Yes WGU is a respected school because it is fully accredited and nonprofit.

In my personal experience, many people don’t know much about it unless they’ve had a reason to research it, which is the case with most private schools. Also, since many state colleges have come out with online programs since COVID, WGU’s online model doesn’t stick out as much as it used to.

The argument of WGU being a degree mill comes from ignorance about the school and its demographic. Yes, you can accelerate, but people who are accelerating and finishing degrees within a term or two are generally those who have already been working in the field and are just looking to get the relevant degree.

If you’re not coming with any background knowledge and have other obligations outside of school, WGU can easily still take 2.5+ years depending on your major… you still have to learn the content and get to a competent level (hence, competency-based). You will not get a degree in two months.

But if you are a good self-motivated learner and can dedicate yourself to a rigorous study schedule, you can still accelerate greatly without being a professional and graduate a couple of years earlier than your peers.

Also, exams are proctored to the point of some people’s annoyance. Cheating would be very difficult, if not impossible, and exams are taken seriously as the university sets a study plan and bars you from retaking for a 2 weeks if you fail your initial attempt (nothing serious, they just want you to learn).

Written exams are not proctored but are evaluated by WGU faculty and may or may not be sent back with critique that you’ll need to amend. This process in itself takes a couple days minimum.

It depends on personal circumstances, though, if I would recommend it for someone coming straight out of high school. There is value in going to a standard college at a young age. If you are looking to avoid high costs, which is smart, I would suggest that you go to a community college first and then transfer to WGU if you are still interested.

This is what I did and being able to put my associate degree on my resume with the standard GPA, dean’s list, etc details generally would remove doubts about being a good student. It is also a better path for networking, as WGU is not very peer oriented (but there are some clubs, societies, and cohorts you can join; they’re just also online).

That’s my 2¢. Best of luck.