Incentive to Start WGU in 2015

With the new year right around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning your education for the coming year. Instead of making a resolution that doesn't stick, why not make one you can start working on right now? 2015 is a particularly good year to enroll in WGU Indiana simply because they just released $400,000 in scholarships, many of them for new students only.

So, why start working on your goal now?

• If you haven't already filled out a FAFSA for the 2014-2015 school year, you need to do it now so it can be processed.
• Paperwork that is processed by the 15th of the preceding month leads to enrollment in the following month. So, If you start processing your enrollment in December and you get it done by the 15th, you can start in January. In some cases, you may need more time to get everything together, so starting December could mean you can start classes in February.
• Everyone needs some light at the end of the tunnel. A degree in your chosen field can be that light and there is no better time to start than at the beginning of the new year.

Let's just add a little more incentive to the pot. Let's talk numbers.

WGU Indiana charges from $2,890 to $4,250 per term, with only one degree being charge the higher amount. That tuition hasn't changed since 2008! Now, what's a "term"?

WGU Indiana is a knowledge based program, so you can test out of areas you are familiar with and move on at your own pace. The "term" last 6 months and in that 6 months you can complete as many classes as you would like...without paying a penny more. Complete 4 classes or complete 20 classes, it's all the same, financially speaking.

Now, why do I care?

I run this blog because I love my school and it saddens me to see people pay so much to get the exact same degrees I have, when they don't have to. I don't get paid by WGU or anyone else to do it. But, I am a member of the Chancellor's Club and that means from time to time I do get some great deals to hand out.

Today I happen to have 3 grants to hand out. These are on top of any other grants and/or scholarships that you may qualify for and qualifying for these particular grants couldn't be easier. Essentially, if you are enrolled in a degree program by Feb. 1, 2015, you qualify because your enrollment indicates that you've met all the other qualifications.

Each grant is worth $200. Combine them with your PELL grants, scholarships, or loans to help you get through your first session at WGU Indiana.

I'll even go one step further. If you enroll and use the grant, I'll be your on-call study buddy. I finish up my degree very shortly, but I won't ever forget how certain people helped me, even if it was just by listening to me vent because I'm a single mother and business owner who got overwhelmed by life now and then. If you are interested in the grant, leave a comment here or contact me at kfoust1 at wgu dot edu.

Earn Christmas Money and Discounts as a WGU Student

You're a struggling student, cringing at the thought of the invisible people at Taskstream taking the holidays off this close to the end of the month. You haven't even started your Christmas shopping because you're busy hitting "refresh" and waiting for a revision or that email that cause you to mentally hear the angels singing...you know the one, the one that says you passed the task? Well, as long as you are worrying about your school work, you don't have time to worry about Christmas money. In lieu of that, here are a few tips to help you save money, and maybe even earn cash back for yourself and/or local schools.

Do Shop Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday is coming up and it looks like a good day to put the school work on hold and get all the discounts you would get if you dared to venture into the stores on Black Friday. Create an email account that's just for ads. Sign up for newsletters and set alerts for the terms "Cyber Monday" so you can get all the best deals. Then sign up for discount sites like Groupon where you can get coupons that will help you realize even more savings.

Use WGU Discounts

You get some discounts just because you are a student at WGU.

AT&T: AT&T offers 8% off data plans for their phones, but they frequently offer free phones as well. They also happen to be the only cell phone company that reports to the credit bureau. If you planned to sign yourself or one of your children up for a new plan, why not offer a new phone as a Christmas present?

Dell: Dell offers up to 10% more savings to WGU students than they do the general public. Combine those savings with any Cyber Monday deals to get a new computer for school, the family, or just to upgrade.

Combine Charity and Shopping

Have you been too busy to get to any local school fundraisers? If so, no worries because you can earn cash for yourself and your local schools just by shopping. Just go to For the Schools and create an account. When you use For the Schools to shop at one of their many partner stores, you'll get cash back if you want to, and so will the school of your choice. It's a way for you to kind of have your own mini fundraiser without having to leave the house.

Keep an eye out for other discounts as well. For example, if you're doing demonstration teaching, enjoy the 20% discount offered by Barnes and Noble to educators, or even the discount offered by Apple for educators.

Contest Delay

I was writing up the post for the contest that was supposed to start today, and then I looked out the window.

It wouldn't be fair to start the contest on a day with such harsh weather. Many people are losing power and Internet connection and I would hate for them to miss out on any of the awesome prizes just because they got hit by the storm.

Stay safe out there! I can't see the trees in my front yard at the moment and I certainly would not want to be on the road right now. Just one more reason to love going to school online!

First Day of the WGU Indiana Contest

**Contest on hold until there are more participants**


Last week I talked about doing a contest here on the blog and after a bit of technical difficulties, here it is!

First off, it occurred to me that you all might find it odd that I would run a contest offering WGU Indiana swag as the prize because, well...who am I? Really, I'm no one important, just someone who is in the master program and graduated from WGU Indiana. I love this school and until they give me a reason not to, I'll promote it. If you want to know more about me or why I have a blog at all, feel free to visit Student of Motherhood.

WGU Indiana swag prizes

Since I have Lose the Wait swag and WGU Indiana has put a lot of effort into promoting the Lose the Wait concept, which is basically a "what are you waiting for?" kind of push to help people get started  in school and even includes the Lose the Wait scholarship, this contest is going to involve a lot of numbers.

Here are the contest rules:
Wednesday, Friday, and Monday there will be questions asked, starting today, Wednesday, February 19, 2014. Answer the questions in the comments. I will record the answers you give. On the day of the new questions, I'll give the answers once the entry time is over, at 5 o'clock CST on the day following the questions. For example, the entry time ends for today's question at 5 P.M. CST Friday.

The person with the most correct answers wins the top prize, the next in line wins the second place prize, and the third in line wins the third place prize. If there is a tie at any point, the winner will be selected via random drawing and the person who loses the draw will go on to the next slot.

I'll announce the winners next Wednesday, here on the blog.

Today's questions:
What year was WGU Indiana established?
and...
How much is the Lose the Wait scholarship worth?

As for the prizes, they include a lightbulb clock that glows in the dark, pen with digital clock embedded, and a Lose the Wait t-shirt...at least. WGU Indiana was kind enough to donate these prizes and I happen to have a bit of swag around here myself that I will probably throw in.

Cool fun fact: Some prizes that you win through this contest and the WGU Facebook contests can only be obtained through winning them; you cannot purchase them.

Have fun and good luck!

Disclaimer: If the blog owner determines that there are not enough participants, the contest is cancelled and the prizes will be used later for another contest.

WGU Indiana Contests

If you haven't been paying attention lately, let me just say you are missing out on some great WGU Indiana swag right now. The Lose the Wait campaign didn't just launch the Lose the Wait scholarship; it launched a series of contests that are really simple to win and offer some of the great WGU Indiana swag we are all so fond of. And by fond, I mean addicted to. No, seriously. I have a WGU Indiana BA and I am working on my M.Ed. so I got two of the welcome packages, but I am also a writer, so the two different WGU Indiana post-it note holders are part of the tools of my trade. But, I digress.

If you want to get in on the WGU Indiana swag fun, head over to the WGU Indiana Facebook page and watch for contest updates. Along the way you can learn a lot about WGU Indiana, the staff, and how they compare to other schools.

I decided it was time to get in on the fun, so I'll be running a contest of my own. WGU Indiana graciously donated some prizes to give away--swag I have never seen before actually. All I'm going to say for now is that I had to pry two of the prizes away from my 13 year old son's hands and I'm still not sure if he's forgiven me. (I'm kidding. I just took the iPod until he handed over the swag.)

I'll give you a hint though, one of the items is one of the coolest office supplies I've seen and another is a large, timely reminder to "lose the wait", and the other will have you even more excited about spring so you can show it off.

So how do you win? All you need to do is know some info about WGU Indiana and share it here. The contest starts Monday, February 17, 2014. Be sure to check back then to get started because it's going to run all week.

Here's a hint: Answers to the contest questions can be found through WGU Indiana, their Facebook page, or right here on this blog.

How Many Attempts Does Taskstream Give You?

As a student of WGU, WGU Indiana, or any WGU state college, you need to become very familiar with Taskstream. Not only is Taskstream the place where you will take all of your performance assessments as opposed to your objective assessments, it is also the place where you will develop and house your professional portfolio.

Navigating Taskstream is simple enough and you can find some great Taskstream tips on this blog, but you need to understand how it works for your particular program. While WGU Indiana does not have a GPA, they do have scoring standards. Those scoring standards change with your level in the program.

• You have 4 total attempts for each task. You will have your original submission and then 3 attempts to complete any revisions with the required scores.
• If you are completing a task with a 3 level rubric, you need to score a "2" or "satisfactory" on each portion of the task. Even if you score a "3" in every portion but one, you will not pass. These are competency based courses that are aimed at developing your understanding of individual elements, rather than being aimed at cultivating an average score. Success in all portions is mandatory.
• If you are completing a task with a 5 level rubric and you are taking a lower level course that will be marked with an asterisk you will again need to score a "2" in each portion, indicating that the level of performance is minimally competent. These will be the courses that may not be a part of your core program, such as general education courses.
• If you are completing a task with a 5 level rubric and it is part of your core area of study or you are working on the graduate program, you need to succeed with a score of "3" or higher.

Taskstream is not difficult to navigate if you take it sept by step and use it along with your course resources to complete each portion of the assignment. You can also  speak with your class mentor or community if you need more help understanding specific tasks.

Difference Between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

At some point in your college career, whether you attend WGU, WGU Indiana, or any other college, you are probably going to have to create an annotated bibliography as well as a literature review. Since both of these concern your references, it can be difficult to try and understand the difference between the two.


Validate Your Sources
The thing to keep in mind is that the annotated bibliography basically validates your sources. You will summarize the material briefly, but your main focus is to demonstrate why your sources are acceptable means of reference. You need to demonstrate that they are quality sources.

Validate Your Research
The literature review is almost the opposite of the annotated bibliography. Instead of proving that your sources are authentic and credible, the literature review proves that your research is warranted.

The layout of each of these is also different. While the annotated bibliography should be presented in whatever format you are directed to present it in (MLA, APA, etc.) the literature review is presented in order of importance as is relative to your research so that in most cases more than one citation is used per paragraph in comparison/contrast, cause/effect, or relational form. The reader should be able to place your literature review side by side with your actual research and be able to follow along both in the same order. Click the link for a great example of a side by side comparison of a literature review and an annotated bibliography.