WGU MSISA - my review (Aug 2016)
TranceSoulBrother
Member Posts: 215
As I just finished my courses and filled out the graduation paperwork, I wanted to share some information about the whole degree to provide my own perspective and experience.
- Background: I'm a military officer currently deployed downrange. I've been responsible for coordinating all communication support for a small base of about 2300 users, led the acquisition planning effort and fielding of two major contracts worth about $2.5M (deployment of 800 computers as well as 350 tactical radios - talk about a headache in planning and implementing ), provided automation support for 4 major conferences (80-100 attendees each) in my area.
I wanted to take the opportunity this year of accomplishing something that will advance my career personally and professionally. During my previous deployments, I "put my life on pause for a year", did what I had to do to accomplish my mission, take care of my guys and bring everyone home safely. This time, I wanted to add the additional task of earning a degree and break the habit from the previous trips here. I looked around, researched plenty and settled on WGU as a potential institution that can provide me with an education, yet not impose too many restrictions as far as time and interaction. I am a regular self-starter who can accomplish tasks once I set my mind to it. I did a semester with Norwich back in the day and dropped out because of life issues at the time. I looked for a regionally accredited degree that will provide a valid education and good prospects for professional employment later on. I also wanted to acquire for future doctoral work.
- Registration: talking with a counselor was straightforward. Submitted my transcripts and filled out the application. I was requested to provide a score for a CISSP/CCNA or something similar. Last year, I was studying for the CISSP and was banking on that. Due to moving my family and preparing for deployment, I couldn't take the test. I submitted a resume to detail some of my InfoSec background and that was a way to gain acceptance (there are three ways if I remember correctly and professional experience in the field is one that has to be approved by the school dean)
- Courses: these courses follow your typical IA curriculum and touch on many fields. The subject matter relies a lot on books and videos from Skillport, subject matter provided by Ucertify for the CEH/CHFI and Crypto as well as the occasional study guide from the course mentors. What I liked is the material was adequate for the course but my bone with the courses are some of the outdated materials. Many books are at least 7-8 years in many instances. Granted, the subject matter has evolved much but I wonder if other books haven't been written in the meanwhile or updated so as to be included in the course design and material selection could be updated.
- Evaluation: The tasks provided are ok to test the student's comprehension and assimilation of the material. As posted extensively, it is no secret that the evaluation criteria is frustrating. When conducting my initial research, I stumbled upon a blog post by RBrady Frost who used a template to align his homework to the rubric (http://www.rbradyfrost.com/blog/template-how-to-complete-wgu-taskstream-assignments/) A couple of my assignments were returned and I couldn't understand the evaluator's comments. I started using that template and while some assignments still got kicked back, I was able to target the particular section, correct what's needed (sometimes it was about adding more words, or define something) and it would pass. Listen, this portion will be frustrating. You will want to cuss the evaluator and wonder why they act list this or whatever. My stuff was kicked back because some things weren't "substantially" explained or whatever. I would write another paragraph of fluff and send back to get accepted. I told that to a course mentor once when they locked a task about 3 corrections. I told him that I'm a military guy, I go after the BLUF (bottom line upfront) and don't need to fill my paper with deadwood. Yet, this is academia and since this is not an English Lit degree, then deadwood is acceptable apparently. No matter, as mentioned previously, write to the rubric. Read the assignment, check the rubric, use the template, employ the course material and supplement with Google searches of adequate sources for the material and get your tasks in the bank.
- Mentor relationship: Another issue that is faced by many and will be particular to each student is the student mentor calls. I explained to my mentor from the get go that I wanted to get going fast and finish my degree. I don't require a lot of handholding and just need her support to approve the courses. It wasn't always easy. I suffered like everyone through the phone calls. I am 9 hours ahead of her. So many times, I was calling her at 11pm or 10 pm with DST gone. I tried to keep it cordial and talk to her for about 5 min to say hello and discuss things. I wanted to finish my degree in one term but I couldn't. My job was taking a toll at times, while at others, I just lacked the motivation for certain periods. I finished 6 courses in the first term and 5 in the second term. Eventually, I told her that we can move to 2 calls bimonthly. They are all worried about staying within the rules to maintain the school’s accreditation. I don’t mind. I can play the game to get the end result.
- Technology: WGU has a very decent iOS app that I used at time to access my books and study when I was eating or even outside. I invested in an iPAD with an LTE SIM and used it extensively while here away from my desk. At night when doing my homework, I would use one of the 4 locations around the base where I extended free wifi for the Soldiers (I'm responsible for contracting the service, so 2 areas have 32MB ADSL lines where I would study while torrenting shows for later viewing and to preserve my sanity). Taskstream and Turnitin are good platforms for homework submission and evaluation. One just has to work by, with and through the evaluators to get the tasks approved.
- Capstone: the paperwork might advise you to start way early and the mentor would advise that if you want to accelerate. I would advise to start thinking early about a topic and figure out your approach. As mentioned in other threads, think big picture in the beginning and narrow down as you write your prospectus and written report. Again, there are templates provided and you should absolutely follow them for each of grade and to remain on track. The Capstone is not meant to be this big hurdle but mainly to have you thinking in concrete terms about a real life issue, even if you're writing about a fictitious company for implementation. Many sections between the prospectus and written report are similar and complementary so you can knock out quite a bit in your writing. Just structure your thoughts, work through the sections and complete the writing. Some students who are not strong in writing can use their writing center but frankly, if you’re a graduate student, there is no excuse for finding ways to improve your composition and submit a decent report.
- Certs: Many graduates will deplore the choice of certifications (EC Council’s CEH and CHFI) for the course. I assume that it was a choice of providing concrete certifications for the subject matter taught. While the coursework from EC Council is very amateurish, you can expand the education by seeking other material as mentioned previously. It doesn’t matter as some have deplored whether you pass a final for Ethical Hacking and Network Forensics or you take the CEH and CHFI to satisfy both requirements. An academic final test or an industry certification just signifies your competence in the subject matter. Again, I urge anyone to just study for the tests, obtain your two certs and move. Whether you add these certifications to your professional resume or not is a matter of personal choice. Personally, CEH is part of the 8570 matrix, so I will use it on my next assignment if needed for an advanced position.
- Reputation: WGU advertises a bunch of links to articles written about its competency-based educational model. Again, it has its own reputation within a certain growing niche of students with a specific set of professional/academic/life/family requirements, it is regionally accredited. It is recognized by many HR professionals and has a numbers of hits on job boards. It satisfies an educational requirement for corporate purposes. Therefore, if it fulfills your personal requirements and lines with your professional timeline, then I’d encourage you to pursue your dream.
- What next: I’m waiting for the next term to start my MBA with WGU. In the meantime, I am studying for my CISSP.
- Background: I'm a military officer currently deployed downrange. I've been responsible for coordinating all communication support for a small base of about 2300 users, led the acquisition planning effort and fielding of two major contracts worth about $2.5M (deployment of 800 computers as well as 350 tactical radios - talk about a headache in planning and implementing ), provided automation support for 4 major conferences (80-100 attendees each) in my area.
I wanted to take the opportunity this year of accomplishing something that will advance my career personally and professionally. During my previous deployments, I "put my life on pause for a year", did what I had to do to accomplish my mission, take care of my guys and bring everyone home safely. This time, I wanted to add the additional task of earning a degree and break the habit from the previous trips here. I looked around, researched plenty and settled on WGU as a potential institution that can provide me with an education, yet not impose too many restrictions as far as time and interaction. I am a regular self-starter who can accomplish tasks once I set my mind to it. I did a semester with Norwich back in the day and dropped out because of life issues at the time. I looked for a regionally accredited degree that will provide a valid education and good prospects for professional employment later on. I also wanted to acquire for future doctoral work.
- Registration: talking with a counselor was straightforward. Submitted my transcripts and filled out the application. I was requested to provide a score for a CISSP/CCNA or something similar. Last year, I was studying for the CISSP and was banking on that. Due to moving my family and preparing for deployment, I couldn't take the test. I submitted a resume to detail some of my InfoSec background and that was a way to gain acceptance (there are three ways if I remember correctly and professional experience in the field is one that has to be approved by the school dean)
- Courses: these courses follow your typical IA curriculum and touch on many fields. The subject matter relies a lot on books and videos from Skillport, subject matter provided by Ucertify for the CEH/CHFI and Crypto as well as the occasional study guide from the course mentors. What I liked is the material was adequate for the course but my bone with the courses are some of the outdated materials. Many books are at least 7-8 years in many instances. Granted, the subject matter has evolved much but I wonder if other books haven't been written in the meanwhile or updated so as to be included in the course design and material selection could be updated.
- Evaluation: The tasks provided are ok to test the student's comprehension and assimilation of the material. As posted extensively, it is no secret that the evaluation criteria is frustrating. When conducting my initial research, I stumbled upon a blog post by RBrady Frost who used a template to align his homework to the rubric (http://www.rbradyfrost.com/blog/template-how-to-complete-wgu-taskstream-assignments/) A couple of my assignments were returned and I couldn't understand the evaluator's comments. I started using that template and while some assignments still got kicked back, I was able to target the particular section, correct what's needed (sometimes it was about adding more words, or define something) and it would pass. Listen, this portion will be frustrating. You will want to cuss the evaluator and wonder why they act list this or whatever. My stuff was kicked back because some things weren't "substantially" explained or whatever. I would write another paragraph of fluff and send back to get accepted. I told that to a course mentor once when they locked a task about 3 corrections. I told him that I'm a military guy, I go after the BLUF (bottom line upfront) and don't need to fill my paper with deadwood. Yet, this is academia and since this is not an English Lit degree, then deadwood is acceptable apparently. No matter, as mentioned previously, write to the rubric. Read the assignment, check the rubric, use the template, employ the course material and supplement with Google searches of adequate sources for the material and get your tasks in the bank.
- Mentor relationship: Another issue that is faced by many and will be particular to each student is the student mentor calls. I explained to my mentor from the get go that I wanted to get going fast and finish my degree. I don't require a lot of handholding and just need her support to approve the courses. It wasn't always easy. I suffered like everyone through the phone calls. I am 9 hours ahead of her. So many times, I was calling her at 11pm or 10 pm with DST gone. I tried to keep it cordial and talk to her for about 5 min to say hello and discuss things. I wanted to finish my degree in one term but I couldn't. My job was taking a toll at times, while at others, I just lacked the motivation for certain periods. I finished 6 courses in the first term and 5 in the second term. Eventually, I told her that we can move to 2 calls bimonthly. They are all worried about staying within the rules to maintain the school’s accreditation. I don’t mind. I can play the game to get the end result.
- Technology: WGU has a very decent iOS app that I used at time to access my books and study when I was eating or even outside. I invested in an iPAD with an LTE SIM and used it extensively while here away from my desk. At night when doing my homework, I would use one of the 4 locations around the base where I extended free wifi for the Soldiers (I'm responsible for contracting the service, so 2 areas have 32MB ADSL lines where I would study while torrenting shows for later viewing and to preserve my sanity). Taskstream and Turnitin are good platforms for homework submission and evaluation. One just has to work by, with and through the evaluators to get the tasks approved.
- Capstone: the paperwork might advise you to start way early and the mentor would advise that if you want to accelerate. I would advise to start thinking early about a topic and figure out your approach. As mentioned in other threads, think big picture in the beginning and narrow down as you write your prospectus and written report. Again, there are templates provided and you should absolutely follow them for each of grade and to remain on track. The Capstone is not meant to be this big hurdle but mainly to have you thinking in concrete terms about a real life issue, even if you're writing about a fictitious company for implementation. Many sections between the prospectus and written report are similar and complementary so you can knock out quite a bit in your writing. Just structure your thoughts, work through the sections and complete the writing. Some students who are not strong in writing can use their writing center but frankly, if you’re a graduate student, there is no excuse for finding ways to improve your composition and submit a decent report.
- Certs: Many graduates will deplore the choice of certifications (EC Council’s CEH and CHFI) for the course. I assume that it was a choice of providing concrete certifications for the subject matter taught. While the coursework from EC Council is very amateurish, you can expand the education by seeking other material as mentioned previously. It doesn’t matter as some have deplored whether you pass a final for Ethical Hacking and Network Forensics or you take the CEH and CHFI to satisfy both requirements. An academic final test or an industry certification just signifies your competence in the subject matter. Again, I urge anyone to just study for the tests, obtain your two certs and move. Whether you add these certifications to your professional resume or not is a matter of personal choice. Personally, CEH is part of the 8570 matrix, so I will use it on my next assignment if needed for an advanced position.
- Reputation: WGU advertises a bunch of links to articles written about its competency-based educational model. Again, it has its own reputation within a certain growing niche of students with a specific set of professional/academic/life/family requirements, it is regionally accredited. It is recognized by many HR professionals and has a numbers of hits on job boards. It satisfies an educational requirement for corporate purposes. Therefore, if it fulfills your personal requirements and lines with your professional timeline, then I’d encourage you to pursue your dream.
- What next: I’m waiting for the next term to start my MBA with WGU. In the meantime, I am studying for my CISSP.
Comments
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WilliamK99
Member Posts: 278
As someone who is enrolled to start 1 September this is very valuable. Thanks for taking the time to write this. -
Danielm7
Member Posts: 2,310 ■■■■■■■■□□
Thanks for the review and of course big congrats on finishing your MS.
-
detroital
Member Posts: 6 ■□□□□□□□□□
Thanks for the review, couple questions.
MSISA, which is a Master's right? Which one? Pardon my ignorance but I did not see that as an option.
Secondly, did you have a Bachelor's already? If so in what?
And thanks for your service, stay safe. -
cyberguypr
Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
Masters of Science in Information Security and Assurance. Recently renamed/updated to M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. -
mzx380
Member Posts: 453 ■■■■□□□□□□
A great article
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your achievement.Certifications: ITIL, ACA, CCNA, Linux+, VCP-DCV, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM
Currently Working On: Microsoft 70-761 (SQL Server) -
518
Member Posts: 165 ■■■□□□□□□□
thanks for the review, Trance. Now that CISSP is behind me, I'll be starting with MSCIA on March 1st. Oh, just noticed that it aligns with InfoSecs CIA triad
-
Dakinggamer87
Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
Congrats!! Great review of the degree as well
*Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
*Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
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