Isn't WGU a no brainer choice for CS Bachelor? Why did so many people choose TESU?

[OP88]

The main reason I chose TESU over WGU for Computer Science is because I know how much it will cost and the amount of energy I need to put into my courses, and also know the amount of time or speed to finish these courses.  At WGU, if "life happens" and/or you have other commitments, it will be harder to finish on a schedule, if you can finish in two terms, it'll be cheaper, once you hit three terms, you've paid a bit too much.  Further to that, at TESU, you can transfer in 114 credits and just take the final cornerstone/capstone with TESU, I also know what courses can transfer over, at WGU, it's hard to transfer in the max 90 credits as there are some courses that don't really have equivalents "the alternative way" and then there are some they don't allow to transfer in...

I see. But I don't understand why is it hard to transfer in the max 90 credits? Isn't it as simple as matching the courses in the WGU curriculum to the official credit transfer list of WGU and Sophia/Study/Saylor, fill in the missing ones with qualified IT certifications on the list then I should be able to transfer the 110 credits on this list? https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/BSCS.aspx  . I looked through that whole list and was able to find a matching course/transfer for all. Am I getting this all wrong?

I'm also wondering if say the transfer requirements for Software I and Software II is a bunch of different IT certifications, say one of the certification is Oracle Certified Associate Java Programmer, if I got that certificate, will I be able to get transfer credit for Software I AND Software II with that one certification or do I need another different certification from that list?

Thank you for your help!

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... WGU also has lots of proctored exams. There's so many horror stories about the proctoring. ... They have also been dropping many of the certificates the last couple of years which is a huge bummer.

doesn't TESU also have proctored exams for their courses ?  

I know WGU dropped the Oracle certificate, but that's only because almost no one passed it on the first try and everyone complained how difficult it was LOL

TESU does have proctored exams for their courses but, assuming you transfer in everything, that's just 2 or 3 exams with live proctoring vs. 10+ exams. The courses transferred in from Study.com don't have the same proctor as TESU uses and Sophia (which can be used for much of the degree) has the biometric checking.

Another one that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is that WGU apparently has weekly phone check-ins with an advisor. Some people are just not comfortable with that.

doesn't have to be every week              
I do every other week                
and you get to choose the time -- as long as its not 2 am or something like that its fine LOL

and for me, doing a 5 minute phone call is MUCH more preferable than responding to a forum post from the course instructor and then replying to 3 other students's posts

I get that you prefer phone calls but, personally, I'd rather do the forum posts. I hate talking on the phone with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. I can get forum posts done at any time of the day or night, too, without having to set time aside for the call.

I still think forum posts are stupid, though.

What is the difference between TESU, WGU, and Study.com when it comes to Proctoring? Thank you!

[rachel83az]

TESU uses ProctorU which is a live proctor. Connection issues can hamper having a good experience during the test. When I did Medical Terminology to test out the experience for myself, I could barely hear the proctors, the proctors didn't have the right password to access the TESU exam, and I kept getting kicked out of the proctor system. It was not a fun experience.

Study.com uses a recorded video proctor (RPNow). You don't have to talk to anyone. You scan your ID, you scan your room (to prove you don't have any cheating materials on your walls), and then you get recorded while you take the exam. This video gets uploaded to the RPNow system to be reviewed later. Ideal for slower connections where you have enough bandwidth to upload but not enough to sustain a video call.

I'm not sure what proctor WGU uses but I think it's all live proctoring. I think that (some of) the exams have the option to use a local proctor center instead of doing the exam in your own home, though?

[ss20ts]

I see. But I don't understand why is it hard to transfer in the max 90 credits? Isn't it as simple as matching the courses in the WGU curriculum to the official credit transfer list of WGU and Sophia/Study/Saylor, fill in the missing ones with qualified IT certifications on the list then I should be able to transfer the 110 credits on this list? https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/BSCS.aspx  . I looked through that whole list and was able to find a matching course/transfer for all. Am I getting this all wrong?

You won't be able to transfer in 110 credits to WGU. They cap you at 90.. You also have to really look and see what classes they will accept. It's rare that you can transfer in 90 credits because they don't have many gen eds and many of their classes for the specific programs are very specific. They don't allow transfer classes for many classes. They have a list of what is acceptable where you'll see how many cannot be transferred in.

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TESU uses ProctorU which is a live proctor. Connection issues can hamper having a good experience during the test. When I did Medical Terminology to test out the experience for myself, I could barely hear the proctors, the proctors didn't have the right password to access the TESU exam, and I kept getting kicked out of the proctor system. It was not a fun experience.

Study.com uses a recorded video proctor (RPNow). You don't have to talk to anyone. You scan your ID, you scan your room (to prove you don't have any cheating materials on your walls), and then you get recorded while you take the exam. This video gets uploaded to the RPNow system to be reviewed later. Ideal for slower connections where you have enough bandwidth to upload but not enough to sustain a video call.

I'm not sure what proctor WGU uses but I think it's all live proctoring. I think that (some of) the exams have the option to use a local proctor center instead of doing the exam in your own home, though?

WGU uses Examity. On several of their Facebook groups, there are posts daily about issues with those proctors. No, everyone doesn't always have a problem, but it's waaaay to often.

RPNow sounds like the best way to proctor! Even at LSU we have Examity for proctoring which is not what was I told when I applied. We have open book exams so I don't know why we have proctors.

[dfrecore]

WGU didn't used to have a CS degree, so that's going to be part of the issue. It's pretty easy to not choose a degree that isn't available, and once you've started at a particular school, it's hard to kind of start over for somewhere else.

Also, not everyone likes competency-based degrees - I for one wouldn't have done it, even if it was "cheaper" than what I did, because I didn't have money up front to do the degree, nor did I have the time to focus on it for 6 months (I had 2 small kids that I was homeschooling, and a husband that traveled every week - that doesn't leave a lot of "me time" to complete schoolwork). Not everyone is at their best with a deadline looming constantly.

[bjcheung77]

WGU didn't used to have a CS degree, so that's going to be part of the issue. It's pretty easy to not choose a degree that isn't available, and once you've started at a particular school, it's hard to kind of start over for somewhere else.

Also, not everyone likes competency-based degrees - I for one wouldn't have done it, even if it was "cheaper" than what I did, because I didn't have money up front to do the degree, nor did I have the time to focus on it for 6 months (I had 2 small kids that I was homeschooling, and a husband that traveled every week - that doesn't leave a lot of "me time" to complete schoolwork). Not everyone is at their best with a deadline looming constantly.

That's the thing with competency based degrees, it allows someone who has the energy, money, time to get things done at their own pace. For those of us who have "life happens" moments very often with daily commitments, I think the better option would be the Big 3 where you can transfer in almost everything but the cornerstone and capstone. Even with the new 30 credit requirements, it gives you a grasp on the total cost, resources, time needed and you have more control over what you can transfer in...

[dfrecore]

WGU didn't used to have a CS degree, so that's going to be part of the issue.  It's pretty easy to not choose a degree that isn't available, and once you've started at a particular school, it's hard to kind of start over for somewhere else.

Also, not everyone likes competency-based degrees - I for one wouldn't have done it, even if it was "cheaper" than what I did, because I didn't have money up front to do the degree, nor did I have the time to focus on it for 6 months (I had 2 small kids that I was homeschooling, and a husband that traveled every week - that doesn't leave a lot of "me time" to complete schoolwork).  Not everyone is at their best with a deadline looming constantly.

That's the thing with competency based degrees, it allows someone who has the energy, money, time to get things done at their own pace.  For those of us who have "life happens" moments very often with daily commitments, I think the better option would be the Big 3 where you can transfer in almost everything but the cornerstone and capstone.  Even with the new 30 credit requirements, it gives you a grasp on the total cost, resources, time needed and you have more control over what you can transfer in...

A competency-based degree is ONLY cheaper if you can complete it within a certain timeframe.  If you're even 1 class short, you'll be paying for an entire extra term!  Which could easily make that degree more expensive than the previously thought more expensive degree.

[bluebooger]

A competency-based degree is ONLY cheaper if you can complete it within a certain timeframe.  If you're even 1 class short, you'll be paying for an entire extra term!  Which could easily make that degree more expensive than the previously thought more expensive degree.

but the great thing about wgu is the 6 month term                
so if "life happens" in the middle of a wgu term that's a lot better than it happening in the middle of a tesu term                         

the extra months also help if you procrastinate like I'm doing LOL          
I absolutely hate writing papers - WGU's English Composition 1 requires 4 papers -- each one 2 to 4 pages          
now because I hate writing I have put this off and put this off and put this off 

one week I might write 3 sentences and then "I AM SO BORED" 
I do nothing for the next two weeks 
then I write 3/4 of a page
then nothing for a week 
and so on and so on 

if I did this at TESU or Excelsior or LSU or even study.com I'd keep getting incompletes and have to keep reenrolling and spending money  
but with WGU I can be lazy and keep putting it off with no problems (is that a good thing?) 
in the mean time I can do courses I'm actually interested in 

> I think the better option would be the Big 3 where you can transfer in almost everything but the cornerstone and capstone. 

but you still have to pay for the courses you're transferring in  
yeah, with Modern States and Sophia the costs of the transfers may not be huge, but even if it's just $50 per credit that's $5700 and even if its just $20 a credits its $2280 
then you still have to pay for the 6 credits at TESU which is $3000   

everyone's different, but I'd rather just pay the one fee at WGU and do as many (or as few) courses as I like and not have to think about it

I'd say the absolutely best thing about TESU is the flexibility 
6 required courses, one required capstone and SIX ELECTIVES ! 
https://www.tesu.edu/heavin/ba/computer-science
that is awesome !

with WGU you're locked into the curriculum 
you can transfer a bunch of courses in or take them there, but you have no leeway in electives for your major

[OP88]

""but you still have to pay for the courses you're transferring in  
yeah, with Modern States and Sophia the costs of the transfers may not be huge, but even if it's just $50 per credit that's $5700 and even if its just $20 a credits its $2280 
then you still have to pay for the 6 credits at TESU which is $3000"

Ugh this is getting more and more expensive...I'm so new to all this. I'm not aware there is a $50 per credit transfer cost? Is it TESU or Sophia that is charging that? Would I have to pay that per transfer cost too if I'm transferring credits to WGU instead of TESU? How likely would one be able to finish roughly 32 credit hours in 1 WGU term/6 month?

[Flelm]

No one can answer that for you because it depends on so many factors. It's very possible, just not common. There's a Facebook group dedicated to accelerating WGU degrees.

If you think you can just push through a degree and don't want to coordinate a bunch of different sources, go with WGU. Just plan for 2-3 terms and aim for 1-2.

[rachel83az]

""but you still have to pay for the courses you're transferring in  
yeah, with Modern States and Sophia the costs of the transfers may not be huge, but even if it's just $50 per credit that's $5700 and even if its just $20 a credits its $2280 
then you still have to pay for the 6 credits at TESU which is $3000"

Ugh this is getting more and more expensive...I'm so new to all this. I'm not aware there is a $50 per credit transfer cost? Is it TESU or Sophia that is charging that? Would I have to pay that per transfer cost too if I'm transferring credits to WGU instead of TESU? How likely would one be able to finish roughly 32 credit hours in 1 WGU term/6 month?

None of the Big 3, UMPI, nor WGU charges you for credits that you transfer in. I think that was in reference to the cost of obtaining the credits in the first place. For instance, without ModernStates, a CLEP exam will cost around $200 once you add the cost of the exam itself and the testing center fees. That'd be about $66/credit. 

Sophia works out to (depending on which degree you choose and how long it takes you to finish) somewhere between $2-10 per credit. 

Very rough estimate for TESU:

Sophia: 60 credits - $400
ONU/TEL/TECEPs: 24 credits - $2000
Capstone/cornerstone: 6 credits - $3114
Study.com: 30 credits - $1000
Residency waiver fee: $3192
Graduation fee: $300
------------------------
Total: $10,006

OR

Sophia: 60 credits - $400
ONU/TEL/TECEPs: 15 credits - $1000
Flat rate tuition: 16 credits - $4639
Study.com: 30 credits - $1000
Graduation fee: $300
-------------------
Total: $7339

Liberal studies could cost a little less because they can use cheaper credits for their ULs. Something like English or History would cost a little more because they'd need BYU or similar for some of the core requirements.