WGU MSN in 6 months

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Is it possible to do the MSN educator program in one term 6 months? In a way that's 2 quarters, so it would be 15 units per quarter. If the student is able to handle all the load, is it possible to do in terms of prerequisites of the MSN classes-- are some classes REQUIRED to be taken before taking the next class? I understand that some classes SHOULD be taken before another class, but I want to know if it's possible to take them all at once?

Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Mclennan, regarding #6 and your last paragraph - to what are you referring to, specifically? I have almost NO interaction with other students, aside from our private facebook page. So I'm curious where you're experiencing all these interactions with others.

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Specializes in CCM, PHN.

90% of my assignments in courses require posting a short reflection or essay to a message board, and/or responding to other students' postings. Everyone in the course can see and read everyone's posts, and there are hundreds of posts per course.

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I just started the MSN in Nursing Ed Oct 1st. Here are my impressions, pros & cons:

1. Pro: one of the few accredited, well-regarded NON-PROFIT schools out there that isn't out to suck up Pell/Fed financial aid

2. Pro: designed to be SO easy and user friendly, a monkey could pass with a degree

3. Pro: high Mormon quotient on staff in SLC, so SUPER friendly customer service

4. CHEAP.

5. Con: all grades are pass/fail so there's no GPA and your credits won't transfer to most brick & mortar/terminal degree programs that aren't WGU. True story. Very sad. Think hard about if you're going to pursue more schooling after WGU and where. WGU at this time provides a "letter" to schools explaining their "pass=B" policy but most won't accept that, they want letter grades and GPAs. BEWARE of this. I hope they modify this practice sometime in the future, because when all these WGU students decide they want to get DNPs and PhDs at non-online schools they'll be essentially SOL.

6. Con: the quality of writing from other students is pretty atrocious. Painful, sometimes, to read the message boards. And, as it is in most of our sad society, people have a propensity to use the boards and assignments to a) brag about themselves b) talk a lot about their religion. It gets tedious. I don't really give an R.A. about your decorated military service, your many sparkling professional achievements, your children or your church. Just write what the assignment is asking and get it over with.

7. Con: many scholarships won't fund online degrees. This might change, but there are growing pains in the academic world caused by the advent of online education. Scholarship entities are struggling to keep up. I had a heck of a time begging for money, because so many refused to fund online degrees. I thank the vulture-capitalist, for-profit schools for that, *cough* U of Phoenix *cough* DeVry *cough* what?

TONS of students doing WGU are also parents, so a lot of their stuff panders to that. It's keenly felt by us non-parents, believe me. If you aren't "struggling" with or "juggling" work, school and kids you won't be able to identify with about 99% of other students. I wouldn't point this out if it wasn't always presented as if these people deserve medals for their choice. Sorry, you chose parenthood, work and school. You're no more special or stressed out than anyone else. It's great you belong to a big club and have people to talk to, but remember not everyone is the same. I sometimes wish WGU didn't sell themselves so hard on that angle!

I take VERY strong offense to you implying that a monkey could complete this program. I worked VERY hard to complete my program and busted my ass.

You stating that it's so easy a monkey could do it is extremely harsh and offensive, and you should choose your wording more carefully next time.

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SweettartRN... 7.5 months is amazing. Thanks for answering my post. Did you have any challenges with the Capstone project? Are you planning to continue your education? Do you know of any other nurses that have completed their WGU degree and have been accepted into a Nurse Practitioner program? I am inspired by you all!

I had no challenges with the Capstone except not understanding what they wanted a couple of times. I tend to take things very literally so that hurts me from time to time.

And contrary to the hateful monkey speech, it is NOT easy. It is challenging, but it is worth it.

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No - and this is the reason: in the MSN Education Specialist program, you complete a capstone which requires TWO IRB approvals, one from the facility of study and one from WGU. This is a lengthy process. Also, the capstone itself requires multiple revisions, each one taking approximately one week in the grading system.

What is the "IRB" process? What is "IRB"?

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What is the "IRB" process? What is "IRB"?

Institutional Review Board.

Basically a permission slip to do your research there.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

I just sent in my IRB and almost complete the first two chapters of my thesis. I will be done pretty soon.

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Specializes in Tele, ER, PreOp, PACU.

I take offense to the monkey reference also. I am almost done and it was not easy and was very time consuming. Unless things have changed, there are no discussion boards requiring a person to post either an assignment or a reply. There are community boards that you can participate in, and there are opportunities to post your thoughts in some of the courses of study, but these are not required. Any of them that I have read are hardly atrocious in their content or delivery. Are you sure you are really attending WGU mclennan?

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Specializes in CCM, PHN.

Um...yeah....definitely attending WGU MSN program. Sorry it's easier for some and harder for others. I am not busting my ass or being challenged at all. Everyone is different, but seriously, if you are struggling through a program this simple, I am sorry. It requires very, VERY basic research and writing skills that any of us should have learned in high school and nursing school - and that's about it. Get real. It's not that hard.

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Um...yeah....definitely attending WGU MSN program. Sorry it's easier for some and harder for others. I am not busting my ass or being challenged at all. Everyone is different, but seriously, if you are struggling through a program this simple, I am sorry. It requires very, VERY basic research and writing skills that any of us should have learned in high school and nursing school - and that's about it. Get real. It's not that hard.

You are unreal.

And probably one of those on the "secret" Facebook page asking for answers and getting ticked when you get emails from WGU about cheating.....

Just my $0.02.

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Specializes in Tele, ER, PreOp, PACU.
Um...yeah....definitely attending WGU MSN program. Sorry it's easier for some and harder for others. I am not busting my ass or being challenged at all. Everyone is different, but seriously, if you are struggling through a program this simple, I am sorry. It requires very, VERY basic research and writing skills that any of us should have learned in high school and nursing school - and that's about it. Get real. It's not that hard.

How many courses have you done since October 1st? It can't be too many, and if it is, then I applaud you for your ability to fly through the program with ease. Most of us are going back to school to learn something and are taking advantage of the opportunities WGU offers to EARN our degree. I'm only jealous that you know it all already and don't have to work for it.

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90% of my assignments in courses require posting a short reflection or essay to a message board, and/or responding to other students' postings. Everyone in the course can see and read everyone's posts, and there are hundreds of posts per course.

No way in hell are you at Western Governors University.

If you were then you would know that 99% of all coursework is papers and tasks that are graded through Taskstream, and that you rarely, if ever have to participate on the message boards.

I don't know where you're at, but any other school where I have had to participate on nothing but message boards has been a piece of cake.

WGU is not.

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