WGU - Western Governors University Reviews

Extremely disappointing transfer experience. I applied to WGU because they advertise themselves as flexible and friendly for working adults trying to finish a degree. I already have 63 earned college credits and a completed Associate of Arts degree, so I expected at least a reasonable amount of transfer credit. Instead, WGU accepted only 12 credits. I understand that not every class will transfer perfectly, especially since my associate degree was in a different field. But accepting only 12 credits from a completed AA feels ridiculous and completely defeats the purpose of going to a school marketed toward adult learners and degree completion. The response I received was basically that only courses matching their specific program requirements would transfer. Fine, policy is policy. But financially, that makes WGU a terrible option for someone in my situation. I would essentially be starting almost from scratch, despite already completing two years of college. This was frustrating, unhelpful, and honestly disappointing. If you already have college credits and are hoping WGU will help you finish affordably, be very careful. Get your transfer evaluation first before committing to anything. For me, WGU did not make financial sense at all.

I have had the worst experience that I have ever had trying to communicate with a college and get registered. First off, I put an application in to attend college to obtain my bachelor's in human resources management and I did not hear anything for 3 weeks after putting in an application. No one ever reached out to me I never got an email but yet my friend and I had applied around the same time because we had planned on going to school together and trying to graduate together at the same time. She got all of her stuff done and got enrolled and is currently in college. I still hadn't heard anything and was not able to start May 1st as she did so I reached out again to see what was going on. Still didn't hear from anybody I called in multiple times and they kept telling me to email admissions. No one would speak with me over the phone in regards to my application or in regards to my financial aid or to discuss programs or how to even get enrolled or what was going on. I paid to get my transcripts transferred over to Western governors and when trying to call in to see what credits would be moved over to the college they would not discuss anything with me and still told me to email admissions. I received an email today stating that I had to take a form to get notarized and had to turn it back in to the college by mailing it to a specific address. I've tried asking multiple times exactly what this form is for and no one will tell me what the form is exactly for no one will answer any questions and they keep telling me that has something to do with the chain of commission and they will not communicate with me what is going on and why they're asking for this. This is very upsetting as it seems like I'm being treated like some kind of fraud is being committed is that's not the case. I have tried to enroll in other colleges and actually spoke with other admissions counselors with other colleges and I have never been treated like this to the point where being ignored is just blatantly rude and disgusting. I'm just not sure what is going on with this college and why are they are so closed off and very rude and aren't willing to discuss anything especially when you're going to go to school and give them thousands upon thousands of dollars to attend their classes they can't even have the respect to speak to you with dignity and treat you like a human being rather than a checkbook. I will definitely not be going to this college because I have had to jump through many hoops to try to get to where I am right now and this is weeks of trying to get enrolled and still being treated with disrespect and no answers as to why I haven't even made it past the enrollment process.

You had me at "at your own pace" WGU.

WGU has given me the opportunity to go back to school while balancing working full time and being a parent. I feel supported by my program mentor, professors and all the staff I have worked with. WGU has made my goals feel much more obtainable and affordable with their price point and payment options.

Very good school for those already experienced in their career wanting to move up. The program supports full time employees well by being at your own pace. You can work at your own cadence. Those who need their hand held may find challenges because most mentors have a lot of students to support and you really need to keep moving on your own. Excited to graduate in July. All staff that I've interacted with have been kind, respectful, and supportive.

There communication was always horrible. You have to use a mentor and they can never be reached. I actually withdrew and I’m going to start another school but was even held up because they messed my transcripts up. They input my SSN wrong, so now I have to fix it, wait for it to be fixed then send my transcripts again to the new school.

WGU is an awesome university! I moved around a lot and transferred to several brick and mortar schools before landing at WGU and WGU was by far the best experience. The flat rate for tuition, optional study groups and the course set ups made it so that no time was wasted on busy work like weekly essays, discussion boards, and quizzes. WGU is about learning the material and passing the classes which saves a lot of time and work when learning is your only focus unlike traditional universities. I will warn you, you must have good time management skills and be able to stay on task or you won’t succeed. You have to be internally motivated to make the most out of WGU. WGU is no walk in the park but I’m here to learn and move on, and that’s exactly what gave me.

WGU is a large university but you would never feel like it. From the very first interview when I began my admissions process up to my final conversations with my academic program mentor about graduation, every individual and unique detail about my life and my college experience was recognized without me needing to constantly remind them.

If you are not neuro typical or you require extra support, this isn't the school for you. They don't explain anything.

I graduated with a Master's in Educational Technology and Instructional Design in October of 2025. Like most people, I was drawn to the flexible, self paced format that lets you blow through what you already know. However, the job market reality has been disappointing. I've applied to approximately 36 instructional design roles since graduating, including two instructional designer positions at WGU itself, and have not received a single interview. It feels as though a WGU master's carries an incredibly limited weight in the field, even with WGU themselves. WGU promotes itself as a respected, accredited university with strong employer recognition, yet if their own hiring teams don't appear to value their alumni enough to grant an interview, it raises true concerns about how well anyone, including WGU themselves respect this degree. If I could choose again, I would likely pursue a graduate degree from a different institution, ideally one with a more traditional reputation in instructional design or educational technology. The competency-based approach worked for completing the program quickly, but it hasn't translated into the career advancement I was hoping for. I still feel like I wasted money, time, and effort. Prospective students should go in with eyes wide open...weigh the affordability and flexibility heavily against your specific career goals and the hiring realities in instructional design. I would say WGU is only for people who aleady have a job, and just need to check a box for education requirements for a promotion. That was not my case, and I have not seen success. If things change, I may update this, but as of right now, not even WGU themselves will hire me. What does that tell you?

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Affordable, flexible, competency-based, and regionally accredited college program ideal for working adults who do not need a stereotypical "college experience." I came in with an Associate's Degree and wrapped up my Business Management Degree in 1.5 Years. I recommend WGU to those who are already working/interning/connected to their field and just need that diploma to give them the competitive edge if it's been holding them back. I will probably go back for my MBA in a couple of years... because why not?

So far, this university has been one of the best decisions I've made. I'm so glad I was able to come across this school in order to continue with my career.

I had an amazing experience with Western Governors University. As a full-time mom and student, flexibility was everything for me and WGU made it possible. The self-paced structure allowed me to accelerate through my degree, and I was able to complete my Bachelor’s in Marketing faster than I ever imagined. What really stood out to me was the support system. From my mentor to course instructors, I always felt encouraged and guided, even during late-night and early-morning study sessions. The competency-based model truly rewards what you know, not how long you sit in a classroom. WGU gave me the opportunity to break generational barriers and show my children what consistency and determination look like. I didn’t just earn a degree I built confidence, discipline, and a future. If you’re self-motivated and ready to take control of your education, WGU is absolutely worth it.

Self-paced model works if you’re completely independent. The moment you need real answers from anyone at the institution, expect vague responses, contradictions, and deflection. Questions go unanswered, escalations go nowhere, and the gap between what’s marketed and what’s delivered becomes very clear very fast. Keep records of everything. You’ll need them.

I Love WGU! The staff is amazing and the support you get from them is unbelievable. I was nervous about going back to school but WGU made it no only easy but they made me feel like I am not alone.

I enrolled in WGU's MSITM accelerated IT program based on their website's explicit promise of "Two degrees in one fast-track program", earning both a bachelor's and master's in IT. After completing all of my coursework and reaching the final requirements, I discovered that the master's degree was never actually included in my program and has always required a completely separate enrollment, separate term, and separate tuition. I was never proactively informed of this. I only found out by asking questions myself. When I did ask, I received three different answers about program end dates from three different WGU representatives — my program mentor, her manager, and student affairs — none of which matched each other. When I raised these concerns I was told the confusion was on my end. My student portal still shows the old program. My specific questions about whether students were formally notified of program changes have never been directly answered. I have filed a formal complaint and am escalating to the Student Ombudsman. WGU's own website still advertises this program as "two degrees in one" while telling enrolled students the reality is something very different. Do your research before enrolling. Ask very specific questions about what degrees you will actually receive and get everything in writing. The gap between what is marketed and what is delivered is significant.

I’ve had a frustrating experience with Western Governors University (WGU), mainly due to a lack of consistency and communication across the program. One of the biggest issues is the disconnect between course instructors and OA (Objective Assessment) evaluators. The guidance provided by instructors often doesn’t align with what evaluators are actually looking for, which makes it difficult to prepare effectively and leads to unnecessary retakes. Additionally, general student information is not consistently communicated across departments. I received conflicting answers multiple times when asking about the master’s program, which made it hard to trust the information being provided or plan my next steps with confidence. Surprisingly, I found online forums and student communities to be more helpful than the course instructors themselves. That shouldn’t be the case in a structured academic program. Overall, while WGU’s flexibility is appealing, the lack of alignment and clear communication significantly impacted my experience.

I never write reviews for anything. Good or bad. I was in the RN-BSN program. Worst educational experience I’ve ever had. The requirements for placement to complete clinical hours are ridiculous. I have tried for over a year to find a clinical facility that will accept a student for preceptorship. The only thing WGU does is “help” you find places. Like I can’t do that myself? I’ve tried everywhere and get ghosted or rejected. I finished every course in 4 months. But now that I can’t find a preceptor, they blame me and charge me 1400$ for a new semester to complete this ONE class. Im a single income household and have to work well over 40 hours as an RN to support my family in this price gouging era we’re currently in. Why am I expected to pay 1400$ for a course when everyone in my region won’t accept me? Again, the only “help” they gave was giving me locations that could POSSIBLY accept me and I was always met with apathy or confusion because it’s an RN-BSN PROGRAM for goodness sake. This place is very much part of the racket that’s taking advantage of nurses that want a useless nursing bachelors degree. If some WGU rep reads this, here’s my advice: Stop punishing students who can’t find preceptors in time. We pay YOU to provide a service. YOU should be making the calls and finding the sites for the students.Full-time working Students shouldn’t have to go through the work of going door to door or making countless cold calls to be rejected for a “preceptorship” outpatient clinics while the school sits back and does nothing but act as the middle man when emailing administrators of these clinics and writing up some cookie cutter contract to cover yourselves. Anyone who reads this, DO NOT ENROLL in this school. They will find a way to scam you out of money. It’s a lazy, copy and paste, cooker cutter, pathetic excuse of an educational system.

Working full-time and being able to do classes on MY schedule is EXACTLY the system I needed to succeed. The courses themselves were well laid out and pertinent to what you needed to know. I appreciate that there aren't many boring lectures and, on the contrary, many YouTube videos from other teachers that are upbeat and interesting (Jacob Clifford's Econ series). I did not have many interactions with my instructors, but when I did they were very helpful.