before, so that was a given for me. I did appeal a few pre-reqs, however my appeal didn't work...BUT I was able to receive a more specific explanation as to why certain courses didn't "count" towards my BSN.

I can testify WGU is not out for money. I had no problems accelerating my classes, and when I decided midterm to switch to the MSN track, they could have easily told me no and that I had to wait until the end of my term. That would have caused me to take classes to receive my BSN and then have to retake similar classes to count towards my MSN. Instead they allowed me to make the change and take the MSN courses to receive my BSN.

Good luck. I hope you give WGU a chance to at least explain their reasoning behind all the courses. Unfortunately your student mentor can't really do that as I don't believe they get all the information. They can, however, point you in the right direction as to who can help you.

I will have my MSN from this summer, and I chose the school because of its non-profit status and because it requires REAl work to get a degree---they are NOT for sale, like many online schools.

Can't speak to the credits transfering or not, as I started at WGU with a BSN and a BA in a non-medical field.

Specializes in critical care.
I have to chime in here and add another thought. I already have a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing subject and have been working on my BSN online (not WGU, another program, thinking of switching to WGU). Even with a bachelor's degree, and a AS/RN, I still had other classes beyond just core nursing classes to take. The advancement from an associates degree to a bachelor's degree is not just a matter of taking more "core classes." I believe you can always expect to have other peripheral requirements (histories, englishes, arts, maths, hours filled by electives, etc) when advancing from associates to bachelors. So, personally, from someone who spent 4 straight years of full-time study to obtain a bachelor's degree, I do not feel like having a 2-year degree plus 7 classes (either squeezed into 6 months, or drawn out over 2 years) necessarily constitutes the full work-load that is deserving of a bachelor's degree. Now, don't get me wrong. I am applying to WGU right now to attempt to "fast track" my way to a BSN, and I will be joyful for any classes I do not have to take. I am not being critical of WGU, but if I felt that WGU awarded a bachelor's degree to someone who has an associates degree, plus a few classes, then I would seek my education elsewhere. Again, I am not being judgemental and I do not know everyone's specific situation/associates degree work/prerequisites/etc, but it is my opinion that if you want to earn a real bachelor's degree, it takes a lot of classes.

just following up on my previous post.....even with my bachelor's degree, ADN, and a healthy portion of other classes I have taken here and there, I too will have prereqs outside of the nursing core classes....including Anatomy & Physiology. I took A&P at Excelsior (without a lab), and they informed me that I have to do the whole thing over again, not just the lab portion. As many others have said here, A bachelor's degree requires a lot of credits, and even though you may have to "jump through hoops" and possibly retake classes, still appears (to me at least) to be the fastest way to a BSN, if you are motivated to accelerate through it. Any other traditional classrooom-setting style program or even another online program will still probably require somewhere around 70 credits on top of your associates degree to complete a bachelors. Oh, and I also have to retake statistics because it is more than 5 years old. So, we all face a little bit of that, to some extent. Good luck with your studies. I encourage you to hang in there and do it, whether it is through WGU or through another program. It will be worth it, and whichever way you go, you should be able to finish and feel proud of the work you have done to earn your degree. Hang in there, you will do great. Sometimes these things are just a matter of picking a direction to go, and then just going that direction, however long it takes, and however many obstacles there are. Just remember, if there were no obstacles, and it was easy, then everyone would have a bachelor's degree (or MSN if that is what you are pursuing), and it would mean nothing! I like to make the comparison.....they just practically hand out drivers licenses if you sit through the class. But if (or rather, when) you finish your MSN, you will have something to really be proud of, and you will know that you earned it for real.

just following up on my previous post.....even with my bachelor's degree, ADN, and a healthy portion of other classes I have taken here and there, I too will have prereqs outside of the nursing core classes....including Anatomy & Physiology. I took A&P at Excelsior (without a lab), and they informed me that I have to do the whole thing over again, not just the lab portion. As many others have said here, A bachelor's degree requires a lot of credits, and even though you may have to "jump through hoops" and possibly retake classes, WGU still appears (to me at least) to be the fastest way to a BSN, if you are motivated to accelerate through it. Any other traditional classrooom-setting style program or even another online program will still probably require somewhere around 70 credits on top of your associates degree to complete a bachelors. Oh, and I also have to retake statistics because it is more than 5 years old. So, we all face a little bit of that, to some extent. Good luck with your studies. I encourage you to hang in there and do it, whether it is through WGU or through another program. It will be worth it, and whichever way you go, you should be able to finish and feel proud of the work you have done to earn your degree. Hang in there, you will do great. Sometimes these things are just a matter of picking a direction to go, and then just going that direction, however long it takes, and however many obstacles there are. Just remember, if there were no obstacles, and it was easy, then everyone would have a bachelor's degree (or MSN if that is what you are pursuing), and it would mean nothing! I like to make the comparison.....they just practically hand out drivers licenses if you sit through the class. But if (or rather, when) you finish your MSN, you will have something to really be proud of, and you will know that you earned it for real.

A&P with lab (at the same time) is pretty standard at any school... Just sayin'

Specializes in critical care.
A&P with lab (at the same time) is pretty standard at any school... Just sayin'

I know. The whole reason I did Excelsior was due to time limitations.....family, 2 jobs, etc. I was never going to find my way into a traditional classroom program to bridge from LVN to RN. So, the day I signed up for Excelsior and their A&P credits, I knew there would come a day that I would have to retake A&P with a lab if I planned on furthering my education. my point is just that I have to retake everything, not just take the lab portion.

I am starting in May and will have 17 classes (according to my calculations). I am still waiting for my orientation to open... There was only one class that I thought I should have been given credit for but am figuring that I may learn something so I am not letting it hold me back. I think that getting this education is necessary and I will not let any hiccups along the way get me off track.

I wish the best for you and hope you decide to stick with it!

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