Taking courses at WGU not part of my degree program? And credit by examination

[sciencemathematics1]

I want to complete a BS in computer science at WGU. However, there are other degree programs in the WGU teachers college which have courses in their curriculum that I would like to be able to take. I want to take math and science courses from the teacher's college program. However, I talked with an enrollment counselor there and they told me that I could not take those courses if I was in the computer science program, because they are not part of my degree program. Is there still any way to be able to take these classes?
There are a number of classes in the math for teachers and science for teacher programs that I would want to be able to take.

I also was told that if I knew the material for a class, then I could go directly to the assessment for the class to get credit for it. Does this apply to all classes at WGU, since they are competency based?

[ss20ts]

At WGU, you only take the courses they require for your degree. There are no extra courses. You would either need to complete those courses elsewhere or work on two different degrees at WGU. You probably wouldn't be able to work on both at the same time.

[sciencemathematics1]

What if I started working on one program, finished all of the courses that I wanted to take in that program, and then switched majors or transferred elsewhere?

[ss20ts]

Why not just take the classes you want elsewhere? You'd have to contact them about a change of major.

[sciencemathematics1]

I want to take them with WGU because they are competency based courses.
I already asked them if I could change my major if I wanted to later on and they said I could.
But if I changed my major, would I still have those competency units on my transcript that I got from taking those classes for if I wanted to transfer those units to another college?

[Merlin]

What if I started working on one program, finished all of the courses that I wanted to take in that program, and then switched majors or transferred elsewhere?

Yes, you could do that but like ss20ts mentioned, it is not really worth it. You're better off just taking those courses from an outside provider like Straighterline or Study.com, or take them from a local community college or something if you prefer.

If you really wanted to do this you'd have to jump through some hoops...

First, you'd have to apply to the teacher's college for a specific degree. So you'd have to meet all those entrance requirements.

Next, you'd have to submit your transcripts and have them evaluated for the teaching degree. This isn't a big deal since you'd have to do it either way.

Next, you'd complete orientation. Also not a big deal since you have to do it either way.

Next, you wait for your start date, and work with your program mentor to select courses. You're only allowed to have one active course at a time, but they try to plan out the courses you will take for the entire term. At this point you need to convince your mentor to allow you to take the specific courses you want to take in the specific order you want to take them. This may be problematic since they are instructed to follow the degree plan set out by the teacher's college. In other words, they may say no and ask you to take the courses in the order given.

Assuming you can get around the above, you'd have 6 months to complete the courses you want from the teacher's college. If you finish early, you have to wait until the end of the 6 months before you can do anything else. Sometime before the end of your term you will need to work with your program mentor to withdraw from the teacher's degree program to switch degrees to the CS program.

Next, you'll need to work with enrollment to apply to the computer science program.

Next, you have your transcripts re-evaluated for the CS program to make sure you meet the entrance requirements and determine what courses can be waived, etc.

Next, you wait for your first day of class, which will be the 1st of the month following the end of your previous 6-month term, hopefully.

Next, you work with your new program mentor to review the courses they want you to take and the order that you should take them. They will help you enroll in your first class, the same as above.

So doing it this way, you're guaranteed to have to pay for at least two terms at WGU. This also means you may have a lot of downtime between the end of the first term and the start of your second one while you wait for the term to end. FYI, if you're using financial aid, the process will be a bit more complicated -- not to mention you may not receive aid for your first term unless you complete at least 12 CU (3-4 courses) during the term. This may delay aid in the second term as well.

Needless to say, this is a bad idea. I don't recommend doing anything like this unless you plan to pursue two degrees.

Note: Once you start the degree program, you cannot transfer in any new credits. So if you want to take external courses from Straighterline, Study.com, or a CC to add to your math credits, you'll have to withdraw from WGU entirely after your first term and re-apply later. They may allow you to do this if you're switching majors as well, but I cannot confirm that.

[Merlin]

I want to take them with WGU because they are competency based courses.
I already asked them if I could change my major if I wanted to later on and they said I could.

Changing majors is not a problem... people do it all the time. They just usually do it because they are unhappy with one major or because of other issues. Most people don't do it in order to take a few courses in one degree and then complete a different degree. The process is a bit cumbersome and time-consuming. I would never recommend that someone do it just to pick up a few extra courses that won't even factor into their degree.

If you want to take competency-based courses you don't have to take them at WGU. I don't know which math and science courses you want to take, but there are several competency-based options out there depending on your reasons for wanting to take the courses.

Considering that you won't be able to apply them towards a WGU CS degree, you might as well take the free option and go with a Coursera course or just bone up on the skills at Khan Academy.

If you want ACE recommended (college credit) courses, you could take a look at the credit-recommended courses from StraighterLine and Study.com. Those are all competency-based and can be transferred to WGU. However, since they are not required for a CS degree they would not be used. You might be able to use them for a second degree if you wanted to go back to get a teaching degree though.

Beyond that, you can look at community colleges or other RA schools to pursue these courses. It is harder to find competency-based options that don't require you to sign up for a minimum term length, but you may find something that meets your needs.

But if I changed my major, would I still have those competency units on my transcript that I got from taking those classes for if I wanted to transfer those units to another college?

WGU may only show the credits required to meet the requirements for the specific degree you graduate with. I'm not entirely sure if they will show credits that are unused for a degree.

If you're looking to take extra classes to transfer to another college, then you might as well just take the courses from the destination college. Once you complete your bachelor's degree, a destination school will probably not care about any secondary courses taken. Though that depends on the program and entrance requirements.

If you are doing this for a graduate degree and you have a specific grad school in mind, it may be easier trying to work backward from the school's entrance requirements to figure out your best approach rather than try to switch degrees, etc.

What are you trying to do?

[sciencemathematics1]

What if I started working on one program, finished all of the courses that I wanted to take in that program, and then switched majors or transferred elsewhere?

Yes, you could do that but like ss20ts mentioned, it is not really worth it. You're better off just taking those courses from an outside provider like Straighterline or Study.com, or take them from a local community college or something if you prefer.

If you really wanted to do this you'd have to jump through some hoops...

https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degr...admissions

It doesn't seem like there are many entrance requirements from this page that I wouldn't already have. It says that I have to take a certain exam "either prior to admission or before beginning the Foundations of Teaching subject area once you are in your WGU program", but that is all that is required.
The courses that I want to take are not ones that are found on study.com or straightliner. I would rather be able to take these courses online in a competency-based or self paced format.
There are online courses elsewhere for these math courses but they are very expensive. I also prefer the competency-based model of WGU.
I am mainly interested in the mathematics courses available.
https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degr...ogram.html
https://www.wgu.edu/content/dam/western-.../BSMES.pdf
There are about 5-6 courses that I want to take.
Probability and Statistics I 
Probability and Statistics II
Linear Algebra 
Abstract Algebra 
Advanced Calculus 
Calculus III 
I am also considering the following courses, but am not sure if I want to take them.
Mathematical Modeling and Applications
Mathematics: Content Knowledge.

I already completed Calculus I and II from AP exams, so I can take other courses. getting credit for these courses, would I be able to skip College Geometry, and Trigonometry/Precalculus? This also qualifies me for entry requirements into the CS program, and it would fulfill the prerequisite for taking further courses. 

I am considering having these courses completed so that I can transfer them to TESU and make them part of a degree program for the BA in mathematics.

If I went there with my general education requirements already completed, then it would just be the teaching classes that I would have to skip over.
Or, I could just complete the general education classes with them. Since its competency-based, I can finish them quicker.
The obstacle which concerns me most would be if my mentor would allow me to take the courses in the order I want to take them in. 
I have asked about this when it comes to the computer science program, and I was told that I could take courses in the order that I wanted to take them in as long as I would complete prerequisites for courses and I completed the more advanced courses afterwards.
I am thinking that I could progress through these specific courses as it is normally outlined that they are progressed in, but skipping the educational teaching classes.

It would be fine with me if I had to pay for two terms at WGU. These courses would end up being just as if not more expensive if I took them elsewhere. It is also fine with me if I had extra time between the two terms, as I could just use that time for studying computer science which would help megetthrough the CS program faster when I enroll.

I could just withdraw entirely after completing these courses, although I am not sure how smoothly the process would go for this or for changing majors.
I also looked at the physics and chemistry programs that they have.

[ss20ts]

Many community colleges have those math courses. They're even offered online. I know they are offered at community colleges because my husband took Calc, Calc II, Calc III, and Diff Eq at community college. Statistics is offered by Sophia (which is free right now), StraighterLine, and Study.com. It's also available at community colleges. They may also be called technical colleges depending on your region.

At WGU, you do not pick which classes you take or when you take them. You're given the courses in the order to take them in. You take one course at a time. They're not going to let you enroll in a program just to take specific classes. That's not how their programs work. You don't get to skip over classes. If you want competency based math courses, then you should look for those outside of WGU. Look at Study.com and StraighterLine for starters because they do offer that stats class.

[sciencemathematics1]

I want to take them with WGU because they are competency based courses.
I already asked them if I could change my major if I wanted to later on and they said I could.

Changing majors is not a problem... people do it all the time. They just usually do it because they are unhappy with one major or because of other issues. Most people don't do it in order to take a few courses in one degree and then complete a different degree. The process is a bit cumbersome and time-consuming. I would never recommend that someone do it just to pick up a few extra courses that won't even factor into their degree.

If you want to take competency-based courses you don't have to take them at WGU. I don't know which math and science courses you want to take, but there are several competency-based options out there depending on your reasons for wanting to take the courses.

But if I changed my major, would I still have those competency units on my transcript that I got from taking those classes for if I wanted to transfer those units to another college?

If you are doing this for a graduate degree and you have a specific grad school in mind, it may be easier trying to work backward from the school's entrance requirements to figure out your best approach rather than try to switch degrees, etc.

What are you trying to do?

There are other competency-based options for these math classes but financially, the cost is an issue. As far as I know, I couldn't find competency-based or self-study options for the science courses, but if there were any available I would want to take them. I am interested physics and chemistry science courses.

I am considering going to graduate school, possibly in computer science. I am not doing this only to satisfy graduate school requirements, but I could possibly use it for that.
I am just trying to take classes that I can incorporate into a degree plan at another college such as TESU. I was looking at their BA in mathematics. I have a way to incorporate these classes into a degree plan. I could also incorporate the science ones into natural sciences major at excelsior, or liberal arts major at TESU.

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Many community colleges have those math courses. They're even offered online. I know they are offered at community colleges because my husband took Calc, Calc II, Calc III, and Diff Eq at community college. Statistics is offered by Sophia (which is free right now), StraighterLine, and Study.com. It's also available at community colleges. They may also be called technical colleges depending on your region.

They are, but I'm only interested in online offerings of the courses. I'll have to look for more online college offering of these courses, but the cost would be an issue I would have to get through. Some community colleges may offer them online.

At WGU, you do not pick which classes you take or when you take them. You're given the courses in the order to take them in. You take one course at a time. They're not going to let you enroll in a program just to take specific classes. That's not how their programs work. You don't get to skip over classes. If you want competency based math courses, then you should look for those outside of WGU. Look at Study.com and StraighterLine for starters because they do offer that stats class.

I know that I can't skip courses in their degree program if I want to graduate from that program, but I can still have flexibility in the order of courses and only take a single term to take those courses.
From talking to them, they have told me differently about the flexibility order I can take courses in. When I talked to them they did tell me that there is flexibility in my degree plan as to which courses I could take first, but I am just not sure as to how much. I would have to talk to the college more about those specific programs to ask them about what order I would be able to take the courses in to determine if I would be able to or not, but now I not completely sure.

I am wondering about how much your order of courses is planned out. When you start to register for classes in their first term, do they plan beyond the first term? I heard that you can register for more courses after the courses you registered for in the first term.