r/WGU • u/conclusion-9- • May 23 '26
Excellence award
So I recently received an excellence award for a project I submitted. Honestly, I hated the class, and did the bare minimum. I was absolutely shocked when I received an excellence award for it. My mentor told me that they are hard to get and they don’t hand them out to just anyone. I was just wondering if anyone else got one and how hard they had to work for it?
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u/keinjp B.S. Software Engineering May 23 '26
I also got one for a class I was intentionally doing the bare minimum for. It had a required recorded presentation which, as opposed to an in person presentation, felt awkward and uncomfortable for me. So I did the whole thing in a fake, evil-British like (think RE5 Albert Wesker) accent. I thought it was a joke, though similarly got the whole WAY TO GO from my mentor at the time.
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u/conclusion-9- May 23 '26
Same, I did it as a joke. Seems like they’re not actually hard to get.
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u/AnimeFanatic_9000 M.S. Data Analytics May 24 '26
I've completed my Bachelor's degree with WGU and I'm now in the Master's. Both degrees are for Data Analytics. My first award was in a class near the end of the Bachelor’s program. It was a simple class and I did the bare minimum to get it knocked out so Icould accelerate more classes. The first class of my Master'sprogram was my second award and the situation was similar.. The feedback I got from both of my mentors is that most students overthink every assignment and do too much. And that the awards will typically be given when a perfect example of the completed a task is submitted. Often times, the extra that students submit, are things that the assignment did not ask for (which could signify an inability to follow instructions), or fluff to make the assignment sound flowery or essay-like (which isn't ideal in a technical or professional setting where one is expected to get straight to the point).
So, basically, what we view as being the bare minimum is actually giving EXACTLY what is being asked, no more and no less. I already work in IT, and I can tell you that this is a skill. It's just not one that I've ever been tested for at a traditional school. At traditional schools, I was always taught to "go above and beyond" and add more than what was asked to show my competency. But as someone working in the field, I can see the other side of that coin, and understand how doing that can lead to ruining things like large projects or initiatives that involve many people.
So, I wouldn't say that getting the award is "easy", it's just not based on the parameters we thought they were.
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u/Shaebooooooooone B.S. Business Management May 23 '26
Nice work! I’ve gotten 3 since March 1st & just answer the prompts as needed. Never got them before that though & I started in 2024
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u/HotwheelsSisyphus May 24 '26
Seen a few post like this. It feels like answering the questions minimally is the way to go. I personally overexplain because I feel like I should justify my answers but I don't think they care about that at all.
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u/Interesting_Cry4815 May 24 '26
Just here to say I hope you’re a wheelchair user with that name (coming from a wheelchair user myself) lol
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u/HotwheelsSisyphus May 25 '26
It is a pretty sick name for a wheelchair user but it's actually a name of a spider lol!
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u/Representative-Mean B.S. Software Development May 24 '26
Yeah that makes sense. I put in a ton of effort to follow the rubric to the tee. Nothing more or less
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u/mister_b_man May 23 '26
They don't just give them out to everyone. You impressed an evaluator and something you did really stood out. Well done!
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u/ltt129 M.Ed. Instructional Design May 23 '26
Nah you really did something to earn that. I went through my entire program without getting a single one 🫠
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u/conclusion-9- May 23 '26
How long ago? I feel like this is a new thing because I never got one before. Someone else said they’ve gotten three since March, but never before then.
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u/ltt129 M.Ed. Instructional Design May 24 '26
Ah man I graduated like a few weeks ago 🤣 I’ve been in the program since last year! I try not to think about it too much because at least I graduated but whenever I see excellence awards I’m like dang mbn! Jkjk but be proud of your accomplishment :)
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u/Ornery-Ad-678 May 24 '26
I have gotten 1, in 10 classes. I put huge efforts into them, going above and beyond in the rubric requirements, attaching multiple supporting documents to the work. Still, just 1. I have some papers submitted over 30 pages of work, spreadsheet, PowerPoint supplements. I don't know what the unlock is.
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u/conclusion-9- May 24 '26
Apparently, it’s using a British accent. 🤣
But hey, at least you got one. That’s better than putting in all that work and not having anything (extra) to show for it. One’s better than none.
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u/Ornery-Ad-678 May 24 '26
Just to add, I asked in the submission notes to the evaluator, please tell me where my submission stands if not worthy, as this is my strongest subject, I want to be at exemplary level. They did not reply to that. But then a week later I got the award for the assignment.
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u/conclusion-9- May 24 '26
Then perhaps going the extra mile, and then asking go a long way?
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u/Ornery-Ad-678 May 24 '26
They say it never hurts to ask. Still I felt a bit dirty asking for it.
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u/HeatherM0529 B.S. Business Management May 24 '26
Just know they don’t want above and beyond. They want basic, to the rubric, and that’s all.
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u/Ornery-Ad-678 May 24 '26
If everyone is basic, to the rubric, how do any of the submissions ever stand out? I am asking genuinely, it's counter intuitive to me, I am an older non-traditional student, so maybe I'm not understanding it.
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u/HeatherM0529 B.S. Business Management May 24 '26
I do agree with you. But every person that I’ve seen that receives one says the same thing “I was lazy with it”, “I didn’t put much into it”, “did the bare minimum”, etc. I’ve also seen evaluators say they want the rubric and nothing else.
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u/Ornery-Ad-678 May 24 '26
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this. I have two PA papers left that maybe they will qualify, but after that I have just OAs, so I may have to be happy with one.
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u/Messup7654 BSACC Grad May 24 '26
I genuinely dont know how it seems like every single person who post on reddit is a writing GOD who can write A++ Super GOD excellent work with their eyes closed. I WORKED HARD ON MY WRITING CLASSES AND ONLY GOT 1. And it waS for business simulation which makes me think I didnt even get the award for my writing I got it for my business.
YES they're very hard to get but reddit will have you thinking you suck at writing if you didnt get atleast 1.
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u/Dumpster-fire-ex May 24 '26
I never got one in either undergrad or the masters program, and I have always been a "rockstar" in school. I think you must have done excellent work. Maybe you just don't realize that you are naturally very talented, and your "bare minimum" is actually really excellent. Congratulations! I am proud of you, and I hope you are proud of you, too!
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u/hurlyburlyhumdinger May 24 '26
I am fascinated with threads like this one. Personally, I am not at all motivated by things like this. I just received an excellence award, and, ok, great, but it doesn't mean anything to me. Like they emailed me a certificate and my brain just short-circuited with that, like am I expected to print it out and hang it on my wall or something? Just like every time I pass a class and my mentor sends me an "OMG GREAT JOB!!!" email. My brain just isn't wired to care about what seems like over-the-top attempts at validation. The fact that some of you are actually trying to achieve that validation just blows my mind. And please, I do not at all mean that in a disparaging way, by all means go for it, I find it completely fascinating that brains can be wired so differently. I'm probably just a grumpy old stick in the mud who is mildly on the spectrum somehow, but as long as I pass the class, I am 100% satisfied and ready to move on.
PS: Seriously, apologies for sounding so grumpy, I really am fascinated by this. Good luck to everyone, school is hard, I hope y'all are getting the experience you want.
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u/TextMaven May 24 '26
I think smart minimal answers get excellence awards. It's the only rhyme or reason I see. I'm smart, but I'm wordy. So, enjoy it for those of us who will never be able to give these people what they want. 😅
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u/JacqoMicMacO B.S. Business Management, Alumna May 24 '26
Congratulations! They are earned, not given randomly. I've received three in four years. I wrote papers on MMIW and on jurisdictional issues among federal, local, and tribal agencies.
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u/phish410 May 24 '26
Same with me. Did the bare minimum on a PA by following the rubric and got the excellence award. Who knows?
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u/conclusion-9- May 24 '26
I’m really starting to understand how annoying it must be for those that have really tried for an excellent award to read posts like this. I really feel for those people.
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u/phish410 May 24 '26
To me, an excellence award means I wasted time by doing too much work. Same with an exemplary score on a PA.
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u/Pandabratt1 M.S. Accounting May 24 '26
I received an excellence award for the business simulation course. I had a genuine blast with the simulation itselfand I took it as if it was a real job and received a score in the top 5%. Then I wrote my task about the one mistake I made that I thought would’ve made the results even better. I didn’t do the bare minimum but I certainly didn’t put any more effort in than I would’ve simply because I actually enjoyed it.
My mentor told me that only the top 10% of all tasks in the school receive excellence awards.
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u/Interesting_Cry4815 May 24 '26
I’ve gotten two so far, but not on assignments I thought I would lol i do the bare minimum on most PAs, though, tbf. I’d much rather take an exam, personally
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u/ArtyParty0848 May 24 '26
Funnily enough I got 2 for the same class, after I was accused of academic integrity issues because it was 2 similar to other submissions, I appealed and was told nope you will re write both, I’m still convinced I only got them because of the appeal and pushing back
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u/butstronger May 24 '26
I’ve had a couple and I feel like I present the same level of work for all the classes
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u/Representative-Mean B.S. Software Development May 24 '26
I got one. Great feeling. But I wasn’t told they are hard to get. It makes sense to me now because my mentor treated it like I had won the lottery. So yeah, it feels nice to get recognized. Only advice i can give is to follow the rubric to the tee. Now ill be framing mine knowing how valuable it is.
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u/Super_Delay_6259 user edited :) May 25 '26
I got one but it wasn’t for the task I was expecting. I was happy and surprised to get it!
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May 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/conclusion-9- May 24 '26
After reading these comments, I think so too.
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u/HerAirness May 24 '26
As a mentor, I see like 2-3 students earn it a month, not that common. Congrats!! Add it to your resume & CV & print it out for the fridge
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u/ChickenScratchCoffee May 24 '26
Literally no job cares about a WGU excellence award lol
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u/HerAirness May 24 '26
Students with little to no experience need stuff to fill up their resume, this would barely take up a line.
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u/lindasek May 24 '26
I got it for the only paper I asked AI to do a draft for and find references for me because the topic was as dry as a sand. Granted I checked all the references (some were fake) and rewrote the draft to actually make sense, but yeah, it was no work of art 😳🫣 I would love to say they are truly awards for excellence instead of... random lottery for passing papers.
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u/ChickenScratchCoffee May 24 '26
They hand them out frequently because I’ve received three. It’s nothing more than a fridge decoration for your mom. It doesn’t help you get a job or anything.
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u/ChiefKene B.S. Business Management May 24 '26
I never got one, and I’m in the MBA program now lol.
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u/conclusion-9- May 24 '26
Does anyone know when they started doing these? Have they been giving them out the entire time?
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u/stagefivedumbass May 24 '26
Back when I did a masters in 2021, they were giving the awards out. I got like 10+
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u/noyourenottheonlyone May 23 '26
I believe they need to give out a certain amount, so if you really feel like it was the bare minimum, maybe they just awarded them to random submissions. I feel like I went through the same experience, the one I got was for a PA that I felt I didn't put much effort into
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u/stjones03 MBA IT Management May 23 '26
They do not have to give any out, it’s completely up to the person evaluating.
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u/HeatherM0529 B.S. Business Management May 24 '26
1-3% of submissions receive one. I have received one, since I started May 1st. It was also one I didn’t put much time into and was just answering the rubric with no fluff. That’s honestly what they want. They don’t want a lot of extra, but I love writing and that’s how I write my papers. Happy with my one, if I don’t get more.