WGU vs. The Rest

ceesquared

Hi all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I'm in my mid 30's looking for a career change and have been taking some tech classes towards an associates degree at my local community college. I already have a BS but it's in Criminal Justice so I'm ultimately looking at getting a BS in IT or Comp Sci. My question revolves around WGU. I see a lot of posts of people that are going there and I've looked into the school myself. An online university/program would be my 1st choice as it is difficult to find the time to go to school with a family. However, I wanted to know what the deciding factor was for those of you that are WGU students. What, other than cost, swayed your decision? I've looked at Capella and Walden as well as Oregon State Ecampus, but I'm having a hard time deciding where the best place to land is after I finish my AS. Thanks.

nster

I am trying to decide as well. However, I am in a very different position than you, I'm 22, university for me is actually less than half the price of WGU, I have no responsibilities or family...

I think the biggest pros for me would be that you could at your own pace, not being slowed down when you are good at something, not rushed when you are not so good... Another is the the Courses list are more in line with what I want to do than what B&M can offer me. I think that last one is a huge factor for me and is the reason I might go to WGU despite the $$ and time I have

ceesquared

Yeah, that's the same boat I'm in. I like the course outline of the WGU program. But I also like the Walden course line as well, but it's a little cost prohibitive. I was hoping there might be some students of some of the other schools that might be able to shed some light on their choice as well.

ajs1976

since you already have a BS, you may want to look at Thomas Edison and Charter Oak. They may give you better results on the transfer and you can make up the go at your own pace by filling in slow periods with CLEP, DSST, Straighterline and other options. I'm in my second and last term at COSC. Send me a PM if you want more info.

anhtran35

I already have a BS in Administration of Justice. I don't think it's necessary for you to get ANOTHER degree. I think the path you need to seek now is certification and experience. Everyone starts off at help desk or desktop support. I would suggest an A+ or MCSA Windows 7 certification = 2 tests. Then decide if you want to do Networking; Security; System Administration; Database = specialize in a field you enjoy.

ceesquared

Thanks Anhtran35. I've thought about going for just certs, but I didn't know if that was marketable enough. I purchased the Mike Meyers A+ and Network+ books to self study. It's just hard finding the time. I was hoping having the certs might get me a foot in the door to a place where I could continue working on the BS degree.

nster

IMO, if you want to absolutely do a BS, than WGU is probably going to be the most flexible for you and the upside is it will also give you certifications. If you can waive all your General Ed classes, getting a degree at WGU can be done very quickly.

BS degrees aren't as crucial in this field than others. A+ and Net+ are a great start.

anhtran35

It doesn't hold much relevance in IT once you get experience. I know people that graduated with a Health and Wellness degree that works as a System Administrator for the last 6 years making 90k etc. IT is all about experience and certs. Network in your company and see if you can transfer to their IT department.

aspiringsoul

Two of the people that I have worked with who are very successful in their careers do not possess IT related degrees (Accounting and Economics). I just wanted to mention that briefly.

I recommend WGU because it allows you to kill two birds with one stone (certifications and degree), it is REGIONALLY accredited, it's affordable, and you are able to set your own pace (however fast or slow that may be).

I DO NOT recommend For-profit schools! I strongly encourage you to research any school before enrolling (and taking out student loans). Not all for profit schools are bad, but most of them care more about the bottom line, increasing shareholder value at the expense of their students.

You can read the HELP Committee's report on Walden here

You can read the HELP Committee's report on Capella here

I strongly encourage you take take a look at the spending habits of these for profit schools (and the executive compensation). They usually spend less on student instruction (and much more on marketing) than non-profit schools. Some of the for-profit schools are more competitively priced than others (I believe these are).

You might also look for student reviews for these schools before making a decision.

Make sure that the school is regionally accredited. Ask them what the retention rate and default rates are for students that enroll? How many of their students earn jobs in their field?

I have a friend who has a degree from Devry and he is a CCIE and he is VERY successful. I have a degree from ITT Tech myself. Where you earn your degree will not determine how successful you are in your career, but it may impede you from continuing your education at other institutions (as it did me). I practically had to start all over again because ITT Tech is nationally accredited, NOT REGIONALLY ACCREDITED.

REGIONAL ACCREDITATION IS THE GOLD STANDARD. Don't attend a "Nationally" accredited school.

I hope you find this helpful.

smokeyalien

I went through the Masters (MSISA) with WGU because the cost was within the repayment amount my company would reimburse me for ($6k annual). The school also checked the non-profit and regional accreditation requirements which I felt were important as aspiringsoul pointed out. There were other programs I considered, but the cost for a year of classes would be more than the reimbursement and I would have to go at their pace no matter what my life could accommodate. While I have now "checked the box" for a Masters I intend to find other programs to attend at a slower pace that I can get reimbursement for without needing to have a Masters "right now".

For reference, I just completed the whole MS:ISA in the first 6 month term a few days ago. There were 2 points during the term where I was being lazy and had lost motivation or there were external obligations that pretty much took me off of the coursework. I lost about 2 months total to those periods during the 6 months. With enough time and dedication you can rock the program pretty quickly.

techfiend

I went with WGU because of the certs and able to work at your own pace. While I've always been asked about what it is, I've seen many WGU advertisements lately, which hopefully gets it noticed. The white house was also touting it as a cheaper alternative to brick and mortar. I'm just getting going but I think it's the right place for me to go from an AAS to a BS. I don't think I'd get my MS at WGU because it's mostly a 'show me' degree but that's years, if ever.

smokeyalien

I got my MS from WGU because it checked the box quickly and cheaply. I already have the CISSP and their MSISA degree is based on the old 10 domain structure so a lot of the writing and studying I had to do was much simpler for me to complete due to my experience and previous independent studies. The cost also fell in line with my company reimbursement policy making the degree "free" after I do 1 year with the company after I get the reimbursement. Even if I do leave earlier than that though the pullback of the reimbursement is low enough that it won't hurt me if it comes out of my last paycheck; $3k versus $6/10/15k. Now I am looking towards other degrees to do in my own time at a leisurely pace without worrying about being held back for not having checked the Masters box already.

I go for the low hanging fruit with the biggest ROI as a personal choice and then I work my way up from there. Even with my CISSP and other higher level certifications I still list the Sec+ and A+ on my resume to score higher on the resume review algorithms.

ceesquared

Thanks everyone. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I appreciate those links you posted aspiringsoul. I didn't know that about the senate help committee findings. I'm definitely only looking at Regionally Accredited institutions. Now I'm trying to decide if I should just move forward with applying or finishing out my AS.

spaat

Hi all. WGU advertise on their website that they accept degrees from nationally accredited colleges as well as regionally. I'll call them up to check but I don't think they would lie on their website?

aspiringsoul

ceesquared,

I would make that decision based on how many credits you have remaining for your associates degree. Back in 2012, I had six credits remaining to complete another Associate degree program, but I decided to enroll in a Bachelor degree program and graduated a semester earlier since I did not require the additional six credit hours to be eligible for the program.

Keep in mind that with WGU, you are not limited by credit hours, and you are able to move at as fast of a pace as you prefer. Although, I would have to say that Smokeyalien is the exception rather than the norm. It's insane that he was able to complete the program in 6 months! That's an accomplishment!

If you would like, I can refer you to WGU and your application fee ($65) will be waived.

aspiringsoul

spaat,

Yes, they do accept Nationally accredited degrees. That means if you have a Bachelor degree from a for-profit, you would still be able to apply to one of their Masters programs. Your mileage may vary on transfer credits for Bachelor programs though....depending on the school.

smokeyalien

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend trying to complete the program in 6 months. I happened to be in a special circumstance with my work schedule and my personal and professional life to be able to attempt this. I originally wanted to do it in 6 months to prove that I could after reading how others had done it, but halfway through I had convinced myself that due to all of the slowdowns and whatnot that it would take a second term. When I got close to the end of the first term I decided to power through it just to see if I could get it done. I honestly came very close to the wire and was looking at just missing completion within 1 term due to having issues with a single paper in my last course (VLT2). Everything else went smoothly for me.

I don't recommend anyone else trying to do it in 1 term.

dannyky

I have been looking into online universities and wgu seems very promising. Others like APU seem twice as expensive and twice as long. I haven't been in school (2-year college) for over 4-5 years. Feels like I'm too late, but I'll try.

aspiringsoul

dannyky,

It's NEVER too late to go back to school. Some of my cohort in my bachelor degree program were in their 50s. They were going back to school because they hit a barrier and were unable to advance in their organization without a bachelor degree.

If you are a self-starter, and you enjoy teaching yourself topics that you are interested in, then I highly recommend WGU. It's also a good way to kill two birds with one stone by earning certifications and a degree simultaneously.

Whatever you do, make sure that you enroll at a NON-PROFIT school, that is REGIONALLY accredited, instead of nationally. You will save a lot of money by attending WGU over FOR-PROFIT alternatives, and you will also earn respected certifications in the IT industry.

Good luck to you.

coffeeluvr

@aspiringsoul...Well said!!

OfWolfAndMan

WGU, in my experience, is a great program, but I believe it mainly works for those that have the motivation to study things by themselves, and finding out the details they need to accordingly. If you are someone who has a busy lifestyle (Like working long weeks or have kid(s)), then that was another deciding factor for me. In addition, while you are required to complete a certain number of classes per term, I feel that they are flexible with their students. I also did it because I thought it was cool so many of their IT classes were actually certifications, but that's just me. In terms of difficulty, I don't find it that hard, but it all depends on you. People have varying levels of experience in IT and the conceptual line of things, and these can be a determining factor in how quickly you move through the course. As for what you get out of it, you can sponge up the info and then forget it afterwords, but quite a bit of it could be useful in your future encounters in the IT field.

dannyky

Hey aspiringsoul,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm trying to see if a local university here will accept my credits. I should hear from them soon. Otherwise it's WGU or TESC.

I thought I sent a PM to you, but I guess it wasn't sent, I'll try again.