Education Without Boundaries

The first thing that you have to do before beginning Education Without Boundaries (EWB) is take another skills assessment. This one is much more difficult than the readiness assessment because there is very little multiple choice. You have to actually solve the math equations this time. The english is also considerably more advanced this time.

Those of you who are only a year or two out of high school or spent some time in college might breeze through this, but if you're like me and haven't been in school for over 10 years, it's difficult.

Now that that's out of the way, it's time to move on to the Education Without Boundaries course itself.

Most people go into EWB thinking they are going to fly right through this "intro" course within a couple hours. (Insert laughter here) And indeed, Education Without Boundaries starts out relatively simple since most of the beginning sections were already explained in the pamphlets you receive when requesting information.

But it does get more difficult. Not necessarily academically difficult, but you WILL need to pay attention, re-read sections frequently, perform tasks, and take simple tests. And there is more to EWB than just passing it; since this intro course explains how everything works within WGU, you will need to revisit it often when you begin your studies.

I won't give anything away, but let's just say WGU provides awesome tools and resources for students. While a brick and mortar school is well, a school, WGU will have you browsing around for hours with occasional exclamations such as "ah, cool!". (Well, at least I did.)

For those of you who might prefer the "social" aspect of a traditional school I will say you will do plenty of communicating at WGU. You don't just sit at your desk alone never talking with anyone. In fact, working with others at WGU is much more comfortable than what I experienced at a regular school. You'll like it.

Another thing you'll learn in EWB is that WGU doesn't tolerate slacking off. You'll need to work if you want to stay in, but I'll leave the details to EWB.

Once Education Without Boundaries is complete you will officially begin your degree program. Mine comes with a bachelors and the following certifications:

• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
• CIW Professional
• CIW Associates
• CIW Database Design Specialist
• CompTIA A+ IT Technician
• CompTIA Project+
• CompTIA Network+ (2009 Objectives)
• CompTIA Security+ (2008 Objectives)
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) – Windows Vista, Configuration 70-620

Stay tuned...

Why WGU?

After being dissatisfied with my labor intensive, low wage job, I decided to pursue some sort of higher education. My initial plan was to take courses at the local community college to gain a host of IT certifications which coupled with my self taught skills, might get me a decent career in IT. My cousin landed a high paying job doing just that (actually he had no certifications, he's just a computer genuis).

But there are many other self taught computer guys and gals who are thinking the exact same thing, and many of them are going to be even better than I am. I found that the entry level CompTIA certs required a simple book and a little money for testing vouchers, but when I factored in the cost of getting higher level certs (which would require classroom instruction), I was looking at several thousand dollars. So I thought, "why not just get a degree"?

Let's face it. IT careers these days require a bachelors to get your foot in the door. The few that don't will have every aforementioned "self taught computer genuis" competing with me. So I went to the local community college and set up my path to an associates, and later, a bachelors.

The problem? I am not a 20 year old living with their parents and working a few hours a week, I am a 30 year old adult with a full time job and bills to pay. College classes were never held at a convenient time for my schedule, and the commute alone would've cut into much of the "free time" I had after work.

So I began to look into online education, or "distance education" as it is often called, and was both excited and skeptical. I could get a bachelors degree at my own pace, and without setting foot on a campus, but would employers value a degree from such a school?

And which online university should I choose?

For legal reasons I won't name any other schools but let's just say I clicked a few ads and searched Yahoo answers for some opinions. What I found were these online universities were not regionally accredited, were expensive, and were generally mocked by the college educated community at large.

Then a friend I hadn't seen in awhile introduced me to Western Governors University, or WGU. He told me WGU is regionally accredited, affordable, and that I should check it out. I wasn't expecting much, and felt bad for my friend who I believed was in for a rude awakening upon graduation.

But upon inspection, I found that WGU was indeed regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, who is recognized by CHEA. Other schools sharing this accreditation? Oregon State, Portland State, MHCC (the local community college), PCC (the other local community college), Lewis & Clark, Washington State, University Of Oregon, Brigham Young, and several others.

I also found that when reviewing WGU's IT bachelor degrees, they included 9 certifications including CompTIA's A+, Network+, and Security+ which according to employment listings in my area, is more than enough to become a technician until I finish my degree.

Cost? Pay a flat rate of $2,890 per six month term which makes it highly affordable. So not only can you "attend class" whenever is convenient for you, but you can put more time in at your leisure and complete sooner. Brick and mortar schools don't have classes at 3am. WGU does.

But even though WGU was looking very good, it didn't stop me from checking out a wide variety of opinions. The funny thing? Most negative opinions of WGU come from people who have never enrolled...

So after much consideration I decided to enroll at WGU.

The first thing you do once you've decided to enroll at WGU is request more information; a counselor will call you and answer any questions you might have. You will also be mailed detailed materials about the university that you can look over.

Then you will begin the admissions process which is rather straightforward. First you fill out the online application and pay the application fee (which is waived if another WGU student refers you). Since my friend is a student, I didn't pay the application fee.

Please note: Unfortunately, I am unable to refer any visitors to this blog. The reasons are as follows:

1) The friend referrel form requires personal information from both the referring student and the prospective student including full name, mailing address, and e-mail. Neither of us can/should provide these details to someone we don't know.

2) This blog is an unbiased account of my experience as a student. Since a referring student can receive a modest gift certificate for thing's such as recommended texts, referring people through this blog would be viewed as bias.

3) WGU limits the amount of students one can refer for the above reason. Enrollment in the university should be strictly to obtain a quality education that fits our busy lifestyles, not as a profit driven affiliation.

Thank you for understanding.

Then you will complete the readiness assessment (brush up on your english/math), and send in your transcripts, if any.

Next is making tuition arrangements or applying for financial aid. Not difficult at all, and there are plenty of checklists, phone numbers, and e-mails to get the support you need. After completing the financial aid process you will do an intake interview with your enrollment counselor to make sure you're ready and that everything is in order.

School begins on the 1st of the month after you complete all the necessary steps.

Your first class?

Education Without Boundaries, WGU's introduction course.