Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

renquist

Hello,

Looking to see if anyone has any experience with the software development track of WGU. Currently I'm a sys admin and really want to get a degree for myself, and develop into a devops style of a role. I have the a+, n+, and mcsa server 2008 that will be able to transfer in, as well as 30 hours of general credits from a local community college.

With that being said I havn't heard great things about the software development track. I was really looking for a computer science degree, however the school I'm looking at (UMUC) is quite a bit more and does not transfer in certifications.

Currently I'm speaking with an enrollment agent who has me on the BSIT - Security track as it seems to have a great program. (as well as great certs)

I'm not opposed to a networking style of career, but I really have my heart set on development.

Does anyone have any advice or thoughts here? Anyone actually participate in the B.S Software Development?

ratbuddy

I went through the IT-Software program, and I can say that it provided a great foundation for my fledging development career. The BS:SD program seems a bit more hardcore (less general IT courses, more dev stuff and a more advanced Java cert), so as long as you put in the work, I'm sure it'll be a good program to help you break into the development world.

As with anything else, it's all about your attitude and the effort you are willing to put in. Slack through the degree program and interview poorly, and you won't land a good job. Put in the time and effort, and work on your interviewing and soft skills, and the sky is the limit.

The IT-Security program is definitely more operations-oriented. If you want to go dev, I'd suggest the IT-Software or SD programs, and I think I heard the IT-Software program is being (or is already) discontinued, so that just leaves SD..

ac1d12a1n

All the postive comments have encouraged me to apply, thanks everyone!

aquacoder

They have already stopped accepting enrollment for the IT-Software program so it is now just the Software Development course.


Anyone have any experience with transferring in an AS in Computer Science? I wanted to attend WGU from the beginning but they wanted me to have an Associate's since I don't have any official experience that can be listed on the application. I had run some gaming websites and love coding when I find the time and am constantly striving to learn. I was just wondering what all would be transferred in since I would have a CS degree instead of an IT degree. The Transfer Equivalency document never mentions CS - only IT.

roninkai

I'm finding that there are tons of great benefits to being a student in addition to being "a student". Namely, the academic pricing offered by many companies for very high end software.

I'm wondering then, could all of us in attending WGU here in this forum put some pressure on the WGU staff to setup a partnership with Microsoft Azure. It is available to educational institutions, just I don't think WGU is yet a partner. But by doing so, they'd be able to pass the Azure services onto students for 6-months at a time. This is great for those of us needing to do labs, and working on certifications. Everything is 100% virtualized, and you can provision servers in seconds.

Here's the info to pass on to WGU. I'm certainly going to rattle their cage as this is a great learning opportunity:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/education/

Caiyenne

Dragonsden, I got an email in my student gmail account about this last week. We can get the new release of Visual Studio 2015 and Microsoft Azure free. The azure offer is available to students who have created a dreamspark account.

dome625

Hi, new here and considering WGU. With the set tuition price what is the average semester load that most people take? How many courses does everyone take each term I guess is what I'm asking. I want to know if it's worth leaving the community college I'm in to go to WGU.

stryder144

Your minimum work load is 9 credits (typically three courses). Depending on your ability to master the material, you could finish the whole experience in one term or over 16 terms. It is really up to you. As for leaving the CC you attend now, may I ask what about it would make you want to leave it?

dome625

Thanks for the response. I would consider leaving the CC since I do work full time and have a family. Most courses are Available online though I would like to keep my options open. The option of an accelerated degree also interests me for the family reasons as well.

advanex1

Curious - anyone have contact information or an admissions advisors information? Trying to get a hold of anyone. Not seeming to get an answer back.

stryder144

dome625 wrote: »

Thanks for the response. I would consider leaving the CC since I do work full time and have a family. Most courses are Available online though I would like to keep my options open. The option of an accelerated degree also interests me for the family reasons as well.

That makes sense. I, too, have a full-time job and a family, so attending WGU was right for me. The more courses you take per term, the less each course costs. As such, a cost-benefit analysis will tell you if it is cheaper than going to your local CC. Of course, a CC doesn't provide you with a bachelor degree, which is very important to have in this economy.

SGIT

JamesKurtovich wrote: »

Looks like CCNA alone can get you up to 19 CUs if you go into the Security program.

I should find out soon how many for the Network Administration program. CCNA is all I'm bringing to the table.

Mr. Fish

Should I do the BS or MS for security?

Currently been working in a helpdesk/Jr sysadmin type role for the past year and a half. Before that I have about 10 months of front line help desk support.. I only have an A+ cert and no formal training for anything else tech related. Everything I know is either self taught or learned on the job. If I was to evaluate myself I'd say I have large gaps in my knowledge which is why I'm considering the BS. Unless I can take BS classes before tackling MS material.

Note: I already have a bachelor's degree in an unrelated, non-technical field. I'm 3.5 years out of college.

stryder144

Welcome to the forum, Mr. Fish.

Normally, I would say don't get another bachelor's degree, honestly. However, it appears that you don't qualify for admissions in the WGU MSISA program. From their website, you must have one of the following:

* Have earned a bachelor’s degree in IT security or IT networking that covers at least two CISSP CBK domains. (You can find the domains listed here.)


* Hold a CISSP, CCIE, CCNP, CCNA, CCNA Security, CEH, CHFI, GIAC 2700 or GCWN certification that is valid and earned within the last five years.

* Submit a resume for review showing recent significant IT security experience, of at least three years, which demonstrates at least two CISSP CBK domains.

What I would recommend, if you are interested in the MSISA program, is to study for and attain your CCNA. Not only can you use that certificate for entry to the program, it will also provide you with both knowledge and leverage if you seek another job in the next few years. You can check out a number of resources that will bring you to the point where you can sit for the exam. A few are the Chris Bryant videos and books, the Paul Browning CCNA in 60 Days book and website, Wendell Odom's material, or Todd Lammle's books.

Good luck with your decision.

Mr. Fish

Thanks. I'll probably look into do that. I already have some materials for the CCNA on hand luckily...The only problem is that I don't work directly with Cisco switches or routers in my current place of employment. We have HP Procurves everywhere and even then we never really have much of a reason to go into them. I will definitely start with the CCNA though and work hard at it then look into WGU after that. Or possibly a new position in networking and then WGU.

usman4673

Has anyone recently taken C179 (Business of IT Applications?" I have heard the exam has wrong answers to questions for scoring and students have attempted the assessment two times on average. Has anyone recently taken the course? What are your thoughts? How bad was it and how long did it take to pass the course?

kvlt

I have a couple of questions regarding transfer credits that I'm hoping someone an answer for me...I have already applied and expect to be accepted due to having a CCNA and several years of IT experience, but I'm concerned about my transfer credits.

1.) When I was young and dumb, I made the terrible mistake of going to ITT Tech and got an Associate's degree that I don't even put on my resume anymore because I'm ashamed of it...can anyone tell me if I can expect any of my credits to transfer to WGU? I was hoping I would at least be somewhere close to halfway through the bachelor's program at WGU.

2.) I also want to transfer some general education credits from a community college I attended for nursing...but a lot of my courses, I didn't do so great in because I was lazy. If I send them a transcript from this community college, could they deny me due to my terrible grades? Am I better off not sending them this transcript and just re-taking the few classes I would get transferred from here?

Qord

@kvlt: I don't think that will hurt you at all. If anything, the fact that you completed an Associates should wave most, if not all, gen ed requirements, leaving you with just the technical courses to complete. I went in with an AS in Business, and my transfer was 56 credits.

EJMADELINE

Is anyone involved with the Masters program at WGU? I'm now a "senior" at AMU and I'm starting to explore Masters programs. Do they proctor exams? If so, is it hard to get someone to proctor the exam? I really like AMU, but I'll only have 14 months of the GI bill left when I'm ready to start my Masters. I figure with WGU I can finish within that time frame or at least not go broke paying for the rest.

ezy20004

How fast can a class be finished? For example Eng Comp II

markulous

ezy20004 wrote: »

How fast can a class be finished? For example Eng Comp II

A class can be finished in less than a day. If it's something were you submit an assignment like that class, then you could in theory write it up, submit it to their grading, and if they graded it that day, you'd be all done. It can take a couple of days to get approval for tests/certs, so getting those done in a day isn't always possible.

ezy20004

Thanks! So for a class like Eng Comp. How many assignments are typically given?

markulous

Typically two. They are usually pretty easy. The biggest headache is dealing with Taskstream (the graders). They give poor feedback and contradict themselves. There's no way to directly talk to the graders either.

Evoluvin

Hello -

I'm looking for some insight on WGU.

I've been in IT for about 5 years now, 3 of those years in a Remote Support type role. The other 2 years I have been in an IT Technical Management role.

I'm currently tossed with which degree program to pursue. As I have an interest in BS: IT - Security (As it offers more Certifications) and BS: Business IT Management (As this is what my current positions entails).

After I receive my BS, I was wanting to go down the MBA route. Would anyone happen to know if I were to go down the BS: IT-Security route, if I would have to obtain more credits to go the MBA route after the BS:IT-Security is completed??

Also, I currently do not have any college experience and the only Cert i have is ITIL Foundations. I have obtained a lot of on the job experience. Does anyone recommend me getting any GEN-ED courses completed first, and then applying?

I briefly spoke with an Enrollment Counselor whom advised that with my years of experience, that I would have a good chance of getting accepted.

Any and all help is appreciated.

- Anthony

ezy20004

Thanks! I would of thought that a CCIE had weight too. I will be transferring in a CCIE and CCNA security but thats only like 3 classes.

Koreican

Hi everyone, just registered after reading this forum on an off for a bit.

Long story short, I'm mid 20s, obtained an AAS in Game Design from a local community college in 2010. Trying to start up my own little business by developing apps hasn't gotten me anywhere. I've come to my senses and realize I need to continue my education in one way or another.

I've come across WGU and their software development program. I've recently applied and submitted past transcripts for review. I got the initial evaluation back and it looks like only the gen eds have transferred totaling 29 hours leaving 94 hours left. After further review, WGU seems to have the policy in place where credits won't transfer if they were obtained over 5 years ago, which I have just passed that threshold from my degree being in 2010. Since my current job has nothing to do with IT and none of the core credits were transferred, I'm doubtful I will be accepted in my current state.

This has left me wondering what the best course of action would be. While I do enjoy coding and creating prototypes for games, I always have had this feeling that I'm never coding "correctly" or that my skills are on a much lower level than everyone else's. I do enjoy the IT and technical aspects of computers so that would be an alternative to a coding career.

Would it still be wise to obtain a bachelor's degree through WGU or some other online school? How are certificates as far as getting entry level work to then lead to something more. I only ask because my advisor told me early on that if I wasn't accepted, I would have to get a certificate or two in my free time and then reapply anyways.

Just curious on your thoughts.

Thanks

cshkuru

I transferred in in 2011 with a certificate in Networking technology earned in 1999 so I think your degree should be acceptable. If not there are some core courses that all the IT classes require - pass the cert for on of those. A+ and Network+ are both required for the Software Development degree according to the program sheet. Network + is rote memorization and can be passed in a couple weeks, in my opinion.

As to the coding wrong or not coding as well as others the answer to that is peer review and practice. (Says the guy who hates coding with a passion).

Mooseboost

Anyone know what is going on with WGU and NC? I was on the path to start, but then I got an email saying that they were no longer accepting students from NC.

TLeTourneau

Maybe this? Out-of-state online college favored by legislature halts NC enrollment while waiting for approval | NC Policy Watch

Mooseboost

TLeTourneau wrote: »

Maybe this? Out-of-state online college favored by legislature halts NC enrollment while waiting for approval | NC Policy Watch

Wow. Thats crazy, they were really trying really hard to get me to enroll too. I wonder why they did that if they knew I wouldn't be able to?