What is WGU like?

[Merlin]

By that I mean what are the courses like? Quizzes, essays, unit tests, midterm, final exam, 10 page papers? Proctoring? Or are there instructors leading the courses? Can you work on more than one course at a time? Is the learning method similar to Sophia or Study.com?

I ask because I'm enrolled at CSU Global and the amount of working making me lose my mind - literally. These weekly 3-5 page papers, lengthy discussions with cited scholarly sources along with multiple responses which need scholarly citings is getting old. Then the last week you have a 8-10 - or longer - page paper due with all kinds of requirements. It's mentally exhausting. There are no breaks for holidays. NONE. This being a holiday weekend, it has been a serious struggle completing everything that is needed on time. I would like to take off a day or two for a holiday here and there but it's not possible with this format. 

Looking at WGU and what I can transfer from my associates degrees, Sophia, and Study.com, I would be done at WGU sooner and save thousands. If WGU can be completed like Sophia and Study.com this would be a dream come true. I'm just worried that there will be mountains of papers.

Well, I suspect it is probably not that different than what you're used to. But here is a quick rundown.

First of all WGU generally only allows you to have one course active at any given time. Once you complete the final assignment (or exam) for your current course you work with your program mentor (PM) to move up the next course in your program. Your PM may allow you to queue up a second active course if you're close to finishing the first, but that depends on your relationship with them and whether you are trying to accelerate or not.

WGU courses typically require either a PA (performance assessment: one or more papers, projects, or presentations) or an OA (objective assessment: proctored final exam). There are a few courses that require both PA assignments and an OA, but those are rare and typically represent courses that require more hands-on understanding (from what I've seen anyway). I'm sure it varies by degree program, but at the undergrad level it seems like the majority of courses are OA rather than PA focused.

It varies by course but papers are typically in the 3-5 page length like you're used to. Some papers require a minimum number of cited references while others do not. If you don't use any external references you don't need any citations, but they do use plagiarism scanners as part of scoring papers and they can be picky about this. Projects usually include longer papers and will typically require research and problem-solving. Presentations vary a lot, but luckily they are uncommon. The presentation I did for my MBA capstone was about 30 minutes, but from what I gather, most of the undergrad presentations are 10 minutes or less.

As for the teaching style, it is a combination of reading textbook materials, lectures (which they call cohorts), and one-on-one meetings with course instructors. So the format is closest to Straighterline. You are encouraged to participate in the live cohorts and set up meetings with your instructors for more personalized instruction and to work through issues. However, it is not required. You are free to watch pre-recorded cohort lectures or use third party resources like Youtube or LinkedIn Learning to supplement the provided materials. Also, the instructors don't grade your papers or exams; papers are graded by a separate team of evaluators while exams are graded automatically by the service much like those on Study.com or Straighterline.

As for scheduling, each term is 6 months so you can choose your own timelines for when and how you approach the coursework. You also schedule your own examinations which you can take as soon as you successfully complete the pre-assessment (an exam that tests whether you are ready to take the final). There are no hard and fast requirements other than meeting the minimum credits required to be completed per term (referred to as OTP or on-time progress). This means you must complete a minimum of 12 competency units (CU's = credit hours) per term at the undergrad level, or a minimum of 8 CU at the graduate level to meet your OTP requirement. Anything more than that is up to you, but obviously, the more you do the fewer terms you have to pay for. FYI, most courses are 3-4 CU though they can range from 2-6.

Personally, unless you're planning to use financial aid to pay, I feel that you'd be better off transferring in with your associate degree to meet all your gen ed requirements and then take courses from Study.com, Sophia, and Straighterline to get up to the 90 credit maximum you can transfer in before enrolling. That way you can easily complete the last 30 credits in a single term and only end up paying once. There are no secondary fees for graduation, so that is also handy.

You can also apply for a scholarship via the school portal. They are competitive, but it seems like the acceptance rate is pretty high. You can only have one WGU scholarship at a time and they are typically set up for $500 per term for 4-5 terms, so if you finish in a single term it doesn't really help too much.

Hopefully that is helpful. Let me know if you need any more specific details.