Western Governors University

If you came to the school from a previous program, or you have an extensive amount of professional experience from which you have gained knowledge, then you're likely to breeze through the classes. Some classes include a study guide and a course planning assessment that allows you to focus your time studying on content you don't already know rather than reading things you already know well.

While I absolutely love the competency based curriculum that is offered, there are a few areas that I find are significantly lacking compared to a traditional university.

First, I am highly motivated by learning additional information aside from what is provided by the textbook. When I reach out to the faculty for additional resources or more specific types of information, I have been invariably directed to resources like Coursera or Google. A book recommendation or specific point of contact or resource would have been appreciated. A discussion with the professor over the questions not covered by the materials would have been ideal. Instead, you're likely to receive some equivalent of "meh."

Second, if you're hoping to double-major, there are significant barriers. The competency based-curriculum allows you to go through coursework as fast or as slow as you are capable of or determined to. If you finish your coursework and have 4 months remaining, you have to wait the entire 4 months before you can start a new course of study. If the second degree has a large amount of overlap with a prior degree that you've received, then you will be barred from enrolling in that degree program. If there is a class that has information you're interested in, but is not part of your program, then you're out of luck.Third, some of the value that you get from college is in the people you make friends with or meet as part of your coursework or extracurriculars. Later in life, these connections become part of a network you can leverage in countless ways. As this is 100% online, making friends incidentally is unlikely. Extracurricular programs essentially amount to professional organizations. While I love the program, if you haven't gone to a traditional college, it is definitely worth doing so at least for a year or two in order to build friendships and a network.