Like many of you, I decided to go back to college to earn a degree. I spent countless hours researching online universities to decide which university provided a quality, affordable and respectable degree. A relative by marriage, who is a Dean at a local community college, suggested I enroll with Western Governors University. While working for a major telecommunications corporation that offered tuition reimbursement, I noticed one of their sponsored universities was Western Governors University. Since they were a sponsored college they company would pay upfront for tuition instead of reimbursement. With the recommendation and the paid tuition how could I say no?
I soon spoke with a representative of the education assistance program the company provided to get details on enrollment with WGU. He informed me of the benefits of WGU and a 10% discount that I would receive from my employer. This was great because my employer paid 90% of tuition up $2000 along with that discount meant my education would be so affordable! But could I really go back to college and succeed? It has been 11 years since I pulled a small stint in community college and I was nervous. I knew I was smart enough and at that time I felt like a degree was just a piece of paper. So, I procrastinated and kept avoiding enrollment.
You may ask why would I avoid getting my degree when it would’ve been so cheap and would only benefit my career. I was comfortable with my life and the salary without that degree. A little background of my life will give you some insight as to why I was comfortable. I have a son that I raise by myself. I was working Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm while making a decent salary for the area in which I live. I had great benefits and was able to take my son to school and pick him up from daycare without anything affecting our lifestyle. I had built my own house, my payment was cheaper than rent and I had a much nicer place than most people could ask for. I lived comfortably with no stress from work and could raise my child to the best of my ability.
Disaster Strikes
Procrastination, oh how it can make life difficult. Successful people do not procrastinate. I procrastinated on enrollment with WGU and it cost me dearly. February 2016, the major telecommunications company I was working for decided on a mass layoff and I lost my job without notice. This meant I would be losing my job with a great company, losing my benefits and I wouldn’t be eligible for tuition reimbursement. I was devastated and couldn’t believe this happened to me. I loved the company I worked for and was grateful for everything they provided but still, I was hurt.
I was given a severance package that would support me for most of the remaining year and I had a very good savings account that I could rely on if needed. The rest of February I kept asking myself, “What am I going to do?” While playing with my son one day, I looked at him and told myself I must be a role model and a positive influence on him. How can I tell him he has to go to college if I never finished? No one in my family has ever graduated from college, so I had to change my family history by becoming the first college graduate.
Enrollment
I decided on WGU after researching other colleges and comparing them to WGU’s model. WGU provides a competency-based model that allows you to move at your own pace and measures your learning not time spent in class. WGU was created by a consortium of 19 United States Governors, is nonprofit, affordable and accredited. I would never have to attend a classroom to get a first class education.
Countless hours during February and leading up through March I read so many reviews, posts, blogs and articles on WGU in hopes I was making the right decision. Like anything, you will have people that leave negative reviews, and our first instinct is to read those first. I read them all and what I gathered from a majority of the reviews was; if you’re self-motivated with a desire to learn and succeed you will have a positive experience.
I called WGU and was set up with an enrollment counselor that helped motivate my decision to enroll. I had decided that I would pursue a Bachelor of Science Business Management degree because it would be the most flexible for me and the career path I wanted. She provided extensive information about the program, answered any questions I had and set me up for a test to see if online learning was for me. I was nervous about the test but it was very straight forward and I passed it easily. After the test, the enrollment counselor was able to submit for the 10% discount that my previous company offered, because I was still receiving paychecks from them throughout the year.
I debated on how I was going to pay for college now that I didn’t have any assistance. I applied for financial aid and was awarded a $700 Pell Grant. I knew that I didn’t want any college debt and I was going to try to accelerate as fast as possible so, I decided to pay for college out-of-pocket. I knew I could be successful at accelerating because of all the success stories I had read online. If they could do it, I could do it too. Enrollment was set March 10th, 2016 and I was told a student mentor would be in contact.
I completed my orientation course March 26 and my new student mentor contacted me on March 28. We went over the whole program and what kind of time frame I would like to complete my degree. I had 12 credit hours transfer in from a local community college and needed 108 CU to graduate. I told my student mentor at the time of my goal to graduate in 1.5 years or 3 terms. She felt that was too ambitious but we could assess it as we go. She mapped out a four-term plan that I will say was really aggressive and made me question if I could complete it any faster.
While I was going through orientation, talking with my new student mentor and trying to map out my success, I had received a job offer that started on April 1, 2016. At this point, I had doubts about accelerating as fast as I initially wanted because my schedule required 47.5 hours a week. I knew I was going to have to really work hard if I wanted to achieve my goal.
After all the back and forth with my student mentor she suggested that the best class for me to break in with would be Principles of Management. As soon as she gave me the go ahead, I started immediately, which was April 11th. I did not find out until later that I could’ve been reviewing the information since March 15th. I felt like I lost almost a month of valuable time. None the less, I focused on that first class, and finished it in seven days. I read the whole book online front to back to make sure I knew how these online courses worked. The testing situation was a little strange at first having being proctored, but I soon got real comfortable with it knowing I could test from home.
First Term
My first class really set the tone for rest of my program. It was great knowing I could devote myself to one class at a time and complete it in a week instead of 3 months. I am not saying it is easy, the work is very challenging, but you choose how fast you learn the material. After I passed the first class my student mentor set up the classes in way that they all tied together and each class built upon the other as best as they could. I needed to pass 28 classes in total to earn my degree. These classes are either: Objective Assessments which consists of multiple choice or Performance Assessments which requires a paper or presentation.
Each class I had a routine that I followed that proved to be successful for me. It all started with Google. I would search the course name and class number to see what everyone thought about the class and what their approach was. I would then find a Quizlet on the class and go over all the key terms. You need to be cautious with Quizlet because they are independently written. I would then read the book to grasp the material. There were some classes I was knowledgeable in and it made for an easier class.
On Objective Assessment classes, after I felt like I understood the material, I would screenshot the pre-assessment and go through each question and answer them. If I didn’t know the answer I would go back through the book and find out the answer. I wrote down all my answers and then submitted the test. As soon as I completed the pre-assessment, and knew I had passed, I immediately scheduled the final assessment to ensure the material was fresh on my mind.
Performance Assessment classes were classes that required a paper or presentation. At first, I was hesitant of these because I wanted my papers to be perfect. I found if you follow the rubric completely and watch the webinars these classes prove to be easier than you would think. I actually started to enjoy the Performance Assessment because I knew exactly what it took to pass on the first attempt. WGU uses Turnitin and Taskstream for performance assessments which makes for an easy process to make sure you don’t plagiarize and all papers are graded equally to the rubric. The WGU Library provided all the resources I needed to pass my performance assessments.
During my first term I was flying through courses and my mentor had said they will get harder and will slow you down. I knew I could keep up my momentum. My first student mentor went on medical leave in June and I was given a temporary mentor until a new mentor could be assigned. The new mentor was very nice but she didn’t think I would be able to accelerate at the pace I was pushing for, which was three terms at the time.
I didn’t let the mentor situation slow me down or affect me in any way. I knew I was in control of my success and only pushed harder. In mid-July I was assigned a new student mentor that was absolutely fantastic. She was new to the WGU staff, but made sure if I had any questions or needed anything she was there for me. She was fully supportive of my goal to accelerate and pushed me the whole time to finish faster than what I had originally had planned.
We stayed in touch every week until I finished my degree. I used her call as a goal to complete a class. I always wanted to finish a class by the next time we talked. That didn’t always happen but I felt like having that goal helped me achieve results. The second term those calls typically go biweekly but I preferred every week so she continued to call me. I have read some people find those calls annoying but use them to your advantage like I did.
My first term was very challenging but so rewarding. Here is a list and dates of each class that I completed my first term:
- C483 – Principles of Management -4CU- 4/18/216
- LWC1 – Fundamentals of Business Law and Ethics -6CU- 4/28/16
- EST1 – Ethical Situations in Business -3CU- 5/10/16
- C484 – Organizational Behavior and Leadership -3CU- 5/22/16
- QAT1 – Quantitative Analysis for Business -6CU- 6/3/16
- LIT1 – Legal Issues for Business Organizations -3CU- 6/16/16
- MKC1 – Fundamentals of Marketing & Business Communication -6CU- 6/23/16
- C463 – Intermediate Algebra -3CU- 7/5/16
- C278 – College Algebra -4CU- 7/21/16
- C459 – Introduction to Probability and Statistics -3CU- 8/2/16
- C168 – Critical Thinking and Logic -3CU- 8/9/16
- FPC1 – Microeconomics -3CU- 8/21/16
- FTC1 – Macroeconomics -3CU- 9/20/2016
I completed 50CU the first term and really pushed myself with working full time but I still had time to go on vacation and live a normal life. I can say, there were very few days that I didn’t look at school work or read some material. If you want to get it done fast you have to devote yourself to your school work. Out of all of the classes in my first term I was worried about the math classes the most. They really were not that bad at all and If you feel like they may slow you down just start then one at a time and do they work and you will pass. There are many online resources aimed at helping people with math.
Second Term
At the end of my first term I was really focused on school and told myself I can finish my degree by the end of the second term. I had severance from my previous employer plus I was making another salary on top of that which led me to save some money. I decided to quit my current job to devote all of my time to school. It was a risky move but I felt it was the right time in my life to do this. I knew I had to finish since I was relying on savings until I graduated. As soon as I finished Macroeconomics in my first term I decided to start on Global Business that way I could pass it the first day of my second term. I knew I needed to buy some time because the Project+ was the only class I had to take offsite and I knew I would have to devote extra time to that class in order to get certified.
Throughout October and November, I had passed 9 classes and was learning so many valuable skills. My student mentor kept pushing and encouraging me to complete before the second semester. By December, I have 6 classes remaining, and my student mentor informs me 4 of these are the most difficult classes. I had read on Reddit, and which I must thank the Reddit community for all of the knowledge pertaining to WGU, that these were the most difficult classes. The classes were Principles of Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Finance and Information Systems Management.
I figured these may slow me down but I just hit the books and knocked them out. Don’t let any comments or course chatter scare you on these courses. If you put in the work and read the books you will be fine. Just make sure you have the appropriate calculators for the classes. There are plenty of online resources that can help you with accounting and understanding the principles. One I recommend is CPA Strength on YouTube. Just search for DC ADE LER. The guy is awesome, crazy but very helpful when it comes to passing these classes. Also, read the books. Finance – get the calculator, read the book and understand the concepts. Information Systems Management is not as hard as anyone makes it out to be. Once again, read the entire book and you will be fine.
When I passed Information Systems Management I had two straight forward classes to complete. Business Management Tasks and the Capstone Project. I finished both in 9 days and I was taking my time. Here is a breakdown of my second term:
- FVC1 – Global Business -3CU- 10/1/16
- TPV1 – Project Management -6CU- 10/14/16
- C683 – Natural Science Lab -2CU- 10/20/16
- C165 – Integrated Physical Sciences -3CU- 10/28/16
- C190 – Introduction to Biology -3CU- 11/7/16
- C456 – English Composition II -3CU- 11/11/16
- VZT1 – Marketing Applications -3CU- 11/16/16
- QDC1 – Quality, Operations and Decision Science Concepts -8CU- 11/24/16
- OBC1 – Strategy, Change and Organizational Behavior Concepts -7CU- 11/29/16
- VYC1 – Principles of Accounting -4CU- 12/6/16
- UFC1 – Managerial Accounting -3CU- 12/21/16
- EZC1 – Finance -3CU- 1/3/17
- DAC1 – Information Systems Management -3CU-1/16/17
- QHT1 – Business Management Tasks -3CU-1/20/17
- QGT1 – Business Management Capstone Written Project -4CU- 1/25/17
- Graduated January 26th, 2017.
As you can see I took on a huge course load over the past year. I can honestly say it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever enjoyed. The WGU experience is so amazing I encourage anyone that has even toyed with idea of earning your degree to enroll at WGU. I never had one bad experience and the knowledge I have gained is astronomical. You will never regret earning your degree.
After Completion
There was such a relief after I finished my Capstone and received my diploma. I still had a little over 2 months left in my term and I wanted to start on the MBA program. However, I have to wait until my term ends before I can enroll. I anticipate an MBA will take 6 months to a year, but I feel like I can complete it in less than 6 months. I have already started researching online about the degree just as if I had started the Bachelors program. I can’t wait to start and finish that degree as well.
I feel very good that I earned my degree in less than a year and do not have any student debt. The total cost of my degree after the grant and employee discount was $4,520! You cannot get any education as good as WGU for that amount. Most schools charge more than that for one semester.
Now the burning question that most people want to know after you earn your degree: Did it help you get a good job? It’s March 9, 2017 and I have yet to get a job and have well over 200 resumes out. I apply for several jobs a day. It will help me get a job but I know I can’t get a good job overnight. After the accounting and finance classes, I decided that would be the career field I would like to pursue. I am currently searching for a financial analyst type position or something in project management. Fingers crossed, I will get something soon.
I hope anyone that reads this, that is considering WGU, you take the dive and go for it. I read so many success stories, it made me want to create my own success story. You can create your own success story, too. I hope this motivates and persuades you to better yourself and your career. Don’t procrastinate and take advantage of any help you can get from your employer.
There is one person I have to thank more than anyone because she was always there for me and motivated me to finish this journey. My life partner. She has never complained about me always studying, she helped me with anything I needed and gave me every bit of emotional support I needed. I couldn’t have done it without her. If you have anyone that will support you through your degree the way she did for me, you’re one lucky person. Now go on and enroll with WGU, a new kind of U!
MY WGU SUCCESS STORY 