after WGU: brick and mortar grad school options?

absolute.shell

I'm wondering what quality of grad school people have been able to get into after completing their BSIT at WGU?

Obviously, WGU has a masters program, but I know a lot want a grad school on their resume that is familiar to the HR gate keepers and has a football team. (and if your seeking an MBA, the AACSB accreditation might be important if you ever want to see that CIO chair or want to teach)

University of Washington, Rutgers and Drexel have nice tech related grad programs that provide an entirely online education as well as that sheepskin, which is indistinguishable from their classroom version. But what WGU grads have gotten in? I've only heard a few murmurs about western states taking in WGU undergrads but nothing concrete.

I can see how WGU's pass/fail can look dodgy, even though you need the equivalent of a B to get a PASS, though I wonder if grad schools might see it as a C. I know Brown.edu has a similar pass/fail system and no GPA, but they're ivy league and have been around since the 18th century. I'd hope a healthy GRE/GMAT score is all that is required and perhaps consider the work you've already done in your field.

So how about it?

powerfool

I am quite curious about this myself. This is one of the reasons that I recommend a quality brick and mortar school that may offer online courses or an indistinguishable online program. That being said, if there isn't anything available that doesn't throw your life upside (assuming you are an adult learner that has other responsibilities), then go for WGU. I think WGU is also quite fine for a masters program other than an MBA (an MBA is about one thing, and you need a top 25 school for it to really make a true difference in your career).

Excellent1

I posted this link in a similar thread, but here it is again: WGU Alumni Community - Frequently Asked Questions

If you scroll down, it lists some schools that people have gone on to after graduating from WGU. For me, I'm looking at University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana to continue on with. It's very well respected nationally, and has some online programs as well that receive the same degree traditional students receive.

I'm still undecided, though. Depending on the reception I get with the Bachelor's from WGU, I might stick with them for the Masters, but that's down the road a ways.

erpadmin

absolute.shell wrote: »

University of Washington, Rutgers and Drexel have nice tech related grad programs that provide an entirely online education as well as that sheepskin, which is indistinguishable from their classroom version.

AS, first of all welcome to TE.

Second, I'm curious to know which grad program at Rutgers offers an "entirely online education?" I ask because that is one of a number of local universities that I am considering applying to after I graduate from WGU. The Rutgers Information Technology MBA program would be a nice one to do for me, but I did not see an online option for it. (I'm local to either the Newark or New Brunswick campus--depending on if I'm at work or home...lol.)

BTW, I agree with you on the AACSB for an MBA. I do want to adjunct teach as I work in higher ed...and even if I currently didn't, adjunct teaching is just too sweet of a gig.

bc901

University of Maryland University College(UMUC) has a few IT Masters Programs that can be done completely online.

Master of Science in Information Technology - Graduate School of Management & Technology - UMUC

qwertyiop

I graduated from WGU last year and tomorrow is my first official day of my masters program at Davenport University

master of science in information assurance

Excellent1

qwertyiop wrote: »

I graduated from WGU last year and tomorrow is my first official day of my masters program at Davenport University

master of science in information assurance

How has your Bachelor's been received so far? Just curious what your experience has been.

qwertyiop

Excellent1 wrote: »

How has your Bachelor's been received so far? Just curious what your experience has been.

I haven't had any problems, infact Davenport didn't even question me regarding WGU. One thing that I do suggest is that you keep a copy of all your essays because some schools will ask for writing samples due to WGU's non traditional manner.

Excellent1

qwertyiop wrote: »

I haven't had any problems, infact Davenport didn't even question me regarding WGU. One thing that I do suggest is that you keep a copy of all your essays because some schools will ask for writing samples due to WGU's non traditional manner.

Very good advice, thank you for bringing that up. I'll go through and make sure I still have copies of everything I submitted to Taskstream. If not, I'll go ahead and make copies from within Taskstream now.

powerfool

Saw an ad for IE Brown Executive MBA at the bottom of the thread. That would be a test for a WGU grad... but it is like $95k for the program... $10k more than the program I am hoping to do... crazy. Good MBA programs are very expensive, but they do stand apart from programs out there that are flooding the job market with MBAs... somewhat akin to the "paper cert here" type discussions that go on (e.g. paper MCSE, paper CCNP, etc).

petedude

powerfool wrote: »

Saw an ad for IE Brown Executive MBA at the bottom of the thread. That would be a test for a WGU grad... but it is like $95k for the program... $10k more than the program I am hoping to do... crazy. Good MBA programs are very expensive, but they do stand apart from programs out there that are flooding the job market with MBAs... somewhat akin to the "paper cert here" type discussions that go on (e.g. paper MCSE, paper CCNP, etc).

As discussed in another thread, the ROI can be tough to get once you start looking at the really expensive MBAs such as Brown, UC Irvine, etc. How long will it take you to earn back what you invested in tution? Are there enough executive posts paying six-digit salaries in any given area to guarantee the payback?

I disagree with the notion that an MBA has to be from a top-tier school to be viable. It may be more likely to land you a super-high paying or prestigious job, but any regionally accredited MBA is likely to open doors for you that would not have been open prior.

erpadmin

I was inspired to do my own research on this topic. I found the Bloomberg Business School rankings to be somewhat invaluable.

I even found out that a third-tier (maybe lower) school in NJ (Rowan) offered an online MBA. They charge $25K a year though...(lmao.)

Business School Rankings and Profiles: EMBA, Executive Education, MBA, Part-time MBA, Distance MBA

I'd imagine we'd all would want the Part-Time MBA and/or the Distance option. This will help broaden my choices once I'm done with WGU, but I know WGU will not be an option, because it's not AACSB accredited (and probably among other reasons.)

One option that many may not know about is if you could find a school that you can pay with federal loans, if you work in the public sector (like I do), you can pay the loans back for ten years (120 payments) and then you are done:

http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/LoanForgivenessv4.pdf

stevebg4

Hi erpadmin,

I also will be graduating from WGU BS-IT program soon and I live in NJ. I was curious if you have found a MBA IT online Program that accepts your WGU degree from Rutgers MBA in New Brunswick campus program or other local MBA universities like Drexel that are online.

erpadmin

stevebg4 wrote: »

Hi erpadmin,

I also will be graduating from WGU BS-IT program soon and I live in NJ. I was curious if you have found a MBA IT online Program that accepts your WGU degree from Rutgers MBA in New Brunswick campus program or other local MBA universities like Drexel that are online.

This is a thread that I started on this subject. I decided not to do an MBA and stick with an MS in MIS. (As opposed to the IS I wanted to do...apparently, they do want calculus...MIS does not. I'm ok with that though. ) But it's at NJIT, and not Rutgers. I stopped pursuing an MBA as a grad degree since I also wanted to adjunct teach as well as pursue a position in management.

Having said that, I can't see Rutgers not accepting a WGU degree, HOWEVER....they do want calculus as part of your math program. I would have either had to CLEP Calculus or take a semester at community college (OR...pay grad level money for an undergraduate in calculus.) However, all things being equal....a WGU degree can get you into Rutgers so long as you meet other criteria. I can't see that not being the case.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/73386-erpadmins-grad-school-journey.html

Zartanasaurus

If you have a good GPA and standardized test scores, I think a WGU grad could transition into a master's degree at a more traditional university without much difficulty. Even a top tier program if you meet the requirements.

Valsacar

I just want to comment on the pass/fail issue, some big schools (like Brown) also use a pass/fail system and therefore it should never really be an issue. I'm actually going into WGU for my MSISA, my company (GDIT, a branch of General Dynamics) is paying for it and we have a number of their graduates in our ranks.

ComputerDiva

I just finished WGU BS-IT program this month. I applied to Capitol College and Georgetown University. I will keep you posted as to acceptance.