WGU best option for me?

[tlashurst]

quick background: I have looked into WGU and went through the interview process. I am in my late 30s and have only attended 2 semester in a community college (long story but no way to get transcripts). I am a professional with 15+years in IT admin/support/management type roles. Several certifications over 5yrs old, MCP, Security+.....looking to get into more of management in the IT world at this point in my career, and eventually an MBA. My job allows for lots of time to do school work, and even though we have 6 kids, will have plenty of time to pursue a degree. My kids are close to finishing high school, and I want to beat them to college and show them that it is important to get an education.


The IT degrees at WGU do not entice me as many of the certifications would do nothing for me. I am leaning more towards the Management-IT degree due to this, plus the skills in the management area would come in handy.
I was informed that I would need either to a) renew or get a new IT certification or, b) show 12hrs of college course work.
Not wanting to renew or take a certification, I went the straighterline route and have completed the following...... ENG Comp 1, Org Behavior, Principles Of Mgmt, Business Ethics,Business Law, Cult Anthropology, Intro to Religions, Micro and Macro Economics.
Up next at straighterline are, Biology and lab, Chemistry and lab, Comp 2, College Algebra, Managerial Accounting and business stats

Are there any other options besides WGU that would fulfill the following....
1) regionally accredited
2) allow me to pursue an MBA at a big name school possibly

[bricabrac]

If your goal is an MBA, I would recommend TESC's BSBA Computer Information Systems.

Check my signature for the link to thread: Pay Per Credit Tuition Plan and a tuition cost comparison spreadsheet.

I don't know much about the computer certs but you may even receive some credit for those; others more qualified in this subject will hopefully weigh-in. You can also search the forum for the titles and see what information, if any, is revealed.

Good luck!

[JTP]

My current valid A+ and Security+ got me nothing at TESC, but got 2 Classes at COSC.

[rebel100]

Any of the Big 3 should be contenders, two of them, COSC and TESC, have the added benefit of being State schools. Excelsior has a long and solid past as well.

I'm concerned about your statement that there is no way to get transcripts from your old CC. This may cause you some trouble depending on why your locked out. If it's a debt issue you may have to settle that before other schools will want to take you on...just consider the implications in your plans.

I went the Organizational Behavior/Leadership route at COSC and I've been pleased with it. It prepared me well for the WGU MBA. I found Charter Oak very flexible in designing a course of studies that took advantage of existing credits and credit by exam. They also accept FEMA free of charge, those are a fast way to rack up credit at an unbeatable price. If you focused in on the Charter Oak Gen Eds and completed around 24 fema credits you would have an AS very quickly and could figure out your remaining credits for the Bachelors.

[tlashurst]

The reason for no way to get transcripts is, I took IT classes with a community college partnership, had to drop out due to medical concerns. The company who I took the courses through, mistakenly did not cancel the remainder of the courses and said I owed. This was nearly 18 years ago, the company is now defunct and I am unable to contact them to resolve and have spend many years going back and forth with the Comm college and it is only for maybe 12 credit.....so the hassle was not even worth it, and I have since taken those same courses with Straighterline and completed. I do not have a financial obligation that would hold up anything. What would be the benefit of COSC over WGU?

Any of the Big 3 should be contenders, two of them, COSC and TESC, have the added benefit of being State schools. Excelsior has a long and solid past as well.

I'm concerned about your statement that there is no way to get transcripts from your old CC. This may cause you some trouble depending on why your locked out. If it's a debt issue you may have to settle that before other schools will want to take you on...just consider the implications in your plans.

I went the Organizational Behavior/Leadership route at COSC and I've been pleased with it. It prepared me well for the WGU MBA. I found Charter Oak very flexible in designing a course of studies that took advantage of existing credits and credit by exam. They also accept FEMA free of charge, those are a fast way to rack up credit at an unbeatable price. If you focused in on the Charter Oak Gen Eds and completed around 24 fema credits you would have an AS very quickly and could figure out your remaining credits for the Bachelors.

[rebel100]

I'm not any sort of expert on the Undergrad at WGU, and in some instances they will let you use CLEP or DSST to satisfy requirements. That said any of the Big 3 will allow greater flexibility in using credit by exam and or straighterline. Even Saylor and FEMA (though no FEMA at TESC) can be used to complete your degree. This can help you accelerate through a program and stick the degree on the wall. If taking classes is to complete the degree is your desire then WGU or some other school might be a better choice.

WGU is unique in that you demonstrate competency in a subject and you move on, it's go as fast as you can go for a fixed price of around $2500/per 6 months.

My point on the issues with your past credit is that regionally accredited schools sort of stick together. Just because you don't choose to use the credits doesn't mean the school won't want transcripts from them. As part of the application process they will require transcripts from all previous schools attended. failure to send them in could, in the extreme, result in failure to obtain admission or even removal from their program. While I doubt is happens often they could even revoke the degree you earn on learning you had undisclosed college experience....I'm only pointing out that this may be an issue for you and you need to consider it in your plans.

[publius2k4]

I took the majority of my undergrad at WGU and then transferred to COSC, so I'll share my perspective with you.

At WGU, I was very pleased with my ability to move through my studies quickly. At COSC, I was stuck with the semester format. Early in my studies (when I was completing lower level coursework at WGU) this benefited me greatly because I was able to complete 36 credits in my first semester. However, after I got into courses where I knew less about the subject matter, my progress slowed quite a bit. I managed to earn 88 credits at WGU before switching to COSC. Having an actual professor for each course helped me learn a lot more than the self-paced "on your own" format at WGU. So truly, it all depends on your learning style.

At WGU, I felt alone even though I had a mentor to coach me along. At COSC, I truly felt like the school WANTED me to graduate....not just stay enrolled long enough for the school to collect my tuition for that term.

[UptonSinclair]

I have applied to WGU, COSC, and have attended both Excelsior and TESC over the last two years. WGU annoyed me with their policies and arrogance. They argued with me about acceptance into their program because I had no certifications. I had taken an A+ and Network+ course through KCTCS, but they insisted I take the A+ cert before being admitted. I ended up telling them they were more trouble than they were worth and moved on.

At COSC, I was offered decent transfer credits, but they are a bit stingy with upper level credits. In addition, I prefer a BSBA to a General Studies degree.

I am now completing the last course of my BSBA-CIS at TESC and wish I had never bothered with any of the others. Being able to take the Capstone at Penn Foster was a huge bonus.

If I had it all to do over again, I would finish all of my independent studies, exams, etc and then wrap up at TESC.

[dposborne]

Not wanting to renew or take a certification, I went the straighterline route and have completed the following...... ENG Comp 1, Org Behavior, Principles Of Mgmt, Business Ethics,Business Law, Cult Anthropology, Intro to Religions, Micro and Macro Economics.

Why not stroll in and take the CompTIA A+ again, its not like you have to study for that one... or even one of the CIW's. A quick browse through a 99 cent used for dummies book can prep you for one of these... Seems like you are spending a lot of time taking SL courses when you can probably knock out your degree through WGU in relatively short order based on your past experience...