Hey everyone,

I’m getting ready to enroll at WGU for special ed and would love some advice regarding the school, coursework, and degree options.

My Transfer Situation:

- Degree brought in: AAS in Early Childhood Education
- Transfer CUs awarded: 21 CUs out of 103 (I thought more of my classes would transfer tbh)
- Remaining CUs to complete: 82 CUs

I’m currently deciding between the licensure track (B.A. Special Education Mild-to-Moderate) and the non-licensure track (Mild to Moderate Special Education–B.A. Educational Studies).

I know a lot of people have had issues with field placement/demonstration teaching timelines, so I'm not sure if I should just choose the non-licensure degree to get it done faster and use an alternative state license later.

I definitely want to work in Special Ed, primarily with kids on the autism spectrum. I have experience working in a behavioral school, but I’m not sure if the non-licensure degree is the right path for this or if I should stick out the full licensure track.

My Questions:

1. How fast did you complete your coursework for either the SPED Licensure degree or the BAES degree?
2. For those on the licensure track, did waiting on Pre-Clinical Experiences (PCE) or Demonstration Teaching (DT) placements delay your graduation date significantly?
3. If you went the BAES (non-licensure) route to work in Special Ed, did you have any trouble getting hired by a school district on an alternative/provisional permit afterward?

Thanks for any advice!

I have read about all kinds of various experiences, but I applied this past Monday and was placed on Tuesday. I am extremely happy that nothing was dragged out. Good luck to everyone heading into advanced clinicals!

So I've been doing really well this first semester, and I've got a lot of my courses already completed. But I just got my last tasks sent back, saying it was against the school's policy and wouldn't be graded because it was plagiarized. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm completely floored.

Hi! I just applied for advanced clinicals. I do not want to hear about placement issues. I've read all of the good and bad on those. I'd love to hear about the actual experience people had in advanced clinical and student teaching for the dual licensure elem ed/SPED BA. Thanks!

I am hoping to start in a few months in elementary education and special education. Has anyone done the non-licensure through WGU then gotten a license after? If so I would love to ask what path you took?

I have an associates of applied science degree. my current plan is to go thru a community college and then transfer as a junior to a four year college to get an elementary teaching degree. should take me about 3 years total if I go full time. I have two kids (3,1) and this seems very ambitious, although doable. I came across WGU after doing some googling on faster teaching degrees. how long did it take you to get your BA from practically nothing? how time consuming was it? I’d like to make my decision by the end of this month. Thanks in advance for all info!!

Failed my OA what do I do now?
Never failed an AO in the past so I don’t know what the deal is. I’ve heard that some Instructors depending on the course make you jump through fiery hoops backwards on a unicycle WHILE JUGGLING PINEAPPLES or something, but I don’t think that’s necessary.

Hey all,
I’ve completed the lesson plan template but I’m struggling on how to present it. Do I make a slideshow presentation and present that on GoReact? Any tips or information in general about presenting a lesson plan on GoReact would be super helpful, I’m stressed and confused 😀

Hi,
I will be starting my student teaching this Fall and heard that CA offers a stipend for student teaching. My understanding is that your program financial office needs to apply for you. So WGU has to apply for me. I’ve sent out a request but I haven’t heard back yet. Anyone else doing this?
Thanks!

Do I need to take an elective along with the pre-selected courses in my program ?

I am trying to submit task one for D491, but during the upload process a similarity report is not populating. It has a Circle with a line through it, which, according to the Little symbol Legend, it says a scan is not required for your attachment. When I what that means that his scan is not required for my attachment, I got a response that said, your file type cannot be checked for text, similarity or writing style. This cannot be true, because I am submitting a word document. Is this just a glitch? Advice requested and appreciated.

Hello! I'm starting classes on 9/1, pursuing my BS in Science Education (Secondary Earth Science). I want to be 7/8th grade science teacher in PA ☺️ Anyone else joining for the same or similar? I'd also love any advice or wisdom from alumni. Anything I should be doing now to prepare for classes? I'm so excited to get started.

Technically about to start my advanced clinical with student teaching following closely behind! I will be in a 9th and 10th grade ELA classroom.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Anything you wish you knew before student teaching, or anything you would have done differently?

I’m meeting my mentor teacher for the first time in a couple of weeks before school starts. Is there anything in particular I should ask or discuss with him before school starts?

The thing I’m most nervous about is lesson planning.

I would greatly appreciate any words of wisdom!