WGU - How Many Courses Per Term to Shoot For?

[rowan555]

I'm helping my son with determining his plan for completing WGU in one term. He's got a few more to take via Study, SL, and Ed4Credit and will be enrolling late summer. As it stands now he will have 10 courses to complete at WGU in order to get his BS in Business. Does this seem doable for someone who is working full time on the program, no job, no big responsibilities outside getting school done? Thanks to Study.com he has completed several upper level courses, which should help. I just hate to misjudge things and end up paying for a second term if he gets close but just can't complete it within the 6 months.

[ELSADDIQ]

It's been done but it comes down to his knowledge of the subject matter. The mentors will only allow you to put about 3 courses per semester (appx. 12 hours) into your degree plan to make sure that you achieve "satisfactory on time progress." You'll then add each additional course as you progress through but there are no limits. The only concern will be if he fails one. They then require you to proceed completely through their study materials which may slow him down. If he fails a second time, the study requirement typically gets progressively worse.

There are many posts on Reddit that review the courses in general, pre-assessments, and assessments.

[rowan555]

It's been done but it comes down to his knowledge of the subject matter. The mentors will only allow you to put about 3 courses per semester (appx. 12 hours) into your degree plan to make sure that you achieve "satisfactory on time progress." You'll then add each additional course as you progress through but there are no limits. The only concern will be if he fails one. They then require you to proceed completely through their study materials which may slow him down. If he fails a second time, the study requirement typically gets progressively worse.

There are many posts on Reddit that review the courses in general, pre-assessments, and assessments.

Thanks, I know he spends a lot of time on Reddit so I'll encourage him to check that out.

[jsd]

You can point him to /r/WGU (as a Redditor, he'll know what that means even if you're not familiar with it -- it's a part of the site that is setup specifically to discuss the school)

[dfrecore]

I'm also thinking that depending on which courses he needs through WGU, he might be able to get a "head start" on them by studying them on Study.com or through other methods before he enrolls. Even a course that's similar but not exact, might help.

[rowan555]

I'm also thinking that depending on which courses he needs through WGU, he might be able to get a "head start" on them by studying them on Study.com or through other methods before he enrolls. Even a course that's similar but not exact, might help.

This is great advice, thanks. I'd read the Spreadhseets course is surprisingly challenging, and my son doesn't have much experience with Excel at all - so my first goal will be to make sure he learns as much as he can about Excel so that he can get through that particular course without the hassle it seems it's causing lots of people. Great idea to also see what sort of head start he might be able to get with some other courses. I was disappointed to learn Study.com's new ACE approved Employment Law course is only 2 credits - not realizing that he can still do the material and learn as much as possible prior to enrolling in WGU, and then that's one more class he can breeze through because he's done much of the learning beforehand. Thanks so much!

[dfrecore]

This is great advice, thanks. I'd read the Spreadhseets course is surprisingly challenging, and my son doesn't have much experience with Excel at all - so my first goal will be to make sure he learns as much as he can about Excel so that he can get through that particular course without the hassle it seems it's causing lots of people. Great idea to also see what sort of head start he might be able to get with some other courses. I was disappointed to learn Study.com's new ACE approved Employment Law course is only 2 credits - not realizing that he can still do the material and learn as much as possible prior to enrolling in WGU, and then that's one more class he can breeze through because he's done much of the learning beforehand. Thanks so much!

There are lots of free Spreadsheets courses online, I think Microsoft even has them. I had a friend do a few because he too knew nothing about them, and would have struggles with that kind of course.