Big FYI re: Pierpont-to-WGU block transfer

[raekwon]

(I had a much better-worded version of this post typed out and then managed to accidentally close the tab and lost it. -_- Also, if this has already been discussed here, I apologize. I hadn't seen it...)

So... if you're considering the Pierpont BoG AAS for the purpose of a block transfer of your general education requirements--or more--at WGU, please be aware that the only programs we've seen that happen on here at DegreeForum (to my knowledge) are in the College of IT. I recently learned that WGU does not accept it for the Teachers' College.

How I found out: my wife--who also holds the Pierpont degree--applied for a program in WGU's Teachers' College (BA in Educational Studies, to be exact). She had her transcripts from Pierpont and from an unfinished bachelors program sent to WGU. Since I was able to get a block transfer of all my gen ed stuff when I enrolled at WGU for a BS in Cybersecurity, we expected the same for her. When she got her evaluation back, though, the only credits that transferred were from her unfinished bachelors. After a conversation with her Enrollment Counselor (and some back-and-forth between the EC and the transcript evaluators), she was told that WGU doesn't have any articulation pathways from Pierpont to the Teachers' College.

Looking at the Pierpont page on partners.wgu.edu, there are pathways shown for the other three colleges (Business, Health, and IT)--although none of them specify the BoG degree--but none for the Teachers' College. I would assume that the BoG degree will grant the block transfer for all bachelors programs in those other three colleges, but it'd just be smart to make sure with WGU before committing to the BoG degree.

[ss20ts]

I wouldn't assume anything about transfer credit with WGU. They are VERY picky about transfer credit. You probably utilized Sophia for much of your Pierpont credit and WGU has recently been reevaluating their acceptance of Sophia credits. The Teachers College is really weird. I was in it and it's like an entirely different universe from the rest of WGU.

[raekwon]

I wouldn't assume anything about transfer credit with WGU. They are VERY picky about transfer credit. You probably utilized Sophia for much of your Pierpont credit and WGU has recently been reevaluating their acceptance of Sophia credits. The Teachers College is really weird. I was in it and it's like an entirely different universe from the rest of WGU.

Fair assumption with regard to my Pierpont credit, but no. Only 9 out of my required 60 (and 88 total accepted) credits at Pierpont were from Sophia. Most were from a previously unfinished associates degree from 1999, with the rest being a mix of AP exams from 1996, CLEP exams, and IT certifications. As far as I know w/ WGU, if the BoG degree has been conferred, they simply consider the degree, not the constituent courses. (They can still consider the courses if you send those transcripts/scores in too, of course.)

I'm interested in what you've learned re: WGU recently re-evaluating Sophia. Is that Sophia-specific or ACE altogether?

[bjcheung77]

For any associates to WGU, you want to make sure the credits are also showing up in their partners.wgu.edu or something similar that you know will transfer in, you should create a spreadsheet with all the partners.wgu.edu ACE options, such as Sophia.org, Study.com, etc, and try to get the max, up to 90 credits... The safest option is to do it this way, so you know you have the max transferred even if they don't do a block transfer of the associates, you know their credits will come through.

[ss20ts]

Fair assumption with regard to my Pierpont credit, but no. Only 9 out of my required 60 (and 88 total accepted) credits at Pierpont were from Sophia. Most were from a previously unfinished associates degree from 1999, with the rest being a mix of AP exams from 1996, CLEP exams, and IT certifications. As far as I know w/ WGU, if the BoG degree has been conferred, they simply consider the degree, not the constituent courses. (They can still consider the courses if you send those transcripts/scores in too, of course.)

I'm interested in what you've learned re: WGU recently re-evaluating Sophia. Is that Sophia-specific or ACE altogether?

They've been reevaluating Sophia specifically. I haven't kept up on the chatter on the different social media channels because it no longer applies as I already have a couple of bachelor's degrees. It seemed to hit the IT college harder than the others. There were several students shocked that they didn't get transfer credit for some Sophia courses as the WGU website had not yet been updated.