Boy, I'm shocked. It's been a month since I last posted. A lot has happened since my last post. I decided to suck it up and finish Supply Chain. I'm not quite there yet, but with some assistance from my loyal/understanding/saintly hubby, I've managed to submit and pass Tasks 1 and 2. Originally, when I submitted Task 1, I didn't put any specific numbers in it from the simulation. (Oh don't even get me started!) The second task, I forgot to define Just -In- Time, so I resubmitted and passed that. Task 3 is on my to do list for this week.
I still feel very passionately that the way this class is currently, hurts the credibility of the school and doesn't give students the opportunity to actually learn something about supply chain. I think about the possibility of an interviewer asking me, "So I see that you've taken a Supply Chain class. Would you say that we should adopt more of a keiretsu or Just In Time strategy?" I can already feel the blood draining from my face as I try to even define the terms as well as remember the differences. I really thought I had this class, having worked in supply chain for Dell. Practice is different than theory. Or, maybe I just don't have a knack for it. I'm all about taking responsibility, eh.
My respect for Kelly, my student mentor has grown over the past month. Not only has she allowed me to skip some of our weekly phone calls due to my travel, she let me enroll in the Leadership class prior to my finishing even Task 1 of Supply Chain. SC was draining me (or maybe it was my incessant whining) and had put me far behind. I was also honest with her about feeling that this might not be the right school for me.
One thing that Kelly suggested is that the mentor for my Leadership class is also someone who has some power over the courses in the MBA program. She suggested that I email her with my concerns. This helped me to feel much better as well. Like Randy Pausch (the Carnegie Mellon professor) said in his famous Last Lecture (which, if you've never seen it, I urge you to watch), that when people stop giving feedback, it means that they no longer care and have given up on you. I still care. I care a lot. I've invested a lot of time, money, and effort in to this school and I genuinely want it to produce quality graduates. I want this not just for myself, but for others, too. I want, when people ask me about my MBA, that they have "heard good things about WGU". I hate having to qualify the school whenever I mention it.
The Leadership class is a group project. Business school is about cultivating relationships and networking, so I'm not sure why this class was not one of the first. The class is nearly over, and I think I've finally met a few people with which I connect. One of my team mates, I'm currently training for her first half marathon. Another is giving me parenting advice. (No, I don't have kids, but in the future?)
This class lacks a map. I get where we're trying to go, but how we're supposed to get there is still a mystery to me. Because of the group-nature of this class, your deadlines are not your own anymore. One of our team members had to drop out of the class because the schedule of the class didn't work for him.
Again, I am left wondering about the level of work. I'm a flake at times. I know that. I wasn't aware of the deadlines for our own work, so when I was travelling last week, and received an email from the course mentor that said that one of our individual papers was due in 2 days, I panicked. I received the email while sitting at Stellar Beans in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Although it was my turn to drive, my hubby took over and I frantically typed as he drive towards New Orleans, about 200 miles away. By the time we arrived at the Super Dome, I was 90% done with my paper. The questions were softball questions. Hey it's no fun if there's no challenge, right?
Here I am, 4 weeks in to Leadership. I have one task left. Then I'll focus on getting that task done for Supply Chain. After that, boys and girls, I'm going on Spring Break, which is the end of my first term. I've already told Kelly that I want at least one week off.
Next term, I'm switching programs. I'm not sure if I mentioned it here or not, but originally, I had wanted to do the MBA in IT Management, but J, my enrollment counselor said that I didn't have the qualifications for it. I asked Kelly about it and she said that she was not aware of any requirements for the program, and that if I wanted to, I could switch at the end of my term. I assumed that all of the classes would be the same, except for a few IT classes added to get that designation. Nope. There are 12 classes, just like the MBA in Management and Strategy, only 3 classes are different. Care to guess which class is not included in the MBA - IT? Supply Chain. DAMN YOU, Jay!
I have to finish it, or else I'll have a "not completed" on my transcript, which in my mind is equivalent to a "withdrawal" or an "F" on a traditional transcript. Not cool.
Whew! That was a lot. Thanks for sticking with me. I know some of you have tried to contact me, and I'm still trying to figure out all of the blog stuff. (Maybe I shouldn't do that MBA - IT after all!) I will get it cleared up and know that I appreciate your feedback because as I mentioned before, it means you care!
Forward!
I still feel very passionately that the way this class is currently, hurts the credibility of the school and doesn't give students the opportunity to actually learn something about supply chain. I think about the possibility of an interviewer asking me, "So I see that you've taken a Supply Chain class. Would you say that we should adopt more of a keiretsu or Just In Time strategy?" I can already feel the blood draining from my face as I try to even define the terms as well as remember the differences. I really thought I had this class, having worked in supply chain for Dell. Practice is different than theory. Or, maybe I just don't have a knack for it. I'm all about taking responsibility, eh.
My respect for Kelly, my student mentor has grown over the past month. Not only has she allowed me to skip some of our weekly phone calls due to my travel, she let me enroll in the Leadership class prior to my finishing even Task 1 of Supply Chain. SC was draining me (or maybe it was my incessant whining) and had put me far behind. I was also honest with her about feeling that this might not be the right school for me.
One thing that Kelly suggested is that the mentor for my Leadership class is also someone who has some power over the courses in the MBA program. She suggested that I email her with my concerns. This helped me to feel much better as well. Like Randy Pausch (the Carnegie Mellon professor) said in his famous Last Lecture (which, if you've never seen it, I urge you to watch), that when people stop giving feedback, it means that they no longer care and have given up on you. I still care. I care a lot. I've invested a lot of time, money, and effort in to this school and I genuinely want it to produce quality graduates. I want this not just for myself, but for others, too. I want, when people ask me about my MBA, that they have "heard good things about WGU". I hate having to qualify the school whenever I mention it.
The Leadership class is a group project. Business school is about cultivating relationships and networking, so I'm not sure why this class was not one of the first. The class is nearly over, and I think I've finally met a few people with which I connect. One of my team mates, I'm currently training for her first half marathon. Another is giving me parenting advice. (No, I don't have kids, but in the future?)
This class lacks a map. I get where we're trying to go, but how we're supposed to get there is still a mystery to me. Because of the group-nature of this class, your deadlines are not your own anymore. One of our team members had to drop out of the class because the schedule of the class didn't work for him.
Again, I am left wondering about the level of work. I'm a flake at times. I know that. I wasn't aware of the deadlines for our own work, so when I was travelling last week, and received an email from the course mentor that said that one of our individual papers was due in 2 days, I panicked. I received the email while sitting at Stellar Beans in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Although it was my turn to drive, my hubby took over and I frantically typed as he drive towards New Orleans, about 200 miles away. By the time we arrived at the Super Dome, I was 90% done with my paper. The questions were softball questions. Hey it's no fun if there's no challenge, right?
Here I am, 4 weeks in to Leadership. I have one task left. Then I'll focus on getting that task done for Supply Chain. After that, boys and girls, I'm going on Spring Break, which is the end of my first term. I've already told Kelly that I want at least one week off.
Next term, I'm switching programs. I'm not sure if I mentioned it here or not, but originally, I had wanted to do the MBA in IT Management, but J, my enrollment counselor said that I didn't have the qualifications for it. I asked Kelly about it and she said that she was not aware of any requirements for the program, and that if I wanted to, I could switch at the end of my term. I assumed that all of the classes would be the same, except for a few IT classes added to get that designation. Nope. There are 12 classes, just like the MBA in Management and Strategy, only 3 classes are different. Care to guess which class is not included in the MBA - IT? Supply Chain. DAMN YOU, Jay!
I have to finish it, or else I'll have a "not completed" on my transcript, which in my mind is equivalent to a "withdrawal" or an "F" on a traditional transcript. Not cool.
Whew! That was a lot. Thanks for sticking with me. I know some of you have tried to contact me, and I'm still trying to figure out all of the blog stuff. (Maybe I shouldn't do that MBA - IT after all!) I will get it cleared up and know that I appreciate your feedback because as I mentioned before, it means you care!
Forward!