How does the WGU IT degree work

[mlwilliamsiv]

They finally got the eval completed yesterday.  I sent emails to his advisor, and then student advising on Monday 5/1, and they completed it Wed 5/3.  And they had all of his transcripts between 4/18-4/21.  I think we fell through the cracks or something.

Reviving this due to curiousity!

I would like to know if your husband was granted a block transfer for his general education credits based off of his Associates Degree. I'm currently at TESU but am considering WGU as well.

It does seem like they give block transfers but are not really concrete on the matter.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Marshall

[jsd]

They give block transfers for an AA/AS and a slightly more limited block transfer for an AAS

[dfrecore]

My husband got a full block transfer for his AS. All Gen Ed's were waived (33cr) plus he got an additional 4cr for taking the DSST MIS course (fulfilled Business of IT-Applications) and 3cr for the Cybersecurity DSST (fulfilled Fundamentals of InfoSec).

I would say that the bad part of WGU (although it might really not be) is that GE's are such a small part of the degree (roughly 25% of it) so you don't get the bang for your buck that you would if you transferred to another school and got 60cr waived. But honestly, he was much happier thinking of taking a bunch of IT courses than more Gen Ed's anyway, so it wasn't a huge con for him.

[mlwilliamsiv]

My husband got a full block transfer for his AS.  All Gen Ed's were waived (33cr) plus he got an additional 4cr for taking the DSST MIS course (fulfilled Business of IT-Applications) and 3cr for the Cybersecurity DSST (fulfilled Fundamentals of InfoSec).

I would say that the bad part of WGU (although it might really not be) is that GE's are such a small part of the degree (roughly 25% of it) so you don't get the bang for your buck that you would if you transferred to another school and got 60cr waived.  But honestly, he was much happier thinking of taking a bunch of IT courses than more Gen Ed's anyway, so it wasn't a huge con for him.

Thanks jsd and dfrecore for replying.

Sitting here doing a mock degree plan for the BS in Business Management for WGU and I see what you mean dfrecore. Even with the block transfer fulfilling the rest of the Gen.Eds....I still need 17 more courses to finish with WGU. The sad part is...I only need 9 to finish my BSBA in General Management with TESU!!!! WTH?!?!??!

[dfrecore]

My husband got a full block transfer for his AS.  All Gen Ed's were waived (33cr) plus he got an additional 4cr for taking the DSST MIS course (fulfilled Business of IT-Applications) and 3cr for the Cybersecurity DSST (fulfilled Fundamentals of InfoSec).

I would say that the bad part of WGU (although it might really not be) is that GE's are such a small part of the degree (roughly 25% of it) so you don't get the bang for your buck that you would if you transferred to another school and got 60cr waived.  But honestly, he was much happier thinking of taking a bunch of IT courses than more Gen Ed's anyway, so it wasn't a huge con for him.

Thanks jsd and dfrecore for replying.

Sitting here doing a mock degree plan for the BS in Business Management for WGU and I see what you mean dfrecore. Even with the block transfer fulfilling the rest of the Gen.Eds....I still need 17 more courses to finish with WGU. The sad part is...I only need 9 to finish my BSBA in General Management with TESU!!!! WTH?!?!??!

Yeah, there's really no comparison.  Most schools are 50/50 for Gen Ed's/Major, WGU is more like 25/75.  But for someone starting from scratch, or with an AA/AS, or who really wants the major courses, this is a win.

For someone with a bunch of Gen Ed's, WGU may not be the best bet.

[jsd]

Yeah it was weird transferring in a BA and dome ACE credits and still only Knocking out like 38% of the program.

But it makes sense that programs should be heavier in the area of sudy rather than gen Ed.

[mlwilliamsiv]

Yeah it was weird transferring in a BA and dome ACE credits and still only Knocking out like 38% of the program.

But it makes sense that programs should be heavier in the area of sudy rather than gen Ed.

I agree with that JSD. Hey...looking at your sig tells me you are almost home free with your IT degree...congratulations!  

Just curious...did you earn any of those certs before you started your WGU coursework or did you earn them all during your time at WGU?

I've been really considering getting into the IT field but I don't believe I can finish 24 courses in one term. I do like the fact that the certs are already included with the tuition. I've never had a help desk job but I'm not a total slouch when it comes to computers though. Looking at WGU's site I would have to retake Introduction to IT because I took the DSST Intro to Computing but they won't accept it after 5 years and I believe I took it in December 2012.

So I'm kinda in a conundrum. It's either finish my BSBA with TESU and then start going for my A+, Network+, and Security+...or just hunker down and try to knock out 24 courses in one term that way I can have my degree and use it too!!! Costwise it would come out about the same. I filled out my FAFSA today and sent it to TESU and WGU. If I'm not eligible for financial aid then I'll see if TESU does scholarships because it will take me at least 6 to 8 months to save the $3300 to $4000 I'd need to graduate.

Thanks again for the info...much appreciated.

Until next time :-)

Marshall

[dfrecore]

Yeah it was weird transferring in a BA and dome ACE credits and still only Knocking out like 38% of the program.

But it makes sense that programs should be heavier in the area of sudy rather than gen Ed.

I agree with that JSD. Hey...looking at your sig tells me you are almost home free with your IT degree...congratulations!  

Just curious...did you earn any of those certs before you started your WGU coursework or did you earn them all during your time at WGU?

I've been really considering getting into the IT field but I don't believe I can finish 24 courses in one term. I do like the fact that the certs are already included with the tuition. I've never had a help desk job but I'm not a total slouch when it comes to computers though. Looking at WGU's site I would have to retake Introduction to IT because I took the DSST Intro to Computing but they won't accept it after 5 years and I believe I took it in December 2012.

So I'm kinda in a conundrum. It's either finish my BSBA with TESU and then start going for my A+, Network+, and Security+...or just hunker down and try to knock out 24 courses in one term that way I can have my degree and use it too!!! Costwise it would come out about the same. I filled out my FAFSA today and sent it to TESU and WGU. If I'm not eligible for financial aid then I'll see if TESU does scholarships because it will take me at least 6 to 8 months to save the $3300 to $4000 I'd need to graduate.

Thanks again for the info...much appreciated.

Until next time :-)

Marshall

Your other option is to try to take a bunch more courses that will transfer to WGU, so that you don't have to take 24 courses.  You should be able to get it way down.

[jsd]

The only certification I had coming in was A+. My work reimburses tuition but not certifications, so when I started WGU I was mainly looking just to pick up certs as a roundabout way to have my work cover them. Since I already had a degree (albeit unrelated), i wasn't too concerned if I actually finished the degree program. But once I started I really enjoyed the wgu setup and now I'm excited to be wrapping up a degree with them.

For certification, there are a ton of low cost or free sources that rival what WGU offers, so if you have the money or will save money by cutting down the time/terms you need to pay for at WGU, you can make it work.