Questions about SL and WGU

[Thorne]

Just trying to nail down my Gen Ed courses before starting at WGU. Just a few questions:

1) How does WGU handle ACE credits? I couldn't find any transfer-related-information regarding either SL or ACE credits in general on the WGU site.

2) Will WGU accept ACE transfer credits after enrollment?

3) How would one submit the transcript with ACE credit to WGU?

4) If anyone has knowledge about these matters, a second pair of eyes is very welcome. The requirements I have not met and would like to complete prior to enrollment are as follows, using this page as a guide:

WGU C463 (Intermediate Algebra) - StraighterLine MAT099 (Introductory Algebra)
WGU C456 (English Composition II) - StraighterLine ENG102 (English Composition II)
WGU C459 (Intro to Probability and Statistics) - StraighterLine MAT150 (Business Statistics) or StraighterLine MAT202 (Intro. to Statistics)
WGU C165 (Integrated Physical Sciences) - StraighterLine CHEM101 (General Chemistry I)
WGU C190 (Introduction to Biology) - StraighterLine BIO101 (Intro. to Biology)
WGU C683 (Natural Science Lab) - Uncertain. CHEM101L offers 1 credit, but C683 needs 2CUs. Options besides SL are fine as well.
WGU C255 (Introduction to Geography) or other Social Sciences course - StraighterLine USHIST101 (United States History I) **I took a Federal Government class at my local CC (GOVT 2305) which may cover this, my official transcript review will shed more light on this one**
WGU C168 (Critical Thinking and Logic) - Uncertain. Does StraighterLine PHIL101 meet this requirement? Just want to knock it out while I can rather than waiting to take it through WGU.
WGU C484 (Organizational Behavior) - StraighterLine BUS120 (Organizational Behavior)

[rowan555]

1) How does WGU handle ACE credits? I couldn't find any transfer-related-information regarding either SL or ACE credits in general on the WGU site.
SL has a partnership with WGU - their site lists which classes transfer in for what, and it's guaranteed. You can transfer your SL classes, for free, directly from SL's site to WGU with one mouse click. I'd definitely also put all courses on your ACE transcript, but if SL is the only ACE credit source you're using, you don't need to pay to send the ACE transcript. SL also offers a $200 tuition discount to WGU if you take 4 or more courses with them.

2) Will WGU accept ACE transfer credits after enrollment?
You need to transfer everything in prior to formally enrolling.

3) How would one submit the transcript with ACE credit to WGU?
As I said above, you can use SL's dashboard to send WGU your credits. If you prefer to send ACE, their site is easy to navigate and you can electronically send your transcript that way as well.

All the courses you listed should transfer as you expect, but SL's Philosophy course will transfer in as the Humanities requirement, not the critical thinking requirement. I have read that that particular class can be completed very quickly at WGU - a day or two if you spend some time working on it.

My signature shows the courses my son has completed to transfer for his WGU business degree - it might be helpful to have a look.

[rowan555]

Western Governors University & StraighterLine - Degree Savings Partnership | StraighterLine

Select the college you are interested in enrolling in and this will show you the course equivalencies.

[Thorne]

Does this mean I can apply, be admitted, and choose a start date (Fall 17) before I complete SL courses, or do I need to finish SL courses prior to admission?

I just want to be sure that this goes off without a hitch.

[bjcheung77]

My recommendation is to complete your courses and transfer them to WGU before enrolling.
Being admitted should be fine, but you don't want to enroll until those courses have transferred.
If you enroll and then finish your SL classes, you'll be out of luck, they will not transfer anything after you've enrolled.

[rowan555]

Does this mean I can apply, be admitted, and choose a start date (Fall 17) before I complete SL courses, or do I need to finish SL courses prior to admission?

I just want to be sure that this goes off without a hitch.

My son applied last summer - that way he had an enrollment counselor assigned to him who he was able to contact with questions about which courses would transfer from the various providers. She has been very helpful - he told her up front of his plan to take some courses for credit prior to formally enrolling. They even went ahead and reviewed his transcript at that point so he could be officially admitted and have that part taken care of. At this point, since he handled all of that last year, all he has to do is submit his final transcript this week when he does his last alternative credit course, do his little enrollment "interview" phone call with the enrollment counselor, and wait for his transcript to be evaluated and his course list generated. I think it makes the process go more smoothly to get the ball rolling early on.

[dfrecore]

Just some clarification, not only will WGU not accept courses from SL after enrollment, they won't accept courses from ANYWHERE after enrollment. So if you were completing a semester at your local CC and wanted to go to WGU, you would need to wait until the semester ended and the grades were out, and you could actually send your transcript to WGU.

I personally would say to wait until your eval looks EXACTLY like you want it to before hitting the ENROLL button there. Just to make sure that you have every single credit in there and you're in agreement with them before you start.

[rowan555]

Just some clarification, not only will WGU not accept courses from SL after enrollment, they won't accept courses from ANYWHERE after enrollment. So if you were completing a semester at your local CC and wanted to go to WGU, you would need to wait until the semester ended and the grades were out, and you could actually send your transcript to WGU.

I personally would say to wait until your eval looks EXACTLY like you want it to before hitting the ENROLL button there. Just to make sure that you have every single credit in there and you're in agreement with them before you start.

But applying and beginning to send transcripts in is fine, and can be helpful. You're not officially enrolled until you do your enrollment phone interview and make payment arrangements - so up to that point you can continue sending transcripts in. It's a good idea to let your enrollment adviser know you have more transcripts pending, so they can make a note in your file of that fact as well as your tentative start date.