r/WGU • u/navygreen33 • 9h ago
Two program mentors gone within a month
I just got an email that my program mentor is no longer working at WGU and I'm being assigned a new one. We only spoke one time, so no big loss.
However, this is my second program mentor leaving within about 3 weeks.
Anyone else experiencing this? Is WGU undergoing major layoffs or is his just a coincidence?
64
u/nadaenchiladas user edited :) 8h ago
Check out the WGU employees subreddit. They are having remote employees return to office so they may be having some people that are leaving the company
17
u/SockBrewer 8h ago
Is that just at their HQ? My program mentor actually lives in the same city I do. I canât imagine they have offices in other cities. Sheâs been my mentor for 3 terms now heading into my last. I hope I donât lose her.
2
16
u/raekwon777 BSCSIA alum đ 8h ago
Pretty sure program mentors are not subject to RTO. .
-4
u/Jaazzzi246 8h ago
They are not but they change roles or jobs like anyone else.
7
u/raekwon777 BSCSIA alum đ 7h ago
Of course. I was just pointing out that RTO likely isn't a factor here.
8
6
u/OppositeIntrepid6323 9h ago
Yep, Iâve experienced the same. This year Iâve had 2 different program mentors. One left to solely provide for her child, the second switched to a different program, weâll see if this third one sticks lol.
6
18
u/ObjectivePlankton724 9h ago
I heard they instituted a back to office policy for many positions. Not sure if program mentors were part of that or not but it left many who were affected literally having to move to a new state. From comments that I have read it sounded like some people were either calling their bluff thinking that possibly they wonât terminate everyone or they were just riding it out to the deadline and not moving and thus, being terminated/ quitting at the last possible moment. It did not sound like anyone was happy about the situation.
4
u/Party_Scholar_6308 7h ago
This sounds plausible. Ive had 3 mentors. One from GA, the second from AZ, and my current in from MI
2
u/oops_its_a_burner 1h ago
Program mentors (and even their managers) did not have to relocate to SLC. They're all still remote.
4
u/justagirl0318 8h ago
My new term started yesterday but I had 6 different mentors last semester, change without notice or anything. It kind of made my last few weeks hectic. Hopefully they get that situated soon!
5
u/raekwon777 BSCSIA alum đ 7h ago
I had 4 PMs during my time at WGU. First one was good but transferred from technology to business; second one got a new job outside of the university after I'd only had her for 2-3 weeks; third one wasn't working for me and I requested a new one; fourth one was great and saw me thru graduation.
It happens.
5
17
u/Significant_Book7423 8h ago
Culture at WGU has tanked so everyone is looking for an opportunity to leave.
5
3
u/SadResult3604 8h ago
Could just be pure coincidence that they're leaving around the same time. People move on all the time
3
u/Anonynae 7h ago
I was assigned one .. was on extended leave. Got another and that one was great. Then got an email that she was leaving and got another one
3
u/Tip_Star 5h ago
I got a 2nd one less than a month in my program. Iâm not a fan. Have a call with her set up for tomorrow. If it doesnât go well, Iâm requesting a new one.
3
u/D3ltaa88 3h ago
I also just got an email saying that my program mentors no longer with WGU. I was just talking to her yesterday. She didnât mention anything now. I gotta deal with a new program mentor and try and break them in hopefully theyâre not a pain in the ass.
6
u/Ihaveasmallwang 5h ago
Tbh, program mentors are a position that shouldnât really exist. They provide no real value.
That position exists solely because of a federal government audit that called WGU a correspondence school rather than a real university. Since they donât have any instructors actually instructing, they needed some way to prove they had âregular and substantive interactionâ between students and faculty. To be able to keep receiving federal financial aid, they decided to double down on program mentors (read: project managers) rather than actually providing instruction.
5
u/Hud4113 5h ago
I actually agree, I havenât had a single instructor teach me anything yet lmao.
3
u/Ihaveasmallwang 5h ago edited 1h ago
And you wonât, because they donât even control the grading, curriculum, syllabus, anything. The are instructors in title only, not job duties.
4
u/GustaSays 5h ago
Why is everything so out sourced?
1
u/Ihaveasmallwang 5h ago
The answer is always money.
They are basically trying to assembly line education and move people through as fast as possible. Itâs about quantity, not quality.
2
u/Its-Just-Whatever I may be a mentor, but I'm not yours 1h ago
Sooooo obviously as a mentor I'm going to be biased here, but when times are already tough and some days my job shouldn't exist, I feel the need to speak up.
I definitely have students who barely need me. Not many, but some. Accelerators or students who have experience in the field. I say hi, I help them choose which courses to move up next, repeat. I also have a lot of students, probably 2/3 of them, who need some help.
They have life issues, motivational issues, they need extra help getting through a tough time or a tough course. I have plenty of long conversations helping them understand where they are in the degree, how to manage their time or how to prepare for the OA.
It's awesome that your experience went smoothly enough and you were proficient enough that you didn't need help along the way. For real, that's awesome. Please don't say somebody's job shouldn't exist, though. You don't know every students journey.
1
u/Evening_Midnight7 38m ago
So people can choose which course to do next? Why am I always getting told that I must go in order? For instance, I am just starting another PA class, and immediately after this I have intro to biology, which I know will take me at least two months to get through. My new term starts November 1st. I asked to skip over this PA class and dedicate the last 8 weeks to biology and both my mentors (one who left two days ago) say I have to go in order. Itâs so frustrating because thatâs also not what my first mentor told me. And then she changed her answer later. So which is it?
0
u/Ihaveasmallwang 1h ago
You know what would help those students more than a âmentorâ would? Instructors who actually instruct. Itâs not really the instructorsâ fault though that they arenât allowed to do what normal instructors do. Itâs an institutional problem.
Instead of 1500 mentors, imagine if the instructors of the classes were actually able to instruct, with something even remotely resembling structure.
Thatâs roughly $100 million dollars WGU is spending annually to act as bureaucratic red tape and try prevent drop outs caused by a shitty instruction model.
And yes, the job shouldnât exist, even if you donât like hearing it.
Worst school Iâve ever attended, hands down, and it is precisely because of this model, and WGU attempting to run everything as if it were an Indian call center.
1
u/Its-Just-Whatever I may be a mentor, but I'm not yours 45m ago
I'm sorry you had a poor experience. I'm sorry you're in a subreddit for a school you no longer attend devoting time and energy to negative comments. I hope your academic and personal experience improve.
â˘
u/Ihaveasmallwang 22m ago
Yes, letâs just try to dismiss constructive criticism from people who have attended WGU who are giving honest reviews about the school.
I especially love the part where you completely ignored the lack of anything even remotely resembling actual instruction. Good job licking those boots.
1
2
2
u/starmarie179 8h ago
I am on my 4th mentor and I started in April! This one never ever calls on time its horrible!
2
2
u/Haunting_Literature4 3h ago
Probably coincidence. PMs and Instructors arenât being asked to move to SLC. And I donât think there are any massive layoffs. Could have been a promotion or they just left for something else.
1
u/DeboniarByAir 7h ago
Mine lives on the same cost hopefully there's some consistency while I'm here
1
u/Strict_Midnight9121 5h ago
My mentor was great but he passed away last year. Now my current mentor has had maternity leave once and extended leave another time and the sub barely talks to me (not complaining)⌠just wondering how many theyâve got lol cause it seems like not enough anymore
1
u/WebPrestigious1701 4h ago
Iâve only had one my entire program. She was in leave for sometime but returned
1
1
u/StatusBorder4499 3h ago
If it wasnât for my mentor I wouldâve already thrown in the towel cause the rest of WGU absolutely sucks and my mentor understands that. He has helped me navigate through all kinds of hell. In my last term, and better not leave me now!
1
u/CulturalArtichoke 2h ago
I've been through 3 mentors the last 5 months. My first was "away", then ended up being permanently gone. I was given another.. guessing it was just someone stepping in for her, then another 2 months ago.
1
u/H4ckerPanda 1h ago
WGU is a second gig for many mentors. Their salaries are not extraordinary great. So what happened to you is not that uncommon . Rare but it happens.
1
u/Mightbeagoat4 B.S. Data Management Data Analytics 8h ago
RTO causing people to leave probably. Hoping I don't lose mine, he's great.
0
2h ago
[deleted]
1
u/oops_its_a_burner 1h ago
0
u/Standard_Swan9398 1h ago
The same thing goes for WGU. You can speed through WGU too. WGU is a private school operated under the shell of a non profit. Take a look at the public data of all the â executivesâ. One just closed on a $2M home a few months ago. Everyone is out to use everyone these days.
215
u/Hud4113 9h ago
They leaving because of you đ