WGU.edu or Local Community College?

itangel

Hey guys I see a lot of people attending WGU here and I wanted to see if is worth it for me to transfer from Devry University to Western Governors University or to a Local Community College instead?

I really like so far what WGU has to offer on their website from Certs with your tuition to, online program and degrees options. Just trying to get some feedback from folks that have been attending or has graduated from it. I might be interested on the Security degree from them.

I like this part also;

What You’ll Earn — IT Certifications:

This program incorporates 15 industry recognized IT certifications as part of your degree program. You will study for and complete the following certification exams (which are all included in your tuition—a huge cost savings for you):

• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®)
• Cisco Certified Network Associate Security (CCNA® Security)
• Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (CCENT)
• CIW Web Design Specialist
• CIW JavaScript Specialist
• CIW Database Design Specialist
• CIW Web Foundations Associate
• CompTIA A+
• CompTIA Project+
• CompTIA Security+
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows 7 – Configuration
• Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Windows OS Fundamentals
• Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Web Development Fundamentals
• Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Software Development Fundamentals
• Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Database Administration Fundamentals

Thanks In Advance!

TLeTourneau

It depends, WGU has bachelorette and masters programs and most community colleges are associate degrees. What degree do you want? Also I would recommend contacting each one to see what, if any, credits will transfer from DeVry.

itangel

TLeTourneau wrote: »

It depends, WGU has bachelorette and masters programs and most community colleges are associate degrees. What degree do you want? Also I would recommend contacting each one to see what, if any, credits will transfer from DeVry.

I want a bachelor since I was almost done with devry bachelor degree program. I will have to send them a non-official transcript or a official one since i have it here to them. Then we can go from there but just curious if the school is worth it or not and if is just as good as a local community college or maybe a decent university?

TLeTourneau

Have you looked at or considered posting in http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/51715-western-governors-university-questions-answers-threads-related-wgu-94.html? There is alot of information about WGU there.

itangel

Oh didn't know we had one there. I will move my post there and moderator can closed this one. Thanks In Advance! and Thanks TLeTourneau for the link.

filkenjitsu

Why not finish Devry if you are almost done with your Bachelor's? Surely transferring to another college will increase the time it will take to graduate.

Pishof

filkenjitsu wrote: »

Why not finish Devry if you are almost done with your Bachelor's? Surely transferring to another college will increase the time it will take to graduate.

Comparing the cost of WGU vs Devry, it is likely much more cost efficient to transfer over to WGU and finish his degree there. He could probably finish within one term and spend only 3k (no tuition assistance). If he is already somewhat close to finishing a related degree elsewhere, he should have lots of transfer credits.

cisconyc

If you are almost done with Devry, finish it up. Get a Degree from Devry.

filkenjitsu

How much time do you have left at Devry?

itangel

Sorry for the late response but 1.5 years left base on credit 99/126 or so. That is another 24k+ to finish up there.

KeithC

itangel wrote: »

Hey guys I see a lot of people attending WGU here and I wanted to see if is worth it for me to transfer from Devry University to Western Governors University or to a Local Community College instead?

For me the question was cost versus time.

I attended my local community college for almost a year and was half way done (I did pry their assessment department into getting some classes credited from my certifications). My gripes with that route was

a: nobody really cared
my adviser was about as helpful as a rock,
the dean of the department didn't really care / do any action against the "professor" of my last class that broke the camel's back,
my first math class was more - come to class - do homework - use homework for test . . .

b: one of my three classes in my last semester was NET 241 - network tcp/ip protocols (sounds like fun huh?) I purchased the (like most college books) overpriced door stop. The professor only used the book in the first class and after that we setup a windows 2008 domain and most of the class was trying to setup 3 dhcp ipv6 servers and clients . . . and then the "professor" wanted us to set-up a Linux server or something of the like. I didn't do any of that and the only test we took on the last day we went over as a class the week before!

c: My last semester at the college there were rumors of a change in class requirements for my degree. Even after attempting to get information about the program I was registered in I had no answers. Maybe my community college is too big for its britches nobody really knew who I had to talk to.

d: Yes I was half way finished with my associates degree but even if I could take all the classes in the require order I would not of finished until winter 2012

The reasons I attempted my local community college before transferring to WGU are:
It was convent for me as my work is ~ 5 minutes away
I only went to the facility for two of my eight classes
Cost was I think ~ $93/credit
They offered some classes online & accelerated

*I do have a 4.0 GPA with the community college and also got a horrible birthday card sized announcement that I was placed on the "President's Honor List" (Big Whoop!)

For WGU of course it cost more but I did complete 35CU / 12 classes in my first term. I have 43 CU / 7 classes left to complete which I plan on finishing this year (I hope to have my Bachelors’ before I would have finished my Associates’). Of course WGU isn’t for everybody you have to stay motivated but the mentors seem to do a good job on that front. At least the mentors I have had.

I hope this helps you. Send me a PM if you have any questions. I have not seen you post in the WGU questions thread that’s why I’m responding here.

Hypntick

If cost isn't a factor for you, look at your learning style. Will you be able to keep yourself motivated enough to work with little guidance? Or do you need structure to keep you moving forward?

Krones

I would wait and see how many credits are going to transfer into WGU. if you end up having to retake a certain number of courses or take extra general education courses that you do not have to take if you stay at Devry. The money is a huge issue for me too, even if I had to retake a few general courses with WGU, I would make the switch. If you have enough time and want to earn your degree at your own pace, I would go with WGU over community college. I am finishing community college this semester, but if I knew about WGU when I started community college I would have chosen WGU because I feel I could have finished faster and ultimately I prefer the non traditional format. It is sometimes easy to fall behind due to an illness or holiday weekend, or the opposite, you want to work ahead but cannot take midterm/final early. Ultimately, it is up to the student and their own efforts to succeed in the course.