+- Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb)
+-- Forum: Specific College Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-Specific-College-Discussion)
+--- Forum: WGU - Western Governors University Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-WGU-Western-Governors-University-Discussion)
+--- Thread: WGU MBA Experience (/Thread-WGU-MBA-Experience--47528)
WGU MBA Experience - Calvinb - 09-23-2024
Hello Everyone! I figured I would share a write-up I made a few months ago and posted on Reddit about my MBA experience. All info is brief and I do not want to go into specifics about each assignment as I do not want to give anyone an unfair advantage. This is mainly just what to expect and a brief overview of the program.
Education/Background
First, I want to give a brief background of my education history and experience. I recently graduated with a B.A. with a double major in English and history. I have zero prior business knowledge and only took 2 business classes during my undergrad. I want to stress this as I have seen where some people are afraid to start the program without prior business knowledge. I had no problems finishing in one term with little prior knowledge. Some Classes were definitely way harder for me than other classes, but while working full time I had no issues finishing.
Prior to starting your first class
First, you need a webcam. You do not need the official WGU webcam. Honestly, it is overpriced and low quality. Go on Amazon and find one with a decent resolution. Next, you need a good computer. Good is relative, but get one that is not going to freeze up on you all the time and that will allow you to multitask. One important note. DO NOT BUY A CHROMEBOOK! They will not work. I see this asked all the time on Facebook, so I am going to stress it here. Finally, you need the BA II Plus calculator. There is no exception. This calculator is required. I got mine for $8 on eBay.
Accelerating
You will also meet with your mentor prior to starting your first class. My mentor was phenomenal and was completely supportive of me trying to accelerate. If your mentor does not want you to accelerate or discourages you from doing so, find a different mentor. WGU supports students accelerating. It is one of the selling points of the college. My mentor has worked at the college for over 10 years and my fiance’s mentor (she did an MS in marketing) has been there even longer, and we both finished in one term. I have read that people say their mentors are weird about this. Don’t let them be. You are not doing anything wrong when you accelerate.
Class Breakdown
Managing Organizations and Leading People (c200) - 2 Performance Assessments
This class will have you take a Clifton Strengths test and evaluate your leadership style. It is fairly fun and not hard at all. You have two papers and honestly, the course content is supplemental. You can view it, but the tasks for the papers do not necessarily require you to do so. Follow the rubrics exactly, and you will be fine. This class was one of the easiest. The second task has you evaluating someone else’s leadership style. It is very similar to the first task, just from a different perspective.
Management Communication (c204) - 2 Performance Assessments
This was another very easy class for me. The first task gives you multiple scenarios and you have to write emails, blog posts, and letters to different people. This is just a simple communication course. If you have ever written a professional email you will be fine. The next task is a presentation. Do not overthink this. I spent very little time preparing this and passed on my first time. Follow the rubric and make sure you answer everything it asks. The task is to present communication strategies to new employees at a fictional company. It was actually kinda fun.
Managing Human Capital (c202) - 1 Objective Assessment
This class was the first class to slow me down. It is a very basic HR class at a surface level. If you have worked in a business environment before, it might be easier, but there are still weird regulations and things that for me did not come naturally. This class took me around 4 days to complete, but it was not anything crazy. I read through the textbook almost entirely. I find things stick for me better when I do that, but this is not required. This class also has no course resource page from what I can tell which is a bit of a bummer.
Marketing (c212) - 1 Performance Assessment
This class was super easy. I sat down and wrote the assessment before reading any content. The main idea is that you have a fictional product that you want to introduce to a global market. I chose to create Harley Davidson mopeds to sell in India. It does not have to be feasible. You just have to follow the rubric. I had a lot of fun with this class, and there isn’t much to say. Just come up with a cool idea and push forward.
Ethical Leadership (c206) - 3 Performance Assessments
This class wasn’t hard but it was tedious. You have three assessments and they are pretty boring. The main idea is that you are looking at ethical leaders and either evaluating them or pretending you are working in a company and coming up with ethical strategies. It isn’t hard, but there is a lot to write and it is a pretty boring topic.
Accounting for Decision Makers (c213) - 1 Objective Assessment
This class was not fun. I struggled with this class. If you understand basic accounting you should not have much trouble, but as someone with no prior business knowledge, I had to study a lot. The course videos were very helpful. You really just have to go through each video and learn the concepts. There is a course resource page for this class, but I found the main textbook/video content to be the best. You do not have to memorize any formulas you just have to know how to use the formulas.
Financial Management (c214) - 1 Objective Assessment
Take this class directly after accounting. They build off each other. This class was the worst for me. It took me three times to pass. The largest learning curve I had was using the calculator. I suggest familiarizing yourself with the BA II Plus time value of money function before starting this class. If I understood this from the beginning this class would have been a cakewalk. The course resource page was great. Watch Dr. V’s video on how to calculate problems.
Operations Management (c215) - 1 Objective Assessment
Looking back, for some reason I barely remember this class haha. This is mostly quality management and supply chain. There is a video library on the course resource page that helped me. I watched all the videos and skimmed the chapters I did not do well on when I took the pre-assessment. Honestly, this class was not that bad.
Data-Driven Decision Making (c207) - 2 Performance Assessments and 1 Objective Assessment
I hated this class. It was a ton of work. It is pretty much a statistics class. You discuss standard deviation and stuff like that. The two performance assessments are not difficult, you just have to make sure you follow the rubric. There is a section on the course resource page that walks you through both. For the OA it was a lot of studying. Same thing with the pa, you just need to watch the recorded cohorts as well as read the book for the parts you don’t pass on the pre-assessment.
Global Economics for Managers (c211) - 1 Objective Assessment
This class was not extremely difficult. It took me two attempts to pass. The thing that helped me the most was watching the recorded videos. There is very little math. This is mainly a surface-level view of global econ. If you pay attention to the news and understand how money works a lot of it makes sense from the get-go. A lot of people said reading the book helped them. I read a good chunk of it and found it to be extremely boring. To each their own.
MBA Capstone (c216) - 3 Performance Assessments
I am going to give you a good tip. You do not have to do well on the simulation. It doesn’t matter. I completed the entire capstone in 4 days. This was with a day break in between. The simulation is not difficult. It is actually easier to finish the tasks if you do not do well on the simulation. For task 1 you have to create a presentation/ recording asking for money from investors. They give you a template for your PowerPoint, so almost all the work is done for you. All you have to do is fill in the blanks. For the second task, you just analyze your decisions in the simulation and how you could have done better. Again, this is super easy. A lot of the information they ask you for is in the simulation, you just have to find it. The third task is about your experience in the program and your future goals. Again, this was super simple and there is not much explanation needed.
RE: WGU MBA Experience - bjcheung77 - 09-23-2024
@Calvinb, Welcome to the board! Wow, thanks for sharing that WGU MBA Mini-Checklist and writing an informative review on each of the course offerings!
RE: WGU MBA Experience - wow - 09-24-2024
Thanks for sharing this detailed review. This is very helpful. I've always had a hard time "visualizing" what people mean when they talk about accelerating because descriptions are usually vague. This clarifies a lot for me about how one can accelerate through a Masters at WGU without too much stress. Did you finish with time to spare, or did you come in just under the wire?
I have thought about the MBA but have also considered the MS Marketing. If your fiancee wants to come onto the board to share her experience I'd love to hear about it.