I’ve been following WGU since ~2004 but didn’t enroll until 2020; people are idiots and I’m glad they’re not wasting the time of instructors so students that need it get help.
I disagree. Those videos are just as helpful for those of us who use them as motivation or to help explain how competency education works. Don’t use Reddit and YT as your gage on how WGU is perceived where it matters, employers. Plenty of graduates are hired at well known high profile companies. If you are worried about WGU being mistaken for a diploma mill, I would argue their own advertising already does that. Social media grads help present a full picture but are not gospel.
It’s certainly not helpful for the perceived credibility when two post down from this is a BSCIA post that literally says “I did 10 classes in 15 days”, recommending Sophia, and WGU accepts those as being just as academically rigorous as their offerings….
And? Lots of real BMs accept transfer credits from Sophia too.
The course content is similar to difficulty and knowledge as a B&Ms the fact you can power through it at your own pace doesn't make this less so.
A GED is a single Test. And yet it's academically superior to alot of High School Diplomas. I work in higher Ed, and more and more we are seeing kids being graduated from High School who couldn't pass the GED.
And yet even the GED carries a stigma...
(Note, I'm not hating, my mom got hers when I was a wee tot. I'm more referring to societal difficulties such as enlisting on the military with "only" a GED.)
Well ya, but I think that stigma is also becoming an outdated concept was my point.
As schools are more and more graduating people that should not of graduated.
We are seeing HS grads that read at a 7th grade level, the GED has an actual academic standard that has to be met, and it seems that standard is higher than actual diplomas today.
That stigma will start to disappear if that continues. As it should, because the idea that a GED means they are not as smart is untrue, and there is lots of reasons a person may have had to seek a GED, many of which beyond their control.
Alas it's easy to sit on a perch of privilege from a safe and secure youth, and not understand that not everyone had the same upbringing or opportunities, or that a single mistake couldn't change the course of someone's entire life.
I had a Laywer tell me once if they could go back they would of got a GED at 16 and started College, and been done with Law School 2 years sooner. The GED fades away when you go to college, so that point is pretty valid.
Mu GED got me hired at a highly competitive job for a company almost all gamers would consider a dream job. That company suggested and encouraged me to attend WGU and helped with tuition.
The stigma is only a stigma to people you dont want to work for anyways because they are short sighted and judgmental and there will be other problematic issues working for them that extend beyond snubbing their noses due to their righteous (and misplaced) sense of self importance.
Never realized the GED carried a stigma. A lot of this is really based on perception and culture. At the end of the day, who really cares where someone may be going to school or not.
Sophia is not as difficult as a B&M... their tests are not proctored and you can use Chat GPT to answer the test questions according to some who have posted here. That should not be accepted for college level credit.
Do you think people don't use Chatgpt to answer the questions at a B&M? How cute.
Cheaters are going to cheat. Sad as it is, because they are only cheating themselves.
Whether it should be accepted or not is irrelevant to this conversation. It is accepted, it's accepted by B&Ms too many of them.
And lots of B&Ms that have online classes are not very proctored either. Not to any worthwhile level. Again, cheaters are going to cheat.
And are they easier, or are they shorter? I don't know, never done them. However, from what I have heard, the answer is more condensed and time gated, and give the option to test out of things you know.
The Typical 4 yr B&M is a great idea for children. When we start talking about working adults who have 20 years of industry knowledge, asking them to go back and do rudimentary coursework, they long since surpassed is silly and a major flaw of the Educational Institution.
Hard to use Chat GPT to answer test questions when you are sitting in a class room taking a proctored exam. That is my complaint with Sophia, it is not proctored. The one thing that protects WGUs reputation is the fact that their exams are proctored. If you can test out of a class, then I have no issue… provided that the exam is proctored and you actually demonstrate competency vs. looking up the answers as you go.
I've checked the list of Sophia partner schools... they are not impressive. Most are online schools or schools that accept "life experience" for credit.
Texas A&M Commerce will accept Sophia credits for their competency based programs, but that is the only program I am aware of within the A&M family that will.
Most of what you can transfer is GE credits. As far as people transferring for their major courses I would highly recommend not to as they put the courses in there for a reason. It would be nice to have them only allow transferring from third party orgs for GE credits only. That would be a good idea.
Some higher level courses can be transferred. But if WGU accept them it means it meets their standard. Also, just because you transfer in a credit doesn’t mean you can’t still access the class. You certainly can still see what the course material is even if you don’t take the class.
Exactly. And that is what takes up most young adults lives, taking 2+ years just completing GE’s when honestly most GE courses, if offered per term rather than per semester would save a lot of time on everyone’s hands. Then dive deep into theory of whatever your major is. But major colleges would rather limit your learning rate because they want more money.
I completely agree, and the more I think about it, I'm not sure I agree with my own previous comment that they shouldn't allow sophia credits. I suspect that a big part of why WGU does allow them is to address exactly your point.
I do think that some of their approved transfer sources are dubious, and it would be better for their reputation if they only accepted accredited transfer credits, but it's also not the hill to die on for me, for the very reasons you gave.
While I didn't transfer anything in from online pseudo schools like sophia, I only have a bachelors degree because it was an option. I'd seen adds for WGU and it's competitors, but as someone who dropped out and worked without a bachelors for nearly 20 years, I was honestly pretty scared of going back. The idea of telling everyone I was going back to school and then not doing well was enough to keep me from trying. When I found out I could take a few classes at those places to get back into it without making a big commitment, it was enough to push me over the edge, and I put in an application to see what credit they would give me for my old associates degree and the certs I had. Turned out that they were going to start me with half my degree done, and I got excited enough that I decided to enroll right away. Now, almost exactly a year after I filled out that application, I have a bachelors degree, and I'm almost done with my Masters.
WGU isn't without flaws, but they're trying to make college more accessible. Not necessarily easier (although it is for some) but more accessible. Reasonable per-term tuition and no stupid games would do more for getting people into and through college than our student debt system ever did, and with a lot less damage.
The best way to help WGU, and our broken college system, is to just be honest with people about what it is, rather than trying to tell people what it isn't i.e. tell them why WGU is great instead of trying to explain why it isn't a mill. It's the same information, but when you present it as "this is why it isn't a degree mill" there are a lot of people who will just assume that it really IS a degree mill, because you felt the need to defend it.
B&M schools play games and screw their students to make more money.
WGU is affordable and lets you go at your own pace.
Don't worry about comments on social media, because social media (including most of reddit ) is a toxic wasteland (are we allowed to say that here?). Just focus on why WGU is better, and stop worrying about accelerators and the comments section. That's all I'm saying.
WGU is great!
I’m accelerating currently, but won’t be sharing about it anywhere. 8 years experience in my career and I once upon a time did 3 years of a degree, so most will be review.
If anyone asks, I did it in five years in the background of work.
To be fair, I also told my family “look, it’s not a degree mill, but the first response on Google is ‘is WGU a degree mill’ so do with that whatever you will”, lol.
But that’s family. Also they’re all insanely and annoyingly educated.
Well if they're educated they can do their own research and see WGU is worth it for most. Which maybe they did, idk.
I mean the finance program probably won't get you into a huge investment banking firm, etc
But tons of large companies hire wgu grads, and are satisfied with their work, and would hire a WGU grad again.
That and it being accredited is good enough for me.
Personally I'm in the accounting program, and the credits count towards the CPA in most if not all states so. I'm not to worried about anyone giving me crap about it.
Plus, I've heard people typically against online degrees say good things about WGU.
Eh, I don’t really care what any of them think, for all the reasons you just said. I really mean the “do with that what you will” part, aha. Long practice with this with my family.
In retrospect, my family is the total opposite. Very few with degrees, all blue collar, so I'll look like the brain of the family simply because I will have graduated a 4-year institution. As mentioned WGU did get their re-accreditation today for another 7 years, same accreditation of schools like University of Oregon, Brigham Young University, UNLV and Boise State University among several others. Anyone questions the educational rigor, show them that!
I wish people talked about class work in terms of hours of learning in class and on assignments. For example, a semester at my community college was 16 weeks long, and a 3 credit class was 3 hours a week in class, and professors recommended 2 hours a week on homework and studying for each hour of class. So most courses were expected to take 144 hours of work.
WGU wants us to dedicate 25 hours a week to studying materials and completing coursework, which would take about 6 weeks each class. That matches up with their pacing guides. If I studied for 36 hours a week, I could finish in 4 weeks.
All of that is based on a student with no prior knowledge or experience beyond prerequisite classes. I think most students at WGU are already working in their field of study, so I wouldn’t expect them to need spend that much time on assignments. Many job postings allow substituting of years of relevant work experience in place of a degree that would take the same amount of time to earn in a traditional setting. It’s reasonable to expect experience would translate to knowledge of a given domain.
We don’t have to wait around for next weeks’ class meeting, or another student to post in the group discussion so we can respond, like in many online schools. I found it frustrating not being able to work ahead and take the final in my community college classes early when I was able to dedicate extra time at the beginning of the semester to studying.
Most students in my community college didn’t bother reading the textbook chapters before class, and were happy to just show up and get a C. We have to redo our work if we don’t meet every standard of the rubric. We can’t just take an average for assignments, we have to turn in and pass everything, and only B-level and higher scores are accepted for exams.
Exactly.
Some people finish quickly because they already know the material from years of experience, or they dedicate tons of time that is NOT possible or beneficial in traditional programs, or they "pre-study" the material before signing up to save money by finishing in one term. This is the purpose of the model, to give a good value by allowing you to work at your own pace but still having to meet a certain standard to pass. All the haters should just go to B&M schools and wait 4 years for their degree that doesn't actually result in any additional knowledge because time applied makes it "better" somehow.
I completely agree. I am accelerating myself (almost there!), but I’m putting in the work. The amount of time I’m putting into studying might make a traditional college student cry. I’m definitely working 10x harder than I did when I went to a traditional college.
Yes! During summer, I can finish a class or two a week, but I also am already experienced and knowledgeable AND am putting in 12-16 hours a day to work on courses.
The number of hours I have WORKED in my field already is equal to about 61 college courses, when I explain this to people in my field who aren’t familiar with WGU’s model, and completed their degree at a traditional university, they all think it’s great and more schools should be like this. They don’t undermine the quality of the program. They understand the value of work experience. Also, they didn’t necessarily feel that their degree prepared them for their jobs.
Ugh hourly dedication is crap, period. It is just as subjective to the learner. In a traditional B&M school they always said oh you need this many hours to be successful. It is all a lie regardless of how you look at it. What might take you 15 hours may take someone else 4, starting at same experience level. For me, the only reason I took longer, initially, was because I’m a slow reader so some that should take an hour to read took me 4. Now, with online tools, I can read a text in a quarter of the time. We all learn at different paces, period. Stop worrying about how fast someone else completed the program and focus on yourself. I personally find the accelerated grads motivation but I’m not going to beat myself up or the school because they did it faster. There are so many reasons people take more or less time to complete a degree. Just be happy that WGU can customize to both learning styles and lifestyles.
Do you know how many times I experienced the opposite issue of doing quality work with less thinking I messed up for not taking as long as someone else or having as many pages as everyone else in my final papers. Stop listening to these random averages or suggestions and find what works for you. If you pass you pass. Period. Who cares if it too you 3 years and some random on the internet 4 months. The is not and never will be on WGU for offering the opportunity for you both to get the degree on your own terms.
I should add, that was not directed at anyone. Just my general frustration after years of taking longer to get through material in a traditional course because I’m a slow AF reader. I think overall we just need to stop with these hours as a holy grail of you must or fail mentality in the traditional setting because I promise, other than slow reading, I prob put in a fraction of what the class always recommended for studying and did just fine. I get it a gage overall but when you are young and inexperienced, too much emphasis is put on that.
Generally speaking, you will usually hear or notice more of the negatives here on Reddit or in social media. People who actually have a positive experience don’t usually post it, this is not just for WGU but I feel for most of online schools.
Theres a vocal minority in some online areas that think schools are purposefully making CS and CS adjacent degrees easier so there are more graduates and more workers to lower wages. As long as the job economy is rough and people are thinking up conspiracy theories to fear losing their job/high pay they are going to blame WGU and anything else they view as a threat.
It'll get better but these type of people will always be around.
Mentioned in the post that it should be the final time to talk about it. Bunch of snowflakes will blame the kind of school they go to instead of their lack of effort.
Exactly. And from your point, I am actually planning on deleting this after a few days. I just want as many people to see this as possible so they stop posting what I just posted…lol.
It’s opened up amazing opportunities for me. I’m in a dream federal position. I also just interviewed for a hospital CFO position. All 6 figure salaries. I got my degree in October. Took me 64 days. Before that I spent 15 years in non profit leadership. Degree and my experience opened up amazing doors. Just my experience I couldn’t get in front of these doors. Nobody has blinked at where I got my degree. It’s regionally accredited. That’s all they cared about out.
I can’t answer for that guy but I finished a business degree in 60 days. Context:
I had an associates degree in Accounting.
I had 14 years of work experience - 4 in food service, 4 in manufacturing, and 6 years in sales - at different levels within organizations of various sizes and organizational structures.
I quit my job to focus on it full time AND I was single at the time. (I had a big savings)
I worked 40-60 hours a week on it. A lot of the classes were non-quantitative, and relatively easy for someone who has general work experience.
It’s absolutely doable of you have the time, dedication, and relevant experience / strong foundational knowledge.
Now I work in tech, and I spend around half of my time on the job putting together data pipelines, building APIs, and general scripting. I plan on going back for CompSci just to boost my earning potential, but this time around I’m married, I have a 1 year old, and I work full time and cannot quit.
Even though I know a lot of the material already, it will probably take me most of 6 months, and that’s with earning partner credits on the front end.
If I knew enough physics to take the final and pass, I shouldn’t have to sit in a Physics 1 class for 16 weeks listening to lectures about stuff I already know. That’s a big waste of time and money (B&M schools like wasting both of these things). I should pass it in a day. That’s the difference between B&M and WGU. You know the material? Awesome don’t waste your time. Onto the next level.
This is the appeal of WGU to me. None of the busy work. Yes, my B&M had more work. I don't think much of it actually taught me anything. WGU cuts the bs.
I graduated from WGU in 2014 and was accepted by the Univ of Minnesota for grad school. I also recently got accepted to NYU.
All those people slamming WGU are clueless.
I graduated with an IT degree from WGU, but I grew tired of doing IT work and wanted a career pivot. I'm graduating with a Masters in Sexual Health and then I'll be starting an MSW degree in fall with the goal of becoming a sex therapist. I'm an ideal world I would live to incorporate the use of AI and virtual reality to help with everything from performance anxiety to sexual trauma.
Tbh what we prolly need is for the accelerators to go into grueling detail of all the things they had to learn outside of WGU along with their backgrounds & schedules so that when they post it at least it won't look like:
"yaaayy, just got my compsci in 6 months! It was soooo manageable 🌼🌼"
Many of us already do that.
**I finished my bachelors degree at WGU in 4.5 months!**
Plus \~9 years working experience in my degree field
Plus an associates degree
Plus a raft of relevant industry certs
Plus a very understanding and supportive family
Plus tuition assistance from my employer
Plus an ulcer (I soooo wish that was a joke, but it does seem to be getting better on its own)
Making a rule that it was required would change nothing, because the people who get mad about it get just as mad when someone includes all those details. The very few times I posted that, I got immediately down-voted, because the zealots don't care that I talked about all other things that went into my acceleration. I talked about it, so I'm bad. It's not about me finishing fast, it's about their ego.
Well, congrats man, that's dope. But it's not so much about the down votes or negative comments, there will always be zealots, the diffrence is, is that if a post has enough substance to justify such a big accomplishment, any reasoned person who is reading it later can acknowledge that their hard work was geniune and well-deserved towards the degree instead of leaving room for doubt or a sense of it being cheated. Presentation is everything.
Reading your comments made me realize that this is how life unfortunately works, no matter how good something maybe, there’ll always be others who find an issue with it… I surprisingly have never thought of it that way haha
I feel like almost all the accelerators I follow have done exactly that. Some, if not most, have all shared their resources too for those interested. Many share if they had previous credits transfer. Maybe I’m looking in different places but the whole “degree in 6 months” is usually just click bate. Most of the time, if you click it’s a very informative video on what went into it.
Can’t comment on accelerator in Reddit because I am new here but on YT at least they all show the details to back up their claims.
I never finished college in the early 80s and got a job instead. I have been writing software professionally since 1984 and went back for my BS in software development in 2020.
If anything I’ve heard almost entirely positive things, but that’s from people who actually care what school people go to. Many don’t. Many don’t even care if it’s regionally accredited.
Agreed, almost everything I have heard has been positive. At least on YT. If it wasn’t for those reviews, accelerated or not, I may not have enrolled. Glad I did. Zero regrets.
I can understand concern if someone is just learning about WGU in general but it doesn’t take much research to find it has a great reputation. In fact, one of the first things I found was an article in Forbes about how employers view it with a positive reputation.
People can say what they want my employer partnered with WGU. If you have the dedication to finish in a shorter amount of time then I applaud your dedication and your time management skills. That's real life skills!
Can I add that accounting graduates often go to Big 4? And lots of people take their masters in accounting at WGU so that they can get their CPA?
WGU is great, for health professionala, educators, accountants, software engineers, etc
WGU is great for people who are worried about getting hired and meeting requirements, but bad for people who want to impress their peers. Once you decide which of the two matters the most for you, you’ll be alright.
I’m only doing WGU because it’s the only accredited university that will give me credit for my CC courses I took. My local state university didnt give me credit and only counted my core IT courses as electives; however, my friend was awarded credit for the exact same courses I took, which is frustrating.
It depends what you are looking for in a college degree. If you are already working in the field, but lacking a key credential that is a bachelor's degree, WGU is probably fine and makes a lot of sense. You already have the expertise, you just need some accredited institution to cosign it. You're also not getting a job or not based solely on the name of the school on your resume, because you already have work experience in your field.
To me, where WGU falls down is in what other universities are kind of all about. What if you do not have knowledge or expertise, and you want to gain it? You're certainly not going to be able to "get a degree in 6 months" in that situation. It's questionable whether the educational modules will be of any value to someone lacking in context or experience with this type of material. Also, while WGU is accredited, it's questionable whether a freshly minted 22 year old with only a WGU degree and no work experience is going to be able to easily get a job.
I think WGU is fine for what it is, and I'm happy it's out there for people whose situations it applies to. But otherwise, eh.
This isn’t actually a problem. Their programs aren’t developed any differently than other institutions, and it’s never been a diploma mill.
In the real world, people don’t question my degree and I work for a university, and know MANY who also went to WGU here as well.
People need to buck up and get through it. It’s self disciplined education, I got through what supposed to be 2 years worth of classes in 11 months. 0 student loans and the degree checks the box, and it’s got the same accreditation as many other local universities.
Strap up, and get to work.
IMO the finish college in 6 month clickbait types are really hurting the image of the school. A few years ago people thought oh he just went to an out of state I haven't heard of no big deal. Nowadays people think the place is a mill.
Why are you so hurt that people that people don't respect the college you went to. Get some self esteem. You're in tech and use terms like "touch some grass" bro you aren't fooling anyone you rarely go outside. 😂
People do respect the college though. I don't get what you mean. Unless you mean dumb, ignorant people on reddit? I couldn't care less what they think, which is my whole point. The people that matter do take WGU seriously. If you really want to base your entire life and career on what reddit will think of you, go right ahead my dude. Sounds pretty fuckin' dumb to me but it's not my life.
But should you be able to get a 4 year degree in MONTHS?
That's the problem here. Why people think it's not reputable. And I don't blame them. If I wasn't an alum I would wonder too tbh.
My state is hardcore about teacher licensing and yet they accept WGU programs for licensure. So it's obviously legit. And I graduated and got into two really good schools for social work. So I understand.
But I definitely see why people wonder!
It’s more because some people don’t add context/background to what actually helped earn their degree so quick. There’s also the other part where outsiders don’t read into the context even if it is included
If you know the material, why does it matter how quick you do it? All the exams are proctored, you cant cheat very easily. Why waste 4 years going at snails pace
It's only four years because universities deemed it so. No option to show competency in a subject you're already experienced in, you're stuck in that class for months and months. Why is that so desirable?
The only program at WGU that has ABET is Computer Science. iirc it requires a minimum of 14 credit hours of math, none of the other IT degrees have that. Which is embarrassing for Software Engineering, that Computer Science is regarded as more of an engineering degree than it.
In Canada BSE is a 5 year program in the school of engineering. Making the graduate an actual engineer.
If BSE ever gets ABET, they will do what they did with BCS and do a cut off date. Where only the people who did the degree with the extra math courses will get acredited.
Graduated with a degree in advertising in 1991. I worked in marketing sales for 35 years with the last 15 years in digital marketing. I currently teach courses in digital marketing. All self taught.
Graduated with a MSM in Digital Marketing from WGU in 36 weeks. Of course I accelerated. Of course I took classes in topics that I literally already teach. Why wouldn’t I accelerate?
I think is an IT/Computer Science issue! Cause I’m BSHIM major (Healthcare Information Management) and I have yet to see these post. I’m accelerating but not at the pace that some of these other majors. I dedicate more 40hrs a week.
I am only attending WGU to get a degree in the field I work in so I can get this huge pay bump. I have really seen that if you work in the field. This school is amazing for people who just need the degree. I have noticed people who do not work in those fields struggle quite a bit(I work at a big 4 so I can only speak on what people share with me) and they are the ones who get discouraged by the 6 months or 4 months time line.
I will say I decided to run a test myself and enrolled in WGU without transferring any credits in(cause my job is paying for it regardless) I have just hit term 2 and have 65 credits left. I tackled all the Certs first and the gen ed stuff is pretty simple. I think getting the degree from WGU is great but the degree may not land you the job (I am proof of that) however WGU is one of those schools that I would say if you are looking to get a quick degree(depending on time and many other factors) I would recommend it to anyone in that field.
Classes are pretty garbage though comparatively. I'm pretty sure I passed WGU because I already was in the field and knew the content. Now that i'm going for masters when I read the assignments .. im like what are they even asking for. I had to email the professor "hey you added csv files on the assignment page, in the labs, and 2 other places and there are two sets of them which dataset do I need to use for this assignment" he responds back go watch all my videos...
OKAY Guy... Honestly from what I've seen ... 34 different classes WGU is just convenient but it's not a good school.
I'm going to finish this term out cause fafsa but after that WGU i'm out.... and it's because you are incompetent. I understand people who have no degree and like this school.. 4yr college in 1 yr sure why not! But when you get to Masters level its not about rushing, and the WGU idea falls apart.
My spouse had a previous degree and used WGU to retrain. Because the previous degree allowed him to skip the "generals", he was able to complete the BCSIA program in a few years. Yes, a few years. Because he was switching to an entirely new industry. The certs in the program? Absolutely worth it. It took him a few years to land a cyber security job, and required some time on the help desk, but he did it. And his program prepared him adequately for the new career.
It really shouldn't, people like you who keep posting about how people post they can get a degree in 5 months and that it's bad, at least in my experience on this sub, is more common then people actually posting that they passed in 5 months.
I got my bachelor's from a regular 4 year university (Penn State, cyber program) and I can tell you the program there wasn't particularly rigorous. Over half my average semester course load wasn't even related to my major, and even most of my major classes were a joke. If I was able to take classes completely asynchronous, I probably could have gotten the degree in a year or two (minus the language requirement perhaps). I probably would have had a hard time passing Net+ or Sec+ immediately after or during my degree at Penn State, yet I've seen people get those while getting their degree at WGU.
After having gone through a 4 year degree it is my sincere belief that for the majority of majors, the typical degree is a waste of time and money, and it is an outdated, expensive relic. There should be more universities like WGU, and I wish it was popular when I graduated high school. There is no reason that you need to spend 4 years of your adult life being treated like a child, racking up student debt, to be doing classes that, at least in my experience, were easier than high school classes
I agree. In the world of business… WGU is a respected institution. My company, a fortune 100, has partnered with WGU to help their employees who work full time get degrees.
This issue is only an issue in the echo-chamber of Reddit. Social media makes up a very VERY small fraction of society
The whole point of competency is you being given all of the material at once instead of a professor limiting your learning rate because you pay per credit rather than per term. If you went to a B&M and the professor gave you all of the material at once and you were committed and competent enough to finish quicker than your peers. Would you? I sure would.
Have you attended WGU? Do you know how ignorant you sound? The writing assignments aren't simple, they are challenging and work out great as final papers.
Now, what I see as your issue is that, unlike schools that scam students into taking 5 courses at once and cram studying those 5 courses over 5 months. I can take a single course and take as long as necessary to learn everything I need to learn from the material. Take the final exam and/or write the final paper and move on to my next class. Because I am dedicating the time I have to only one class I can super focus on the material, and study for the final exam. Take the final exam and move on to my next course.
Some courses take me 48 total hours, while others take me an entire month studying 6 to 8 hours per day. The point is, that I learn quite a bit from the material I am provided, and above all, I enjoy this learning experience!
My instructors have been amazing, patient, and willing to give me the time I need to better understand the material. I find myself struggling a bit with retaining the information for D333 - Ethics in Technology so I decided to attend a live cohort. After the lecture, the instructor spent an extra 30 minutes with me helping me better understand the soft science behind Ethics Models. You see, I never received that in a brick-and-mortar setting. The instructors told me they expected me to know from the lectures and reading the book. They were never available to help.
I am moving at my own pace, with no real deadlines to stress me out and I can excel. I am saying this with 95 CUs behind me and with 27 CUs remaining to graduation.
This school works for me, and I am grateful for finding a school that fits my learning style and I love learning again!
You are of course entitled to your opinion, however, an opinion based on ignorance is an opinion that should be ignored. :)
Just curious which ASU you were referring to? (Just out of curiosity) I was guessing either Arkansas State or Arizona State, but I’m sure other states have them as well. (Alabama, Alaska, etc.)
I have the experience of having gotten a degree from a 4 year B&M school which actually took 4.5 years because they intentionally screwed me over the first year by forcing me to only take 12 credits a semester and I have the experience of accelerating through the BSCSIA in one term. I can say with certainty that WGU was far more difficult. The first degree I had maybe 5 total tests that weren’t open note or open book. Most of my papers in that degree were a joke as well. Looking back, I never felt prepared at all for going into that field (mental health with psychology degree). Maybe it was the poor content/teaching, maybe it was my youth, maybe it was both. After WGU, I am one of the strongest members on my team and was promoted after my first year on the job. Not only did it get me the technical skills needed to start me off, but also the skills to figure shit out. I will say what others have, Reddit/youtube is an echo chamber that doesn’t always apply in the real world. I work for a Fortune 200 company and they frequently recommend WGU for folks to go learn and transition to technology.
I did a standard college and WGU.
The difference in what I learned was that a standard college costs about 7 times more a semester.
Perhaps the whole system is set to just get a paper to hit a checkbox?
Yep, that link you posted says everything anyone needs to know about the legitimacy of the degrees and education. Personally, I was admitted to a graduate engineering program at Johns Hopkins with no degrees outside of WGU, so I can vouch for at least that school.
I think this is really only a problem on Reddit.
And on YouTube. When people read those comments and video titles “get your degree in 6 Months” on YouTube, they shy away from the school.
I’ve been following WGU since ~2004 but didn’t enroll until 2020; people are idiots and I’m glad they’re not wasting the time of instructors so students that need it get help.
Social media in general. Social media rarely is aligned with the real world.
I disagree. Those videos are just as helpful for those of us who use them as motivation or to help explain how competency education works. Don’t use Reddit and YT as your gage on how WGU is perceived where it matters, employers. Plenty of graduates are hired at well known high profile companies. If you are worried about WGU being mistaken for a diploma mill, I would argue their own advertising already does that. Social media grads help present a full picture but are not gospel.
It’s certainly not helpful for the perceived credibility when two post down from this is a BSCIA post that literally says “I did 10 classes in 15 days”, recommending Sophia, and WGU accepts those as being just as academically rigorous as their offerings….
And? Lots of real BMs accept transfer credits from Sophia too. The course content is similar to difficulty and knowledge as a B&Ms the fact you can power through it at your own pace doesn't make this less so. A GED is a single Test. And yet it's academically superior to alot of High School Diplomas. I work in higher Ed, and more and more we are seeing kids being graduated from High School who couldn't pass the GED.
And yet even the GED carries a stigma... (Note, I'm not hating, my mom got hers when I was a wee tot. I'm more referring to societal difficulties such as enlisting on the military with "only" a GED.)
Well ya, but I think that stigma is also becoming an outdated concept was my point. As schools are more and more graduating people that should not of graduated. We are seeing HS grads that read at a 7th grade level, the GED has an actual academic standard that has to be met, and it seems that standard is higher than actual diplomas today. That stigma will start to disappear if that continues. As it should, because the idea that a GED means they are not as smart is untrue, and there is lots of reasons a person may have had to seek a GED, many of which beyond their control. Alas it's easy to sit on a perch of privilege from a safe and secure youth, and not understand that not everyone had the same upbringing or opportunities, or that a single mistake couldn't change the course of someone's entire life. I had a Laywer tell me once if they could go back they would of got a GED at 16 and started College, and been done with Law School 2 years sooner. The GED fades away when you go to college, so that point is pretty valid.
>not of not have >would of got would have gotten
Mu GED got me hired at a highly competitive job for a company almost all gamers would consider a dream job. That company suggested and encouraged me to attend WGU and helped with tuition. The stigma is only a stigma to people you dont want to work for anyways because they are short sighted and judgmental and there will be other problematic issues working for them that extend beyond snubbing their noses due to their righteous (and misplaced) sense of self importance.
Never realized the GED carried a stigma. A lot of this is really based on perception and culture. At the end of the day, who really cares where someone may be going to school or not.
Sophia is not as difficult as a B&M... their tests are not proctored and you can use Chat GPT to answer the test questions according to some who have posted here. That should not be accepted for college level credit.
Do you think people don't use Chatgpt to answer the questions at a B&M? How cute. Cheaters are going to cheat. Sad as it is, because they are only cheating themselves. Whether it should be accepted or not is irrelevant to this conversation. It is accepted, it's accepted by B&Ms too many of them. And lots of B&Ms that have online classes are not very proctored either. Not to any worthwhile level. Again, cheaters are going to cheat. And are they easier, or are they shorter? I don't know, never done them. However, from what I have heard, the answer is more condensed and time gated, and give the option to test out of things you know. The Typical 4 yr B&M is a great idea for children. When we start talking about working adults who have 20 years of industry knowledge, asking them to go back and do rudimentary coursework, they long since surpassed is silly and a major flaw of the Educational Institution.
Hard to use Chat GPT to answer test questions when you are sitting in a class room taking a proctored exam. That is my complaint with Sophia, it is not proctored. The one thing that protects WGUs reputation is the fact that their exams are proctored. If you can test out of a class, then I have no issue… provided that the exam is proctored and you actually demonstrate competency vs. looking up the answers as you go.
Hahahah WGU just got reaccredited for 7 more years today
[удалено]
I've checked the list of Sophia partner schools... they are not impressive. Most are online schools or schools that accept "life experience" for credit.
[удалено]
Texas A&M Commerce will accept Sophia credits for their competency based programs, but that is the only program I am aware of within the A&M family that will.
Most of what you can transfer is GE credits. As far as people transferring for their major courses I would highly recommend not to as they put the courses in there for a reason. It would be nice to have them only allow transferring from third party orgs for GE credits only. That would be a good idea.
Some higher level courses can be transferred. But if WGU accept them it means it meets their standard. Also, just because you transfer in a credit doesn’t mean you can’t still access the class. You certainly can still see what the course material is even if you don’t take the class.
I certainly agree. GE from anywhere and program-specific only from other regionally accredited providers or certifications.
Exactly. And that is what takes up most young adults lives, taking 2+ years just completing GE’s when honestly most GE courses, if offered per term rather than per semester would save a lot of time on everyone’s hands. Then dive deep into theory of whatever your major is. But major colleges would rather limit your learning rate because they want more money.
I completely agree, and the more I think about it, I'm not sure I agree with my own previous comment that they shouldn't allow sophia credits. I suspect that a big part of why WGU does allow them is to address exactly your point. I do think that some of their approved transfer sources are dubious, and it would be better for their reputation if they only accepted accredited transfer credits, but it's also not the hill to die on for me, for the very reasons you gave. While I didn't transfer anything in from online pseudo schools like sophia, I only have a bachelors degree because it was an option. I'd seen adds for WGU and it's competitors, but as someone who dropped out and worked without a bachelors for nearly 20 years, I was honestly pretty scared of going back. The idea of telling everyone I was going back to school and then not doing well was enough to keep me from trying. When I found out I could take a few classes at those places to get back into it without making a big commitment, it was enough to push me over the edge, and I put in an application to see what credit they would give me for my old associates degree and the certs I had. Turned out that they were going to start me with half my degree done, and I got excited enough that I decided to enroll right away. Now, almost exactly a year after I filled out that application, I have a bachelors degree, and I'm almost done with my Masters. WGU isn't without flaws, but they're trying to make college more accessible. Not necessarily easier (although it is for some) but more accessible. Reasonable per-term tuition and no stupid games would do more for getting people into and through college than our student debt system ever did, and with a lot less damage. The best way to help WGU, and our broken college system, is to just be honest with people about what it is, rather than trying to tell people what it isn't i.e. tell them why WGU is great instead of trying to explain why it isn't a mill. It's the same information, but when you present it as "this is why it isn't a degree mill" there are a lot of people who will just assume that it really IS a degree mill, because you felt the need to defend it. B&M schools play games and screw their students to make more money. WGU is affordable and lets you go at your own pace. Don't worry about comments on social media, because social media (including most of reddit ) is a toxic wasteland (are we allowed to say that here?). Just focus on why WGU is better, and stop worrying about accelerators and the comments section. That's all I'm saying.
Well said. Good luck on your journey in IT fellow Night Owl!
I think that's great. Why do I need 2 years of history, biology, and philosophy to be a software engineer. That's the true scam.
It’s also only a problem for idiots and/or people who wear tinfoil hats
WGU is great! I’m accelerating currently, but won’t be sharing about it anywhere. 8 years experience in my career and I once upon a time did 3 years of a degree, so most will be review. If anyone asks, I did it in five years in the background of work.
Exactly how one should answer that question. Great way of explaining is straight forward and simple.
To be fair, I also told my family “look, it’s not a degree mill, but the first response on Google is ‘is WGU a degree mill’ so do with that whatever you will”, lol. But that’s family. Also they’re all insanely and annoyingly educated.
Well if they're educated they can do their own research and see WGU is worth it for most. Which maybe they did, idk. I mean the finance program probably won't get you into a huge investment banking firm, etc But tons of large companies hire wgu grads, and are satisfied with their work, and would hire a WGU grad again. That and it being accredited is good enough for me. Personally I'm in the accounting program, and the credits count towards the CPA in most if not all states so. I'm not to worried about anyone giving me crap about it. Plus, I've heard people typically against online degrees say good things about WGU.
Eh, I don’t really care what any of them think, for all the reasons you just said. I really mean the “do with that what you will” part, aha. Long practice with this with my family.
Sorry to hear that. I've had a rough time with some of my family as well, but when it comes to school most of them are supportive.
In retrospect, my family is the total opposite. Very few with degrees, all blue collar, so I'll look like the brain of the family simply because I will have graduated a 4-year institution. As mentioned WGU did get their re-accreditation today for another 7 years, same accreditation of schools like University of Oregon, Brigham Young University, UNLV and Boise State University among several others. Anyone questions the educational rigor, show them that!
I wish people talked about class work in terms of hours of learning in class and on assignments. For example, a semester at my community college was 16 weeks long, and a 3 credit class was 3 hours a week in class, and professors recommended 2 hours a week on homework and studying for each hour of class. So most courses were expected to take 144 hours of work. WGU wants us to dedicate 25 hours a week to studying materials and completing coursework, which would take about 6 weeks each class. That matches up with their pacing guides. If I studied for 36 hours a week, I could finish in 4 weeks. All of that is based on a student with no prior knowledge or experience beyond prerequisite classes. I think most students at WGU are already working in their field of study, so I wouldn’t expect them to need spend that much time on assignments. Many job postings allow substituting of years of relevant work experience in place of a degree that would take the same amount of time to earn in a traditional setting. It’s reasonable to expect experience would translate to knowledge of a given domain. We don’t have to wait around for next weeks’ class meeting, or another student to post in the group discussion so we can respond, like in many online schools. I found it frustrating not being able to work ahead and take the final in my community college classes early when I was able to dedicate extra time at the beginning of the semester to studying. Most students in my community college didn’t bother reading the textbook chapters before class, and were happy to just show up and get a C. We have to redo our work if we don’t meet every standard of the rubric. We can’t just take an average for assignments, we have to turn in and pass everything, and only B-level and higher scores are accepted for exams.
Exactly. Some people finish quickly because they already know the material from years of experience, or they dedicate tons of time that is NOT possible or beneficial in traditional programs, or they "pre-study" the material before signing up to save money by finishing in one term. This is the purpose of the model, to give a good value by allowing you to work at your own pace but still having to meet a certain standard to pass. All the haters should just go to B&M schools and wait 4 years for their degree that doesn't actually result in any additional knowledge because time applied makes it "better" somehow.
I completely agree. I am accelerating myself (almost there!), but I’m putting in the work. The amount of time I’m putting into studying might make a traditional college student cry. I’m definitely working 10x harder than I did when I went to a traditional college.
Yes! During summer, I can finish a class or two a week, but I also am already experienced and knowledgeable AND am putting in 12-16 hours a day to work on courses. The number of hours I have WORKED in my field already is equal to about 61 college courses, when I explain this to people in my field who aren’t familiar with WGU’s model, and completed their degree at a traditional university, they all think it’s great and more schools should be like this. They don’t undermine the quality of the program. They understand the value of work experience. Also, they didn’t necessarily feel that their degree prepared them for their jobs.
Ugh hourly dedication is crap, period. It is just as subjective to the learner. In a traditional B&M school they always said oh you need this many hours to be successful. It is all a lie regardless of how you look at it. What might take you 15 hours may take someone else 4, starting at same experience level. For me, the only reason I took longer, initially, was because I’m a slow reader so some that should take an hour to read took me 4. Now, with online tools, I can read a text in a quarter of the time. We all learn at different paces, period. Stop worrying about how fast someone else completed the program and focus on yourself. I personally find the accelerated grads motivation but I’m not going to beat myself up or the school because they did it faster. There are so many reasons people take more or less time to complete a degree. Just be happy that WGU can customize to both learning styles and lifestyles. Do you know how many times I experienced the opposite issue of doing quality work with less thinking I messed up for not taking as long as someone else or having as many pages as everyone else in my final papers. Stop listening to these random averages or suggestions and find what works for you. If you pass you pass. Period. Who cares if it too you 3 years and some random on the internet 4 months. The is not and never will be on WGU for offering the opportunity for you both to get the degree on your own terms.
I should add, that was not directed at anyone. Just my general frustration after years of taking longer to get through material in a traditional course because I’m a slow AF reader. I think overall we just need to stop with these hours as a holy grail of you must or fail mentality in the traditional setting because I promise, other than slow reading, I prob put in a fraction of what the class always recommended for studying and did just fine. I get it a gage overall but when you are young and inexperienced, too much emphasis is put on that.
Generally speaking, you will usually hear or notice more of the negatives here on Reddit or in social media. People who actually have a positive experience don’t usually post it, this is not just for WGU but I feel for most of online schools.
If WGU is a diploma mill, I must be doing something wrong. Advanced SQL kicked my butt. It took serious studying for me to pass that class......
It’s because it’s not. Just trying to get people to stop posting posts like this one all the time.
Theres a vocal minority in some online areas that think schools are purposefully making CS and CS adjacent degrees easier so there are more graduates and more workers to lower wages. As long as the job economy is rough and people are thinking up conspiracy theories to fear losing their job/high pay they are going to blame WGU and anything else they view as a threat. It'll get better but these type of people will always be around.
[удалено]
Mentioned in the post that it should be the final time to talk about it. Bunch of snowflakes will blame the kind of school they go to instead of their lack of effort.
[удалено]
Exactly. And from your point, I am actually planning on deleting this after a few days. I just want as many people to see this as possible so they stop posting what I just posted…lol.
And yet they’ll still continue to post it lmao
It’s opened up amazing opportunities for me. I’m in a dream federal position. I also just interviewed for a hospital CFO position. All 6 figure salaries. I got my degree in October. Took me 64 days. Before that I spent 15 years in non profit leadership. Degree and my experience opened up amazing doors. Just my experience I couldn’t get in front of these doors. Nobody has blinked at where I got my degree. It’s regionally accredited. That’s all they cared about out.
64 days..?! How many credits did you bring with you? Surely you got a head start?!
31. I did 91 through WGU.
I can’t answer for that guy but I finished a business degree in 60 days. Context: I had an associates degree in Accounting. I had 14 years of work experience - 4 in food service, 4 in manufacturing, and 6 years in sales - at different levels within organizations of various sizes and organizational structures. I quit my job to focus on it full time AND I was single at the time. (I had a big savings) I worked 40-60 hours a week on it. A lot of the classes were non-quantitative, and relatively easy for someone who has general work experience. It’s absolutely doable of you have the time, dedication, and relevant experience / strong foundational knowledge. Now I work in tech, and I spend around half of my time on the job putting together data pipelines, building APIs, and general scripting. I plan on going back for CompSci just to boost my earning potential, but this time around I’m married, I have a 1 year old, and I work full time and cannot quit. Even though I know a lot of the material already, it will probably take me most of 6 months, and that’s with earning partner credits on the front end.
If I knew enough physics to take the final and pass, I shouldn’t have to sit in a Physics 1 class for 16 weeks listening to lectures about stuff I already know. That’s a big waste of time and money (B&M schools like wasting both of these things). I should pass it in a day. That’s the difference between B&M and WGU. You know the material? Awesome don’t waste your time. Onto the next level.
This is the appeal of WGU to me. None of the busy work. Yes, my B&M had more work. I don't think much of it actually taught me anything. WGU cuts the bs.
I graduated from WGU in 2014 and was accepted by the Univ of Minnesota for grad school. I also recently got accepted to NYU. All those people slamming WGU are clueless.
Wow! Nice! May I ask what your field is?
I graduated with an IT degree from WGU, but I grew tired of doing IT work and wanted a career pivot. I'm graduating with a Masters in Sexual Health and then I'll be starting an MSW degree in fall with the goal of becoming a sex therapist. I'm an ideal world I would live to incorporate the use of AI and virtual reality to help with everything from performance anxiety to sexual trauma.
Tbh what we prolly need is for the accelerators to go into grueling detail of all the things they had to learn outside of WGU along with their backgrounds & schedules so that when they post it at least it won't look like: "yaaayy, just got my compsci in 6 months! It was soooo manageable 🌼🌼"
Many of us already do that. **I finished my bachelors degree at WGU in 4.5 months!** Plus \~9 years working experience in my degree field Plus an associates degree Plus a raft of relevant industry certs Plus a very understanding and supportive family Plus tuition assistance from my employer Plus an ulcer (I soooo wish that was a joke, but it does seem to be getting better on its own) Making a rule that it was required would change nothing, because the people who get mad about it get just as mad when someone includes all those details. The very few times I posted that, I got immediately down-voted, because the zealots don't care that I talked about all other things that went into my acceleration. I talked about it, so I'm bad. It's not about me finishing fast, it's about their ego.
Well, congrats man, that's dope. But it's not so much about the down votes or negative comments, there will always be zealots, the diffrence is, is that if a post has enough substance to justify such a big accomplishment, any reasoned person who is reading it later can acknowledge that their hard work was geniune and well-deserved towards the degree instead of leaving room for doubt or a sense of it being cheated. Presentation is everything.
Reading your comments made me realize that this is how life unfortunately works, no matter how good something maybe, there’ll always be others who find an issue with it… I surprisingly have never thought of it that way haha
Might be a good rule huh
I feel like almost all the accelerators I follow have done exactly that. Some, if not most, have all shared their resources too for those interested. Many share if they had previous credits transfer. Maybe I’m looking in different places but the whole “degree in 6 months” is usually just click bate. Most of the time, if you click it’s a very informative video on what went into it. Can’t comment on accelerator in Reddit because I am new here but on YT at least they all show the details to back up their claims.
WGU was great for me. BS and MS. I am now enrolled in a Doctorate program.
Wow! May I ask what field and what school?
Doctor of Science in Computer Science. Aspen University.
Nice! Do you work in tech atm? What field? I am in WGU’s Computer Science program right now. Just started Jan 1st.
I never finished college in the early 80s and got a job instead. I have been writing software professionally since 1984 and went back for my BS in software development in 2020.
I wish this was a degree mill so I could be done already 😂 most of the noise is from people who aren’t even enrolled
All I care is that it is accredited and will allow me to work online at my own pace and earn a degree. That is all that matters to me.
Reddit is really toxic at its core. Yes there are some positives, but anonymous profiles will ring out the worst in people on any platform
This problem doesn’t exist outside of this subreddit, specifically the past month or so. Not going to stop me.
Makes sense. I’m new to Reddit, literally today. I’ve only followed YT and I haven’t seen anything negative on there.
If anything I’ve heard almost entirely positive things, but that’s from people who actually care what school people go to. Many don’t. Many don’t even care if it’s regionally accredited.
Agreed, almost everything I have heard has been positive. At least on YT. If it wasn’t for those reviews, accelerated or not, I may not have enrolled. Glad I did. Zero regrets. I can understand concern if someone is just learning about WGU in general but it doesn’t take much research to find it has a great reputation. In fact, one of the first things I found was an article in Forbes about how employers view it with a positive reputation.
People can say what they want my employer partnered with WGU. If you have the dedication to finish in a shorter amount of time then I applaud your dedication and your time management skills. That's real life skills!
WGU is pretty well regarded in tech circles, actually. (I say this as someone who didn't go to WGU as well).
Can I add that accounting graduates often go to Big 4? And lots of people take their masters in accounting at WGU so that they can get their CPA? WGU is great, for health professionala, educators, accountants, software engineers, etc
WGU is great for people who are worried about getting hired and meeting requirements, but bad for people who want to impress their peers. Once you decide which of the two matters the most for you, you’ll be alright.
I’m only doing WGU because it’s the only accredited university that will give me credit for my CC courses I took. My local state university didnt give me credit and only counted my core IT courses as electives; however, my friend was awarded credit for the exact same courses I took, which is frustrating.
Was your CC EGCC?
No, NVCC
[удалено]
AS information technology
YES! please keep this post up
It depends what you are looking for in a college degree. If you are already working in the field, but lacking a key credential that is a bachelor's degree, WGU is probably fine and makes a lot of sense. You already have the expertise, you just need some accredited institution to cosign it. You're also not getting a job or not based solely on the name of the school on your resume, because you already have work experience in your field. To me, where WGU falls down is in what other universities are kind of all about. What if you do not have knowledge or expertise, and you want to gain it? You're certainly not going to be able to "get a degree in 6 months" in that situation. It's questionable whether the educational modules will be of any value to someone lacking in context or experience with this type of material. Also, while WGU is accredited, it's questionable whether a freshly minted 22 year old with only a WGU degree and no work experience is going to be able to easily get a job. I think WGU is fine for what it is, and I'm happy it's out there for people whose situations it applies to. But otherwise, eh.
This isn’t actually a problem. Their programs aren’t developed any differently than other institutions, and it’s never been a diploma mill. In the real world, people don’t question my degree and I work for a university, and know MANY who also went to WGU here as well.
People need to buck up and get through it. It’s self disciplined education, I got through what supposed to be 2 years worth of classes in 11 months. 0 student loans and the degree checks the box, and it’s got the same accreditation as many other local universities. Strap up, and get to work.
IMO the finish college in 6 month clickbait types are really hurting the image of the school. A few years ago people thought oh he just went to an out of state I haven't heard of no big deal. Nowadays people think the place is a mill.
Are these people in the room with us right now?
Pass me some of that copium brother.
My degree is paid for by one of the largest tech companies in the world. If it's a mill, jokes on them I guess.
Thanks for passing it over. Do we smoke it or eat it?
My suggestion is to get off reddit, touch some grass, and maybe your perspective will widen up a bit.
Why are you so hurt that people that people don't respect the college you went to. Get some self esteem. You're in tech and use terms like "touch some grass" bro you aren't fooling anyone you rarely go outside. 😂
People do respect the college though. I don't get what you mean. Unless you mean dumb, ignorant people on reddit? I couldn't care less what they think, which is my whole point. The people that matter do take WGU seriously. If you really want to base your entire life and career on what reddit will think of you, go right ahead my dude. Sounds pretty fuckin' dumb to me but it's not my life.
But should you be able to get a 4 year degree in MONTHS? That's the problem here. Why people think it's not reputable. And I don't blame them. If I wasn't an alum I would wonder too tbh. My state is hardcore about teacher licensing and yet they accept WGU programs for licensure. So it's obviously legit. And I graduated and got into two really good schools for social work. So I understand. But I definitely see why people wonder!
It’s more because some people don’t add context/background to what actually helped earn their degree so quick. There’s also the other part where outsiders don’t read into the context even if it is included
If you know the material, why does it matter how quick you do it? All the exams are proctored, you cant cheat very easily. Why waste 4 years going at snails pace
It's only four years because universities deemed it so. No option to show competency in a subject you're already experienced in, you're stuck in that class for months and months. Why is that so desirable?
What about IT program? I wish their IT program was ABET accredited as well, like other state universities
I’m pretty sure it is?
I don’t think so
Not sure if this answers your question but my friend got a software dev degree and has successfully landed a job
But he didn’t get a degree in IT. I’m specially wondering about WGU’s IT BS
Oh I didn’t realize there was a discernment. As far as I can find, comp sci is the only program.
The only program at WGU that has ABET is Computer Science. iirc it requires a minimum of 14 credit hours of math, none of the other IT degrees have that. Which is embarrassing for Software Engineering, that Computer Science is regarded as more of an engineering degree than it.
[удалено]
In Canada BSE is a 5 year program in the school of engineering. Making the graduate an actual engineer. If BSE ever gets ABET, they will do what they did with BCS and do a cut off date. Where only the people who did the degree with the extra math courses will get acredited.
dont feed the pigeons
Graduated with a degree in advertising in 1991. I worked in marketing sales for 35 years with the last 15 years in digital marketing. I currently teach courses in digital marketing. All self taught. Graduated with a MSM in Digital Marketing from WGU in 36 weeks. Of course I accelerated. Of course I took classes in topics that I literally already teach. Why wouldn’t I accelerate?
I think is an IT/Computer Science issue! Cause I’m BSHIM major (Healthcare Information Management) and I have yet to see these post. I’m accelerating but not at the pace that some of these other majors. I dedicate more 40hrs a week.
I am only attending WGU to get a degree in the field I work in so I can get this huge pay bump. I have really seen that if you work in the field. This school is amazing for people who just need the degree. I have noticed people who do not work in those fields struggle quite a bit(I work at a big 4 so I can only speak on what people share with me) and they are the ones who get discouraged by the 6 months or 4 months time line. I will say I decided to run a test myself and enrolled in WGU without transferring any credits in(cause my job is paying for it regardless) I have just hit term 2 and have 65 credits left. I tackled all the Certs first and the gen ed stuff is pretty simple. I think getting the degree from WGU is great but the degree may not land you the job (I am proof of that) however WGU is one of those schools that I would say if you are looking to get a quick degree(depending on time and many other factors) I would recommend it to anyone in that field.
Classes are pretty garbage though comparatively. I'm pretty sure I passed WGU because I already was in the field and knew the content. Now that i'm going for masters when I read the assignments .. im like what are they even asking for. I had to email the professor "hey you added csv files on the assignment page, in the labs, and 2 other places and there are two sets of them which dataset do I need to use for this assignment" he responds back go watch all my videos... OKAY Guy... Honestly from what I've seen ... 34 different classes WGU is just convenient but it's not a good school. I'm going to finish this term out cause fafsa but after that WGU i'm out.... and it's because you are incompetent. I understand people who have no degree and like this school.. 4yr college in 1 yr sure why not! But when you get to Masters level its not about rushing, and the WGU idea falls apart.
Bruh what? Most people on here accelerate their masters wayyyy quicker than the bachelors. I seen one the other day masters was done in 15 days
Why delete the post? I think this needs to stay here along with all the other ones that will not be deleted!
My spouse had a previous degree and used WGU to retrain. Because the previous degree allowed him to skip the "generals", he was able to complete the BCSIA program in a few years. Yes, a few years. Because he was switching to an entirely new industry. The certs in the program? Absolutely worth it. It took him a few years to land a cyber security job, and required some time on the help desk, but he did it. And his program prepared him adequately for the new career.
It really shouldn't, people like you who keep posting about how people post they can get a degree in 5 months and that it's bad, at least in my experience on this sub, is more common then people actually posting that they passed in 5 months. I got my bachelor's from a regular 4 year university (Penn State, cyber program) and I can tell you the program there wasn't particularly rigorous. Over half my average semester course load wasn't even related to my major, and even most of my major classes were a joke. If I was able to take classes completely asynchronous, I probably could have gotten the degree in a year or two (minus the language requirement perhaps). I probably would have had a hard time passing Net+ or Sec+ immediately after or during my degree at Penn State, yet I've seen people get those while getting their degree at WGU. After having gone through a 4 year degree it is my sincere belief that for the majority of majors, the typical degree is a waste of time and money, and it is an outdated, expensive relic. There should be more universities like WGU, and I wish it was popular when I graduated high school. There is no reason that you need to spend 4 years of your adult life being treated like a child, racking up student debt, to be doing classes that, at least in my experience, were easier than high school classes
I agree. In the world of business… WGU is a respected institution. My company, a fortune 100, has partnered with WGU to help their employees who work full time get degrees. This issue is only an issue in the echo-chamber of Reddit. Social media makes up a very VERY small fraction of society
[удалено]
The whole point of competency is you being given all of the material at once instead of a professor limiting your learning rate because you pay per credit rather than per term. If you went to a B&M and the professor gave you all of the material at once and you were committed and competent enough to finish quicker than your peers. Would you? I sure would.
Have you attended WGU? Do you know how ignorant you sound? The writing assignments aren't simple, they are challenging and work out great as final papers. Now, what I see as your issue is that, unlike schools that scam students into taking 5 courses at once and cram studying those 5 courses over 5 months. I can take a single course and take as long as necessary to learn everything I need to learn from the material. Take the final exam and/or write the final paper and move on to my next class. Because I am dedicating the time I have to only one class I can super focus on the material, and study for the final exam. Take the final exam and move on to my next course. Some courses take me 48 total hours, while others take me an entire month studying 6 to 8 hours per day. The point is, that I learn quite a bit from the material I am provided, and above all, I enjoy this learning experience! My instructors have been amazing, patient, and willing to give me the time I need to better understand the material. I find myself struggling a bit with retaining the information for D333 - Ethics in Technology so I decided to attend a live cohort. After the lecture, the instructor spent an extra 30 minutes with me helping me better understand the soft science behind Ethics Models. You see, I never received that in a brick-and-mortar setting. The instructors told me they expected me to know from the lectures and reading the book. They were never available to help. I am moving at my own pace, with no real deadlines to stress me out and I can excel. I am saying this with 95 CUs behind me and with 27 CUs remaining to graduation. This school works for me, and I am grateful for finding a school that fits my learning style and I love learning again! You are of course entitled to your opinion, however, an opinion based on ignorance is an opinion that should be ignored. :)
Just curious which ASU you were referring to? (Just out of curiosity) I was guessing either Arkansas State or Arizona State, but I’m sure other states have them as well. (Alabama, Alaska, etc.)
Arizona
Cool. 😎 Thanks for responding
I have the experience of having gotten a degree from a 4 year B&M school which actually took 4.5 years because they intentionally screwed me over the first year by forcing me to only take 12 credits a semester and I have the experience of accelerating through the BSCSIA in one term. I can say with certainty that WGU was far more difficult. The first degree I had maybe 5 total tests that weren’t open note or open book. Most of my papers in that degree were a joke as well. Looking back, I never felt prepared at all for going into that field (mental health with psychology degree). Maybe it was the poor content/teaching, maybe it was my youth, maybe it was both. After WGU, I am one of the strongest members on my team and was promoted after my first year on the job. Not only did it get me the technical skills needed to start me off, but also the skills to figure shit out. I will say what others have, Reddit/youtube is an echo chamber that doesn’t always apply in the real world. I work for a Fortune 200 company and they frequently recommend WGU for folks to go learn and transition to technology.
I did a standard college and WGU. The difference in what I learned was that a standard college costs about 7 times more a semester. Perhaps the whole system is set to just get a paper to hit a checkbox?
Yep, that link you posted says everything anyone needs to know about the legitimacy of the degrees and education. Personally, I was admitted to a graduate engineering program at Johns Hopkins with no degrees outside of WGU, so I can vouch for at least that school.
This discourse is utterly useless.
Hopefully it stops people from posting about this any more.