Western Governors MBA

[Bibby]

I'm considering starting grad school in the fall, so this information is very helpful to me. I have a friend who's about to begin the IT MBA at WGU. I prefer in-person classes, but it sounds like WGU is doing a lot of things well. The low tuition and self-paced structure are especially appealing.

[Prloko]

I may have stated this already on the forum, but I think an excellent way to "scout" your degree is to do a little research on LinkedIn. (IMO) If you don't have one already, you should. They also give military and veterans free access to the job-seeker level for a limited time. When I did it, it was for 60 months, but I hear lately that it is for 12 months.

So what I do, is enter into the search field the degree and school name, after you get a list on the side where you can filter the options some more, so go to the school menu and would click only "Western Governor's University" and you can see the titles and online resumes of people in your target industry. Excellent market research tool.

Here is a WGU MBA graduate working at Apple, Inc.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieyedinak

Here is a WGU and TESC graduate

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stvmurr


Here is a cool tip on Boolean searching.

http://talent.linkedin.com/assets/Produc...rching.pdf

[GoodYellowDogs]

Rebel 100 went to WGU and can give feedback.

[rebel100]

I am finishing up my BS from COSC in the fall and I am looking to go on to grad school to get me MBA

I am looking at the WGU MBA program and LSUS MBA program.

Here is what I have gathered so far.

LSUS - AACSB accredited and would take two years and about 13k to complete

WGU - is Regional accredited and If I work my butt off I could get it done in a year for 7k

I was heavily leaning towards LSUS because of the AACSB, but the more I look into the more WGU has going for it. IT would only take a year, a lot cheaper and getting all kinds of good press lately. Do you guys think that being regional Accredited is a big draw back ? any word from current WGU MBA grads on trouble landing the jobs that typically come with an MBA ? Thoughts on how the WGU MBA with be viewed 10 years down the line as they expand ?

As already eluded to, I think RA is the base minimum, both of the programs your talking about have that, there are a bunch more out there. I think WGU is solid, and will be even better received in the future. I just responded to a similiar query in another thread....here is what I think of my WGU MBA today:

On WGU:

Pro's:
Cheap, which was important as my employer only offered $3000/year the rest came from my pocket....they did let me time it so that I accessed the funds over about 18 months, So my MBA "cost me" about $750.00 total.

Regionally Accredited....I work in healthcare and UofP seems to be growing by leaps and bounds...in short if that works then WGU should be (and is) fine. I often hear "you're masters prepared" that's all I needed and it's what I have. I also considered other masters like the MAIS from WNMU and both the MBA and an MS from AMU/APU.

Cons:
There is no support worth having from WGU post graduation. Their career center will direct you to take meaningless "tests" so you can learn where your interest lies then tell you to network...completely useless! It really gets me going that they push all these specific employers on the front end then there is no mention of them or direct line of contact once your done. It disgusts me.

If you aren't self motivated you may not do well with the format. If you fail to see things through the cost just continues to grow, I'm sure there are a good number of folks paying a lot more for their WGU degree than we talk about here...the cost/time savings only applies if you work to exploit it.

There really is no established alumni base worth talking about. Sure there are some folks that have great jobs with a WGU MBA...but I haven't met any with the pull to bring up other WGU graduates in a meaningful way. WGU checks the box and nothing more. No Football/Baseball/Soccer team...this doesn't matter, yet it does. I was in an interview Friday when a member of the panel brought up her Alma-mater...the University of Florida. I live in Florida, so UF means something to folks down here as do the other larger state schools. I don't think I will lose this job based on not going to UF, but the possibility exists that I could have cinched it with the right pedigree. Of course, you can game this in many directions and it's only anecdotal, but school name recognition is important in some circles. My daughter who is finishing her undergrad from Harvard Extension gets interviews and job offers. The brand sells, they want to meet her, if nothing else, so they can say they interviewed a kid from Harvard...open doors are good.



In the end I'm happy with the utility of my cheap quickly earned degree. Given my age (mid 40's) and background (lots of experience) it was the perfect blend for me. If i were younger, maybe there was a better choice. If I were happy with my then current kob and the employer offered more funding...then maybe another choice. If my plans included teaching or banking, or some work that required a "brand" degree...then I would have made another choice. But those weren't my realities at the time.

You might also look at Chadron and ENMU, they both had interesting cost effective choices.

[Goblue34]

As already eluded to, I think RA is the base minimum, both of the programs your talking about have that, there are a bunch more out there. I think WGU is solid, and will be even better received in the future. I just responded to a similiar query in another thread....here is what I think of my WGU MBA today:

On WGU:

Pro's:
Cheap, which was important as my employer only offered $3000/year the rest came from my pocket....they did let me time it so that I accessed the funds over about 18 months, So my MBA "cost me" about $750.00 total.

Regionally Accredited....I work in healthcare and UofP seems to be growing by leaps and bounds...in short if that works then WGU should be (and is) fine. I often hear "you're masters prepared" that's all I needed and it's what I have. I also considered other masters like the MAIS from WNMU and both the MBA and an MS from AMU/APU.

Cons:
There is no support worth having from WGU post graduation. Their career center will direct you to take meaningless "tests" so you can learn where your interest lies then tell you to network...completely useless! It really gets me going that they push all these specific employers on the front end then there is no mention of them or direct line of contact once your done. It disgusts me.

If you aren't self motivated you may not do well with the format. If you fail to see things through the cost just continues to grow, I'm sure there are a good number of folks paying a lot more for their WGU degree than we talk about here...the cost/time savings only applies if you work to exploit it.

There really is no established alumni base worth talking about. Sure there are some folks that have great jobs with a WGU MBA...but I haven't met any with the pull to bring up other WGU graduates in a meaningful way. WGU checks the box and nothing more. No Football/Baseball/Soccer team...this doesn't matter, yet it does. I was in an interview Friday when a member of the panel brought up her Alma-mater...the University of Florida. I live in Florida, so UF means something to folks down here as do the other larger state schools. I don't think I will lose this job based on not going to UF, but the possibility exists that I could have cinched it with the right pedigree. Of course, you can game this in many directions and it's only anecdotal, but school name recognition is important in some circles. My daughter who is finishing her undergrad from Harvard Extension gets interviews and job offers. The brand sells, they want to meet her, if nothing else, so they can say they interviewed a kid from Harvard...open doors are good.



In the end I'm happy with the utility of my cheap quickly earned degree. Given my age (mid 40's) and background (lots of experience) it was the perfect blend for me. If i were younger, maybe there was a better choice. If I were happy with my then current kob and the employer offered more funding...then maybe another choice. If my plans included teaching or banking, or some work that required a "brand" degree...then I would have made another choice. But those weren't my realities at the time.

You might also look at Chadron and ENMU, they both had interesting cost effective choices.

This is great advice, I am pretty sold on the WGU MBA and will be going that route. I have a decent job now, but will be applying for Higher Profile jobs when I get the MBA. I am going to start a thread on my job search when I get to that point because for people like me you are young (Mid 20's) and looking to move up the job search is important.

I agree with you that as the WGU MBA alumni base grows more doors will open, I really hope to invest in their career services though because that is disappointing.

Thank you for the great insight.

[Bibby]

Rebel100, thanks for the detailed summary of WGU's MBA program. I appreciate that you took the time to explain both the pros and cons of the program. It sounds like WGU is better suited to people with more experience than me, but I'll still look into WGU for my master's degree.

[rebel100]

Rebel100, thanks for the detailed summary of WGU's MBA program. I appreciate that you took the time to explain both the pros and cons of the program. It sounds like WGU is better suited to people with more experience than me, but I'll still look into WGU for my master's degree.

I expect most people would be fine with the workload, it isn't a particularly demanding program academically...but its very much geared towards working professionals.

[Goblue34]

I expect most people would be fine with the workload, it isn't a particularly demanding program academically...but its very much geared towards working professionals.

Rebel what do you think of the new curriculum of WGU MBA program ? Seems to have a lot of tests and it pretty different from the one you experienced

[Bibby]

I expect most people would be fine with the workload, it isn't a particularly demanding program academically...but its very much geared towards working professionals.

Here's the part that's the biggest problem for me:

Applicants must also submit a resume showing at least three years of significant professional experience.

I don't have a problem with an ambitious workload, but I'd have to get pretty creative showing that I had three years of experience in the IT field. I could probably convince them to make an exception for someone who's never gotten a grade worse than an A, but I think I might be better off at a college that's not aimed so much at people with extensive work experience.

[derek12538]

I am hoping for a August or September start date, as it is all dependent upon how long the TESC capstone takes (starting it in two weeks). I would love to chat with some others who may be considering the plunge around the same time!
I was torn between WGU and a couple other programs (Heriot-Watt, ENMU, UND, USD) and have done a lot of research. However, it just fits me better, as I am somewhat of a mid career professional with a great position already; I just want more opportunity. At this point, I do not need prestige, I need applicable skills and quite frankly, the title.