What is WGU?

I remember hearing about WGU when I was attending USU. This was about eight to ten years ago. Well, I forgot all them until two months ago. I was searching the Internet for teacher licensure programs in Utah and WGU popped up in my google search. As soon as I looked at their site I became very excited about this opportunity. So, what is WGU? WGU is a unique online university.

The following is from and email I received from the university:

WGU's online, competency-based approach allows you to:

* Earn your degree on your own flexible schedule
* Accelerate your degree by demonstrating knowledge you've already acquired
* Follow a personalized Academic Action Plan
* Work with a faculty mentor to achieve your goals faster
* Learn from faculty and experts using numerous learning resources

WGU was specifically created by the governors of the Western states for busy adults who need to juggle work, family, and school demands. Most WGU students work full time and find it inconvenient or impossible to commute to a college campus because of geographic or time restrictions. The governors of the Western states who support WGU insist that we produce highly competent graduates and, at that same time, help them obtain their degrees as quickly and affordably as possible.

So how does their competency program work?

WGU has developed sophisticated assessments that students must pass in order to advance through a degree program. By assessments we are talking about tests, assigned performance tasks that students complete at various stages, and sometimes, cumulative projects. WGU degrees are not credit-hour based. Progress is not determined by accumulating credit hours. Your progress is based upon passing required assessments.

Because WGU degrees are competency-based, not credit-hour based, I can speed up the time it takes to obtain my masters degree by clearing the assessments as quickly as I'm ready. I hope to have my degree finished in 18 months. Currently, I am looking at attending WGU full time.

Check out WGU's "Who We Are" page at their website for more information.

Why go back to School?

After working as a journalist in northern Utah, moving to Denver, CO to work as a technical writer and web developer, oh, and that short time as a car salesman (I'm trying to block that time from memory), I have decided to go back to school to receive my masters degree.

I started my higher education career at Utah State University (USU) majoring in Nutrition with the intent to go onto dental school. That didn't last very long. I hate the sound of dental drills and I decided that the chemistry and biology classes were not my thing. So I switched to an English teaching degree. This area fit me much better. I was very excited until several poeple kept mentioning that there's no money in teaching. Of course I knew that. You don't become a teacher for the money. But after a while, I switched from English Teaching to English with an emphasis in Technical Writing.

My mother was perfectly correct in telling me that there's no money in teaching. I eventually moved up the ranks in the corporate world and made a lot of money. I even started my own company and did very well with that.

But now that I am successful and reached what I think is the American dream, I found an empty spot in my life. I kept looking back at those years where I almost became a teacher. For the last year, I have had this feeling that teaching is where I belong. Throughout my career I never had that feeling about what I was doing at the time. It seemed that I was just floating through life waiting for the next thing to happen. So now I am grabbing life by the horns and creating a destiny that I feel I was chosen for.

I know that probably sounds sappy, but who cares. I want to be a teacher and Western Governors University is going to get me there.