WGU MSISA admission requirements

According to WGU's website, these are the steps necessary for enrollment:

Apply for admission.
Possess a bachelor’s degree from a regionally or DETC-accredited institution.
Demonstrate IT security experience through at least one of the following three methods:
- 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, or GCWN certification that was 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.
You will also be required to take and pass the WGU Readiness Assessment—a short, three-part online admissions test that helps determine the likelihood of success in a WGU program

My question is do they really allow you to substitute the "IT Security experience" category just by obtaining your CCNA before you apply? How lenient are they with what counts as "experience" otherwise?

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Comments

Danielm7

Well they do say you have to have ONE of the following, a degree that fits, the cert OR the job experience. So it sounds like if you have a CCNA you're in. As with all the other WGU questions, best bet is to just call the school.

I'm getting set to start on 6/1 myself to finish my BS. My certs were older than 5 years, I had more than enough credits for an AS but I never combined them between two schools to get one so they just asked me to submit a resume. I did that, I had more than enough work experience and I got accepted on just that.

emerald_octane

Yes you may use your CCNA for entry. While it does seem odd that they would put the CCNA on the same plane as CISSP, CCIE etc, keep in mind the course work isn't extremely technical and is more managerial based (from what i've seen of the course material). You will of course get your CCENT as well as CEH, so having the CCNA will demonstrate a somewhat sufficient level of technical knowledge for the program requirements.

Nyblizzard

Ahh, guess that makes sense then

hollister

FWIW, I'm having a lot of trouble getting into this program. I've been an IT auditor for 5 years and before that I was a Windows sysadmin for 4; have a CISSP-ISSMP, CISA and out-of-date MCSE & A+; and teach CISSP and CISA certification courses. My bachelor's is in Business with a concentration in IT. My resume has been bounced three times. Does anyone have any advice?

My current theory about the admissions process is that they are making it difficult in order to see who is motivated enough to stick with it. Can't really afford Norwich but it is looking better and better.

JoJoCal19

hollister wrote: »

FWIW, I'm having a lot of trouble getting into this program. I've been an IT auditor for 5 years and before that I was a Windows sysadmin for 4; have a CISSP-ISSMP, CISA and out-of-date MCSE & A+; and teach CISSP and CISA certification courses. My bachelor's is in Business with a concentration in IT. My resume has been bounced three times. Does anyone have any advice?

My current theory about the admissions process is that they are making it difficult in order to see who is motivated enough to stick with it. Can't really afford Norwich but it is looking better and better.

Wow. If you're having that much trouble then I wonder what I'm in for. I just applied and am going through the process. I have 6 total years of Infosec experience with 5 most recently. I only have Security+ and Network+ and my undergrad is also in business.

hiddenknight821

hollister wrote: »

My current theory about the admissions process is that they are making it difficult in order to see who is motivated enough to stick with it. Can't really afford Norwich but it is looking better and better.

Now that's just laughable, because I don't see why they can't admit you in the program with your intensive background. Are you sure you're not doing something wrong? Are those certs earned within the last 5 years? They might rejected you based on a technicality that you certs are outdated, which is over-the-top ridiculous in my opinion. Are you even from the U.S.?

hollister

hiddenknight - Yes, though I am south of the M-D line so maybe that doesn't count?

JoJoCal - You should be fine as long as you put technical terms in the resume.

I wrote to my admissions mentor and asked (nicely) why the CISSP did not count. I got the cert in 2009 so that's within the time frame. However, I passed the exam in 2004 (needed more time for the experience requirements plus took time off to go to school). But I took the ISSMP in February so that, at least, should work.

The feedback on the resume was that they were having trouble linking the CISSP domains to the work experience. So I organized the job functions by domain, and now the feedback is that I should not put the experience in layman's terms. The issue is that my experience is in management and compliance which is not terribly technical to begin with. Hopefully they will accept the cert and we can move forward.

Valsacar

Really... Here is how my admission interview went...

"Please tell me about your IT security background"

"CISSP"

"Ok, you meet the requirements, I'll email you with the process to send us verification."

"Thanks"

"Other random questions like, how much time per week do you spent on a computer."

I didn't even send them a resume.

FYI, if you have CCNA before you start they waive the class for CCENT as you already exceed the requirements.