WGU IT Program Changes 9/14/20

[GizmoJack]

Looks like a few of the IT programs at WGU have changed. Nothing major but enough to note. If you are considering transferring in classes, you will need to adjust your degree plan accordingly. I'm told the changes were published on 9/14/20 and go into effect on 11/1/2020.

I can only confirm changes to the following programs. 

BS Computer Science
BS Software Development
BS Data Analytics 

There are possibly additional degrees programs with changes but these three are the only ones I have data on.

[MNomadic]

-I know the BS CIA have a few changes: added CompTIA CySA+ and Pentest+ to replace 2 other, lesser known certs

-BS NOS changed because it was centered around several cisco certs but cisco completely revamped their certification program earlier this year(it still includes the CCNA).

[Merlin]

Looks like a few of the IT programs at WGU have changed. Nothing major but enough to note. If you are considering transferring in classes, you will need to adjust your degree plan accordingly. I'm told the changes were published on 9/14/20 and go into effect on 11/1/2020.

I can only confirm changes to the following programs. 

BS Computer Science
BS Software Development
BS Data Analytics 

There are possibly additional degrees programs with changes but these three are the only ones I have data on.

I just took a look at the new BSCS degree program and only found two changes...

1. They replaced C993 (Structured Query Language) with D191 (Advanced Data Management) in the major. Both courses appear to have the same competencies and transfer guidelines. The difference is that D191 only offers 3 CU instead of the 4 CU that C993 offered.
   
2. They added a new course to the major: D194 (IT Leadership Foundations) which is also a 3 CU course. The transfer guidelines for this course indicate that it can be waived by transferring in an upper-level Leadership or Organizational Behavior class.
   

The overall effect is that people taking the BSCS will require one additional course so it will require 122 CU to complete the degree instead of 120. The number of untransferable courses has not changed (still only 3).

I don't see why they felt that they needed an IT Leadership course, but that is the only substantial change.

If this works like their past changes, this really shouldn't be that big of a deal. Anyone who begins the program after 11/1 will automatically be enrolled in the new degree program. For the BSCS, this means taking one extra course which isn't really a major hurdle. For anyone who began before 11/1, they will have the option to stay with the existing program (as long as they remain actively enrolled) or be moved to the new program.

[thewupk]

For those starting at WGU without transferring any classes this is likely a great change. I've seen lots of posts on reddit about how difficult C993 was and many suggested to do CS204 on Study.com as a transfer as it was much easier.

[GizmoJack]

Here is the response I received from my enrollment counselor when I asked about the changes to the BSSD program: 


So here’s the information I got last week. I think we are getting a more in-depth run down of the changes during our next All-IT meeting Oct 6th – my guess is these changes will be officially student-facing around then as well.
 

• D949 Data Structures and Algorithms I replaces C191 OS for programmers
  
• D191 Advanced Data Management REPLACES C993 Structured Query Language
  
• Several Standard Path changes to redistribute GE courses
  

 
I can send you more info when I have it! Keep checking intermittently for the official update on the site as well.

---

For those starting at WGU without transferring any classes this is likely a great change. I've seen lots of posts on reddit about how difficult C993 was and many suggested to do CS204 on Study.com as a transfer as it was much easier.

Yes, C993 was for the Oracle -071 DB cert exam which many have noted as unnecessarily difficult with lots of memorization needed and many trick questions on Oracle's exam. The failure rate was high so the school looks to have abandoned this approach in favor of something more manageable.  Definitely a plus!

[ss20ts]

1. They replaced C993 (Structured Query Language) with D191 (Advanced Data Management) in the major. Both courses appear to have the same competencies and transfer guidelines. The difference is that D191 only offers 3 CU instead of the 4 CU that C993 offered.
   
2. They added a new course to the major: D194 (IT Leadership Foundations) which is also a 3 CU course. The transfer guidelines for this course indicate that it can be waived by transferring in an upper-level Leadership or Organizational Behavior class.
   

So these are the only changes? Asking because my husband is debating between WGU and Purdue Global. His boss has already told him which one he prefers.

[Merlin]

1. They replaced C993 (Structured Query Language) with D191 (Advanced Data Management) in the major. Both courses appear to have the same competencies and transfer guidelines. The difference is that D191 only offers 3 CU instead of the 4 CU that C993 offered.
   
2. They added a new course to the major: D194 (IT Leadership Foundations) which is also a 3 CU course. The transfer guidelines for this course indicate that it can be waived by transferring in an upper-level Leadership or Organizational Behavior class.
   

So these are the only changes? Asking because my husband is debating between WGU and Purdue Global. His boss has already told him which one he prefers.

As far as I can tell, yes. I started by comparing the 2018-09 program guide against the 2020-11 program guide and then cross-referenced that with the IT transfer guidelines for CS degrees on the website and those were the only changes that I could find. Of course, the new changes don't go into effect until November, so it's possible that changes will surface in the final version of the program. I haven't contacted folks at WGU yet to ask if there are any other changes slated, but I may do that later.

I'm glad they changed C993, but I still think it's odd that they threw an IT Leadership course into the CS degree. My guess is that since they replaced a 4 CU course with a 3 CU course, they had to make up the deficit and added another 3 CU course rather than make up the 1 CU difference by making another course more difficult.

So, which program does your husband's boss recommend?

[ss20ts]

1. They replaced C993 (Structured Query Language) with D191 (Advanced Data Management) in the major. Both courses appear to have the same competencies and transfer guidelines. The difference is that D191 only offers 3 CU instead of the 4 CU that C993 offered.
   
2. They added a new course to the major: D194 (IT Leadership Foundations) which is also a 3 CU course. The transfer guidelines for this course indicate that it can be waived by transferring in an upper-level Leadership or Organizational Behavior class.
   

So these are the only changes? Asking because my husband is debating between WGU and Purdue Global. His boss has already told him which one he prefers.

As far as I can tell, yes. I started by comparing the 2018-09 program guide against the 2020-11 program guide and then cross-referenced that with the IT transfer guidelines for CS degrees on the website and those were the only changes that I could find. Of course, the new changes don't go into effect until November, so it's possible that changes will surface in the final version of the program. I haven't contacted folks at WGU yet to ask if there are any other changes slated, but I may do that later.

I'm glad they changed C993, but I still think it's odd that they threw an IT Leadership course into the CS degree. My guess is that since they replaced a 4 CU course with a 3 CU course, they had to make up the deficit and added another 3 CU course rather than make up the 1 CU difference by making another course more difficult.

So, which program does your husband's boss recommend?

The boss is recommending the Purdue Global program because Purdue is a well known name. His boss never heard of WGU. My husband was leaning towards Purdue Global to begin with. He's still working on finishing up his Sophia courses. He already has 2 associate degrees including one in IT. He's been in healthcare IT for over 25 years but was never interested in completing a bachelor's degree in it. He's now to a point where he wants to get into more of the data analytics aspect and these new college grads have knowledge he doesn't and he's nearing the end of the company structure for pay increases and promotions in his current role so he's looking to the future. I keep telling him that he can't stop learning new things especially in IT. It changes so fast and there's always something new. He thinks I'm kidding when I ask who has already created or designed what will replace clouds. Somebody somewhere is working on what's next. We may not see it for 5-10 years, but it's being worked on. IT does not stand around waiting for you. That's for sure.

[Merlin]

For those starting at WGU without transferring any classes this is likely a great change. I've seen lots of posts on reddit about how difficult C993 was and many suggested to do CS204 on Study.com as a transfer as it was much easier.

Yeah C993 was a monster. The thing is it wasn't always possible to get C204 accepted in its place (it depending on the evaluator I assume). I think they finally standardized on accepting CS204 this year but it still isn't recorded as part of the official transfer pathways document with SDC. With the new course, I'm expecting C204 to be the defacto transfer equivalence from SDC.

So, which program does your husband's boss recommend?

The boss is recommending the Purdue Global program because Purdue is a well known name. His boss never heard of WGU.

There is something to be said about that. Not that it will really matter that much for someone who is already well out of college years who already has an established career. Then again, Purdue Global is actually just a rebranded Kaplan, which was not a very highly regarded program. Hopefully Purdue has made some substantial changes since its acquisition.

That said, Purdue Global doesn't offer a Computer Science degree, only a BSIT and some specialist degrees. A BSIT isn't really isn't a one-to-one comparison to a BSCS. Of course, if your husband is open to one of the specialist degrees then WGU might be a good point of comparison to those as well.

Personally, I expect that someone with prior on the job experience will probably be able to complete a degree at WGU faster and cheaper than at Purdue Global. But if the boss is going to pay for it, then go for the one that the boss likes.

[ss20ts]

For those starting at WGU without transferring any classes this is likely a great change. I've seen lots of posts on reddit about how difficult C993 was and many suggested to do CS204 on Study.com as a transfer as it was much easier.

Yeah C993 was a monster. The thing is it wasn't always possible to get C204 accepted in its place (it depending on the evaluator I assume). I think they finally standardized on accepting CS204 this year but it still isn't recorded as part of the official transfer pathways document with SDC. With the new course, I'm expecting C204 to be the defacto transfer equivalence from SDC.

So, which program does your husband's boss recommend?

The boss is recommending the Purdue Global program because Purdue is a well known name. His boss never heard of WGU.

There is something to be said about that. Not that it will really matter that much for someone who is already well out of college years who already has an established career. Then again, Purdue Global is actually just a rebranded Kaplan, which was not a very highly regarded program. Hopefully Purdue has made some substantial changes since its acquisition.

That said, Purdue Global doesn't offer a Computer Science degree, only a BSIT and some specialist degrees. A BSIT isn't really isn't a one-to-one comparison to a BSCS. Of course, if your husband is open to one of the specialist degrees then WGU might be a good point of comparison to those as well.

Personally, I expect that someone with prior on the job experience will probably be able to complete a degree at WGU faster and cheaper than at Purdue Global. But if the boss is going to pay for it, then go for the one that the boss likes.

He's going for the Bachelor's of Science in Analytics on the Excel Track. He already works a bit in data analytics and would like to move more into it in the next few years. The Excel Track is a CBE program like WGU.