WGU/Do I have to take the CCENT or can I just take the Composite exam? (CCNA)

Cold Titanium

Hello,

I'm looking at entering the WGU IT Security degree. I intend on getting some classes out of the way before I enroll. I see that both the CCENT and the CCNA are required. I also read that you don't get the CCENT if you do the composite (640-802). My question is this: What would happen if I took the composite and got the CCNA but not the CCENT? Would I have to take whichever class has the CCENT in it anyways?

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks!

erpadmin

From my understanding, let me answer this with a bunch of scenarios.

Scenario One: You hold a CCNA prior to enrolling to WGU and you enroll in a emphasis like Net Admin that requires a CCENT. You would not be required to take the CCENT and you would either get transfer credit or requirement met (requirement met means that you don't get credit for a course BUT you have done what is needed to show you don't need to take the course...but you don't get credit. In this case, I think that you do get credit for a CCENT with a CCNA.)

Scenario Two. You do not hold a CCNA and you enroll in the CCENT course but take the composite exam instead of the CCENT. From what I've read here, that won't count. You have to take the CCENT and not the composite if you want credit for the course. At best, you would get a "Requirement Met" but that IS NOT GOOD for SAP. To give you an example of what I mean, let's say that the CCENT course is 3CU (I don't know what the exact number is off the top of my head since Net Admin wasn't my emphasis, but that's not relevant to this discussion.) You are enrolled for the CCENT and three other WGU course at 3 CUs each. You will never have 100% SAP if you take the composite exam in lieu of the CCENT course because you will get a requirement met. So instead of having 12 CUs, you will have 9CUs. Now it's not to say that you failed but instead of having 100% SAP, you now have 75% SAP with your 12 CUs. The SAP will get higher of course when you take more courses, but because you didn't take the required exam to pass that course, you won't get full credit.

If you are going to get a requirement met, it is better to do it before you enroll then after, this way SAP isn't messed with. Otherwise, if you are taking a course that requires the CCENT, just take that one and then do the other exam separately.

Cold Titanium

Thank you for the response!

So I guess my best bet would be taking the two part route. Just to make certain. Because WGU states that they do transfer in the CCENT and the CCNA.

One other thing I just thought of. I did a quick Google and didn't find a definite answer. Is there a residency requirement for this degree?

As in, do I have to take a certain number of classes from WGU to get a degree from WGU? I already have just about all the gen-ed's out of the way.

erpadmin

Cold Titanium wrote: »

So I guess my best bet would be taking the two part route. Just to make certain. Because WGU states that they do transfer in the CCENT and the CCNA.

Not every emphasis requires either a CCNA or even CCENT. Assuming one transfers in a CCNA and wants to go the NDM route, the CCNA would then replace the Network+ requirement. Though even with that, folks would be advised to do the Security emphasis to maximize the number of CUs that transferred in.

Cold Titanium wrote: »

One other thing I just thought of. I did a quick Google and didn't find a definite answer. Is there a residency requirement for this degree?As in, do I have to take a certain number of classes from WGU to get a degree from WGU?

That's not what a residency requirement is, though. A residency requirement (and a lot of online programs have them, but not WGU) means that you have to physically attend an institution to fullfill a requirement. To answer your specific question [minimum coursework to be done at WGU itself] you have to do a minimum of 24 CUs to be accepted in a IT program. The only physical presence you need at WGU would be to do a clinical at a hospital if you are in the nursing program or do student teaching if you're in a teaching program. But that's not done at WGU itself.

Cold Titanium

Ah, so 24 credits must be taken from WGU. So at an average of 3-4 CUs per class that's about 6-8 classes that you must take from WGU?

Thanks!

erpadmin

For what it's worth, I had to do 96 CUs at WGU and it was done in 1.5 years. My experience is documented in the main Student Experience thread from August 1, 2010-January 18, 2012. The average CUs I did a term was 32 CUs a term. Perhaps I could have done more CUs within any six month period, but I wasn't trying to kill myself.

At this point, I believe you are now ready to deal with an enrollment counselor based on the information you've been given. Best of luck in your WGU studies should you decide to pursue it.

Cold Titanium

I think I'll finish the CCNA and possibly the Security+ before I enroll.

Thank you very much for your time!

P.S. I already have an AAS and a couple semesters worth of a 4 year down already, so I'm not expecting that many CUs to be required.