Introduction / WGU Enrollment

As I begin wrapping up my first term at WGU, I have decided to put together this dual purpose blog. I intend to use this as both a progression report for self-motivation and a course review with tips on the methods I used to pass each class. This information is primarily focused towards the I.T. degrees but the enrollment process and general education courses should be about the same for the other fields.


I enrolled in the B.S.: I.T. Network Design & Management program in June 2011. My initial plan was completion of my A.A.S.: Network Security before enrollment but a major work opportunity requiring relocation presented itself and I had to withdraw from the A.A.S. program with only 7 courses remaining. With non-resident tuition being so expensive in NY, I decided to just transfer what I had into WGU and not complete the A.A.S.

I will start off by saying that the enrollment process is not where WGU shines. For those of you who are starting this process, don't let it prevent you from pursuing an education here. I don't think it was too bad for my enrollment, you just feel a bit like another number on a big list. Having spent 10 years in the military, I was already used to this treatment.

Here are a few highlights of the process:

• Application Fee ($65):  GET THIS WAVED! Any current WGU student can get this fee waved for you. Contact me if you need a referral.
  
• Prerequisites:  If you do not have at least an associates in an IT degree program, you must have either 3 years of IT work experience or an IT certification. I highly recommend going the certification route. Just be sure to pick one in your degree program so that effort will be spent completing an extra course. CompTIA exams are fairly easy and material is easy to acquire but they are also one of the most expensive. CIW exams are both cheap and pretty easy but study material is rather limited.
  
  For in-depth information on IT certifications, check out TechExams. They have a very large and helpful community, many of which are also WGU students.
  
• Enrollment Councilor: Will likely forget who you are immediately following each call. This office seems to be short staffed so each councilor deals with a very large amount of applicants. You may have to send a couple of follow-up emails if you need something from them. Fortunately, these are not the same individuals who will be mentoring you after enrollment.
  
• Transcript Review: I found WGU to be very generous with this. However, all transcript reviews will be unique to each student. Just remember, you can only go through this process one time. If you are currently working on a certification or finishing up your last classes at your current college, wait until they are on your transcript before sending them to WGU.
  
  Nearly all of the courses I completed towards my A.A.S. were transferred in. I also transferred in a leadership course from my military transcripts along with two certifications; CompTIA Security+ and Microsoft MCTS:70-620 Vista Client (filled 70-680 Win7 requirement).
  
  Below were the general education classes that I would need to complete at WGU following the transcript review (once again, every students transcript evaluation will be unique). I will go into a more thorough review of each of these courses in later posts:
  
• INC1/INT1: Science - My associates did not require natural science courses.
• BAC1/GAC1/HHT1/QLT1: Math - I did not have any math courses to transfer in.
• LAT1: English (Research Paper) - My English Comp I was applied to another English course.
• IWT1: Humanities - My Intro to Theatre course met requirements for the objective portion, not the performance part (analysis paper and PowerPoint presentation).
• CLC1: Critical Thinking
• ORC1/MGC1: Management courses
  
• Pre-enrollment assessments: For those of you just coming out of an Associates program, this will probably be a breeze. This is all high school level material. The multiple choice and essay assessments for English were pretty straight forward. I did struggle with the Math exam though (12 years since my last math class) but Google refreshed my memory ;) 
  
  I was hearing a lot of talk about a second set of these assessments in EWB (more on this course later) but I never encountered them. I'd like to think that they didn't find it necessary because of the stellar performance on the pre-enrollment assessments :)
  
• Tution Payment: I am using Chapter 30 MGIB. I will post details on that for any military veterans. Because Ch 30 payments don't begin until after enrollment, I also applied for a Federal Direct student loan through the Financial Aid office. WGU made this process very easy. They provide a task list and update the statuses as they receive the necessary documentation. If you plan to do this, get an early start on your paperwork to ensure everything is approved on time or it may delay your start date.

After that, you are all set to begin at WGU. I will go over the next steps in a future post. Best of luck to those of you who are currently enrolling and to those who are currently enrolled!

BOV1: Web Programming

BOV1 is the CIW: JavaScript Specialist certification exam. This course does not require any previous knowledge in the subject but those with a basic understanding of HTML and/or programming will likely catch on to the material a bit faster.

If you have already taken WFV1, you will already be familiar with the learning resources. For those of you who haven't, refer to my previous entry on that course for more details.

I spent about two weeks preparing for this exam. I targeted one chapter a day. I skipped most of the exercises but I suggest at least completing the ones that focus on topics you are still struggling with. I found w3schools.com to be a great secondary resource to solidify the concepts covered in the book.

Like the WFV1 course, the practice tests are very much like the actual exam. In fact, many of them were written by the same people. I did see one issue with the chapter quizzes, you will sometimes see a question that includes information you have not yet covered. This is mainly with the first few chapters. This material will eventually be covered later in the course but in the mean time, you can check w3schools for an explanation of most of these. Just don't get discouraged if you studied the material and miss these types of questions on your quiz.

After reading the material and completing the chapter quizzes (and exercises, if necessary) take the pre-assessment a couple of times. If you are still missing topics, take note of your wrong answers and make sure you understand the key concepts covered in the question. If you have no trouble passing these, you are ready to book your exam.

WFV1: IT Fundamentals I

WFV1 is the CIW: Web Foundations Associate certification exam. Never heard of it? Me neither... Unfortunately, CIW certifications are not exactly "in demand" certifications that most hiring managers look for.

The material provided by WGU makes this course pretty easy. The only issue is finding what you need. For a course on web design, they are severly lacking in how they implemented these resources.

The exam encompasses three different areas; networking, HTML and E-commerce. Depending on your prior knowledge in those areas, you might be able to sail through this in just a couple of days. I spent a week preparing, mainly because of my limited HTML experience.  I focused my reading on the chapter summary PDF files. It consolidates the key chapter material into an easy to read 1 - 2 page document per chapter.

The practice tests are very similar to what you will encounter on the real exam. It just may take you a while to find them in the learning resources. The easiest method is to select the practice test link on the left side of the page and select "Overview" to display the full list of quizzes and tests available.

If you are scoring well in all three areas, you should probably go ahead and book your exam.
 

Math: BAC1/GAC1/HHT1/QLT1

As someone who hasn't had a math class in 12 years (and did terrible at it back then), I was very intimidated by these courses. However, I felt that the learning resources that were provided were fantastic and I cruised through these ahead of schedule (except QLT1, haven't taken that yet).

BAC1: This is your basic college math course. I spent a lot of time reading each chapter and taking notes but those of you who have taken a math course more recently should have no problems here (if you even have to take it). The book explained everything pretty clearly and I was able to complete this course in about 2 weeks.

GAC1: I tried a different technique for this course. In fact, I don't think I read any of the book to do it. Here is what I did to prepare for this course:

• Log into the Thinking Mathematically website (learning resource for course)
• Navigate to the 'Skills Checks' quizes. You will see 4 of them (one is a comprehensive pre-assessment)
• Drill the 3 (non-pre-assessment ones) quizes multiple times. After each attempt, review the question missed. You will see a button in the upper right side that walks you though the problem (I think it's labled "Explain"). This will guide you step by step in solving the problem. Take notes if necessary.
• Repeat this process until you are getting 100% on all three.
• Take the 4th quiz (pre-assessment) a couple of times. This will be the same material from the other 3.
• Finally, take the official pre-assessment accessed from your Degree Plan, not the learning resource.

That last pre-assessment is formatted just like the exam. If you do well on this, you will have no problems with the exam.

HHT1: This is the performance portion of GAC1 and only requires one task. The only issue with this course is it is a recycled class from the Teacher's College. You have to turn in a paper from the perspective of a middle school math teacher. I would have liked to see something more geared towards the IT career field instead but it is an easy 3 CUs so I wouldn't stress too much over this.

I submitted my first entry in a day and received feedback on what needed revision the next morning. I spent another hour revising the paper and had it accepted.


QLT1: This is another performance assessment. This one focuses more on graphing. I am going to try and squeeze this class in next month. I will update this post when I do. From what I have heard, it is pretty much just a couple of graphing problems and it can be knocked out pretty quickly.

CLC1: Critical Thinking

CLC1 (Critical Thinking) does not need a long post to go over. It is considered by most to be an easy 3 CUs. However, don't underestimate it because of that.

Before doing anything, take the pre-assessment. About 75% of the material covered in this course is common sense. If you score 85+ on this, go ahead and schedule your exam. If you don't, use the coaching report from the pre-assessment to determine what chapters need your attention. When I took this exam, it felt like I studied the wrong book but I still passed this on the first try with a score in the mid-80's.

Day 1: EWB2 / Student Mentor / AAV

By the early morning or your first day, you will be emailed instructions on how to access your first course, EWB2 (Education Without Boundaries). This is your orientation course that will explain how WGU works, how to navigate the student portal and what is expected from you as a student. The entire course can be completed in just a couple of hours. You will be asked to complete a couple of tasks such as posting in the community forums and developing a study schedule. It is a little dull but an easy 2 CUs.

It is likely that you will have already had your first phone call with your student mentor. This is the person that unlocks your learning resources, approves exam scheduling requests and updates your AAV (the list of courses you agree to complete that term). Each mentor is different. Some are more by-the-book than others. Regardless of the mentor, once you prove yourself to them by staying on schedule and passing your courses, they will most likely loosen up a bit. During your first term, you will be required to have weekly scheduled phone calls with them (unless they agree otherwise).

After EWB2 is completed, you and your mentor will setup your initial AAV. It is not necessary, nor recommended, to pick a lot of classes at this time. You will be able to add additional classes to your AAV throughout the term but classes on that AAV can not be removed. Courses on the AAV that are not completed by the end of the term are treated as failures. This is primarily a concern for students receiving financial aid or GI Bill benefits.

Before selecting the courses for your AAV, take time to review the Course of Study (COS). This is essentially the course syllabus. This will help you understand what to expect from the course. Your mentor may also suggest taking a pre-assessment before adding the course to your AAV so you have a clearer idea of what to expect.

After your AAV is setup and approved, you can get started on your courses!

G.I. Bill (Ch 30 & Post 9/11)

WGU has been approved by the Department of Veteran's Affairs for G.I. Bill usage. For those who are using Ch. 30 benefits, you can have your tuition broken down into 6 monthly payments. However, you should plan to pay the first two months ($1,000) out of pocket because it can sometimes take a while for them to get everything setup for you, especially when starting around the busy enrollment months for brick and mortar schools (Aug/Jan)

The amount you receive is based on how many credit units (CUs) you select for your initial AAV (the courses you agree to complete by the end of that term).It is important to understand that you can always add additional courses to your AAV throughout your term but you can not remove any.

Courses on the AAV that are not completed by the end of the term are treated as failures. To meet GI Bill requirements, you must PASS the required amount of credits or you will likely have to repay the difference back at the end of the term.

Below are the credit requirements for undergrad programs:

• Full time: 18 or more CUs
• 3/4 time: 13 to 17 CUs
• 1/2 time: 12 CUs

It is my personal recommendation that you only start out with 13 to 17 CUs on your first AAV. This will reduce your monthly amount but it will also reduce the risk of owing anything back at the end of your term. If you add additional courses to your AAV mid-term that results in you finishing with 18+ CUs, WGU will notify the VA of this change and they will backpay the difference (about $3,000).

If you have Ch. 30 MGIB and you are considering converting it over to Post 9/11 GI Bill, I suggest you wait. As of recently, the Post 9/11 GIB will now pay 1/2 the national BAH rate for online schools. However, it is possible to add an additional year of benefits if you wait...

This tip only works for veterans who have only been awarded 3 years of MGIB benefits. If you have earned a 4th year from Guard/Reserve, this does not apply.

After you have used 100% of your Ch. 30 MGIB, apply for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you qualified for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and used all of your Ch 30 MGIB benefits, the VA will award you with 1 year of Post 9/11 benefits. This only works if you use every penny of Ch 30. If you have 2 days left of Ch 30 benefits when you apply for Post 9/11, they will convert those 2 days but not award the additional year.

This information has been passed to me second hand but I have confirmed it from multiple veterans. I still have 12 months of benefits left on my Ch. 30 before I can do this myself.