What is everyone's take on WGU?

Spiegel

I've been debating this for a year or so now. I'll start with a minor background info.

I'm sure you've all heard of ITT Tech. 3 years ago I reached a point in my life where I was honestly fed up with how things were going. Couldn't find a job anywhere with my graphic design and video editing technical certs, etc... So I decided to switch careers and go back to my original interest, I.T. Enter ITT Tech. Decided to give that school a shot. Back in 2001 - 2005 while I was in high school I heard good things about the school. I went for it. It started of harmless enough, some basic classes in A+ knowledge materials, some English composition, ect... But then I noticed while I was taking the more "advanced" classes the teachers hardly know enough to speak with confidence of the materials and soley relied on the pre-made slides provided by ITT tech. It felt like a self-study course I was forced to attend classes. Very little help were provided and quite honestly the classes were rather easy to pass if you basically showed up. Sometimes the instructors let you work together on exams and projects and every semester I felt very little progress made in my quest for knowledge. The little I did gain were on my own. I'm very good at self-study which I didn't mind but there was very little options for degree choice to study online. After three semester I left and now I have several thousand dollars of student loans I have to pay off at a school that is now closed for obvious reasons.

Since the time I quit ITT Tech I obtained three certs, A+, Net+, and ITIL Foundation and a decent job as a Service Desk Analyst in health IT. For the first two years working at the help desk level I was happy but now I feel like it's time for me to move a bit higher in the career ladder. I have a girlfriend now with a potential of marriage not too long from now and would like to have a much more rewarding career. I tried going back to a traditional college, and I love my college, however, I'm currently having to pay out of pocket and things are moving rather slow. I considered going back to a ITT Tech style school but I'm afraid things will repeat themselves. Then I came across WGU and it appears to be different than ITT Tech and all those other For-Profit schools. For one, it's a nonprofit school. I've also heard many success stories, even from ones I've read here.

Is this school worth the hype I've heard? Is it another ITT Tech institution in disguise? I just want to continue moving forward and higher.

cyberguypr

To answer your question: NO. WGU is nothing like ITT. Feedback you will see is mostly in two camps: people like me and others here who went through one of their programs and will tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly, as well as those who have zero connection with the school, know nothing about it, and will tell you it sucks because X, Y or Z. I personally had some issues with the way they handle a few things but definitely recommend it. There are multiple threads here covering the value of the school, perception of employers. etc. Make sure you search for those as they have a lot of valuable feedback.

NetworkNewb

Spiegel wrote: »

Is it another ITT Tech institution in disguise?

Your gonna hear some decent things about WGU here. Its convenient and cost is low. Those are two very big factors for a lot of people and if those things are important to you WGU is probably not a bad school to look at. But the fact that someone in IT (like yourself) is asking that question I quoted, what do you think some other people might ask when they see WGU on the resume...

That said, if I didn't have one and was in need to get a Bachelor's degree quickly I would consider WGU myself.

albinorhino187

I started in September this year. I've completed 7 courses so far, and the first term ends in February.

I can study and learn on my own, and I'm not having any issues staying motivated. A huge benefit of WGU to me is that I can go at my own pace and if its accelerated, then my cost per course goes down because I'm getting more completed for the same flat rate per semester. I have certifications now that I didn't have before I started. And, ultimately, I'll be able to check that box on future job applications that states I have a Bachelor's degree.

That's the main reason I decided to go with them. Schedule flexibility, cost, certifications, and application checkbox.

I can't say whether future employers will scoff at the school itself, but I'm hoping most employers just want to see the degree and not care where it came from.

Legacy User

Sigh...have you tried doing a search on this? As previously mentioned it has been gone over to many times.

In summation:
WGU=Non Profit, Regionally Accredited and honestly no one cares where you got your bachelors from only if you can do the job or not.
ITT=For profit, Nationally Accredited, now closed for all types of Fraud

Just know WGU is all about self study if that is not your style of learning then WGU is not for you. The "teachers" are course mentors who answer questions but usually there isn't any lectures or anything only exception i seen was for Linux+ the teacher had scheduled webex sessions going over stuff since I guess a lot of people were having a hard time with the course material.

To add what you get out of it is only what you put into it.

Verities

Having attended both schools, I can say WGU is much better and is nothing like ITT Tech. There's a distinct difference in how they handle courses and accreditation (regional vs national) and their business models (for profit vs non profit). There's no need to write any more up, since as Cyberguy stated before there are tons of posts about WGU and ITT that you can find on here by simply using the "search" function.

Mitechniq

We should add a sticky or a 'read this' before asking about WGU. We have this question pop up at least once a week.

shochan

I am definitely gonna try it, since I only have an A.A.S in CIS; 89hrs completed at a local technical college...I would hope I won't have to take too many classes to get my Bachelors...then maybe pursue my Masters....but I'm in the middle of Linux+, and then this Cisco CyberOps in June-ish...it might be this time next year before I pursue it.

goatama

Mitechniq wrote: »

We should add a sticky or a 'read this' before asking about WGU. We have this question pop up at least once a week.

You mean like these two stickies that already exist?

Mitechniq

goatama wrote: »

You mean like these two stickies that already exist?

Yes-Touchè