WGU's "core subject areas" & certs for BS-Data Analytics

[rvm]

Very cool.  Thank you!  Btw, I like your handle.  Is it Gui-Gong or was that coincidence?

It's a spin on the Star Wars character Qui-Gon Jinn :-).  I'm a nerd.

LOL! LOL!  I should have connected your IT background with Star Wars.  My hubby would have gotten it.  

[dfrecore]

Great suggestion.  Looking at his credits to date, do you think will accept them as substitute something US Politics for World History?  I know it's not the same.  I saw somewhere on their site where they allow substitutes in some cases.  They have a term for it but I don't remember that term and can't seem to find it again.

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I'm not sure, but I don't think they will take anything except American Government for this course.  It's specific in their literature (nothing says "any kind of SocSci course" like it does for the Geography course, or "any kind of Humanities course" like it does for the Humanities area).

The main issue I think for your friend is that he has a bunch of courses that would come into TESU better than WGU.  They have so little wiggle room because there's so few GE's - 30cr instead of 60cr from TESU, and zero free electives.  So he loses most of his credits he's taken.

If I were him, I'd take the following, and then apply at both TESU and WGU, and see what he has left to take, and decide from there:
Speech/Communciations
English Comp I
Ethics in Technology DSST
American Govt
Physical Science (Astronomy, Physics, Chem)
Any science lab (prob through Ed4Credit or SL)
Intro to IT (study.com or SL)
Technical Writing
Intro to Critical Reasoning TECEP
Python Programming - OnlineDegree
Networks courses - Saylor and Study.com

At this point, he will have spent about $1000 on courses, all of which will apply towards both TESU and WGU.

You can see then that at TESU, it will cost another $6000 for Statistics.com for their courses plus the English Comp II credits, plus $300 for the cornerstone.  Then with fees, it would cost an additional $2800. ($8800 for everything).

Instead, if he took a few additional courses for $350, plus the Udacity NanoDegree ($1000):

HTML5 & CSS - SecularCourses
Project Management - Study.com
Database Management - Study.com
Data Visualization - Udacity
Data Analysis with R - Udacity
Data Wrangling with MongoDB - Udacity
Intro to Data Science - Udacity
Machine Learning - Udacity

then he would have 11 courses remaining at WGU - not certain if he can complete those in 1 term, but if he could, then he would be looking at a total cost of $5420.
Even if he needs another term, it would still be cheaper than TESU ($8440).  He could also try to take some certs to whittle down the number of courses he needed to take to make a single term more doable (CompTIA A+ for $422, CIW Data Analyst Specialist for $150, Oracle Database SQL for $245).  But, keep in mind, he would probably also have to pay for study materials if he couldn't just pass them outright, which raises the cost - while WGU gives you the study materials and the cert.  So at some point, it's not worth getting the certs on your own.  But, he would have to determine that himself.

Here are files for each school, 2 pages each.  First page is current, second page is with taking courses as outlined (above).

[bluebooger]

I thought the price of the udacity nanodegree was included in the tuition for WGU 

just as the price of the A+ and Oracle cert is

[rvm]

Great suggestion.  Looking at his credits to date, do you think will accept them as substitute something US Politics for World History?  I know it's not the same.  I saw somewhere on their site where they allow substitutes in some cases.  They have a term for it but I don't remember that term and can't seem to find it again.

---

I'm not sure, but I don't think they will take anything except American Government for this course.  It's specific in their literature (nothing says "any kind of SocSci course" like it does for the Geography course, or "any kind of Humanities course" like it does for the Humanities area).

The main issue I think for your friend is that he has a bunch of courses that would come into TESU better than WGU.  They have so little wiggle room because there's so few GE's - 30cr instead of 60cr from TESU, and zero free electives.  So he loses most of his credits he's taken.

If I were him, I'd take the following, and then apply at both TESU and WGU, and see what he has left to take, and decide from there:
Speech/Communciations
English Comp I
Ethics in Technology DSST
American Govt
Physical Science (Astronomy, Physics, Chem)
Any science lab (prob through Ed4Credit or SL)
Intro to IT (study.com or SL)
Technical Writing
Intro to Critical Reasoning TECEP
Python Programming - OnlineDegree
Networks courses - Saylor and Study.com

At this point, he will have spent about $1000 on courses, all of which will apply towards both TESU and WGU.

You can see then that at TESU, it will cost another $6000 for Statistics.com for their courses plus the English Comp II credits, plus $300 for the cornerstone.  Then with fees, it would cost an additional $2800. ($8800 for everything).

Instead, if he took a few additional courses for $350, plus the Udacity NanoDegree ($1000):

HTML5 & CSS - SecularCourses
Project Management - Study.com
Database Management - Study.com
Data Visualization - Udacity
Data Analysis with R - Udacity
Data Wrangling with MongoDB - Udacity
Intro to Data Science - Udacity
Machine Learning - Udacity

then he would have 11 courses remaining at WGU - not certain if he can complete those in 1 term, but if he could, then he would be looking at a total cost of $5420.
Even if he needs another term, it would still be cheaper than TESU ($8440).  He could also try to take some certs to whittle down the number of courses he needed to take to make a single term more doable (CompTIA A+ for $422, CIW Data Analyst Specialist for $150, Oracle Database SQL for $245).  But, keep in mind, he would probably also have to pay for study materials if he couldn't just pass them outright, which raises the cost - while WGU gives you the study materials and the cert.  So at some point, it's not worth getting the certs on your own.  But, he would have to determine that himself.

Here are files for each school, 2 pages each.  First page is current, second page is with taking courses as outlined (above).

You're such a wealth of information, Dfrecore!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the individual spreadsheets, as well.  That's super nice, especially since I can download & email them to my neighbor.

Originally, John was on go with tesu & collecting credits accordingly - as supported by your spreadsheet, Dfrecore. When he switched from bsba to data analytics, tesu became unattractive due to their requirement to use statistics.com.  (It would be nice if tesu would permit other options for data analytics degrees.)  $6,000 is quite a bit of money for those courses that he could get for significantly less at WGU.  He's already taking the courses in the Udacity nanodegree so he's ahead of the game in that respect.  I think he can also knock out those CompTIA certifications fairly easily as well, giving WGU another checkmark. 

As you pointed out, it's those pesky Gen Eds that are causing the problems at WGU.

[dfrecore]

I thought the price of the udacity nanodegree was included in the tuition for WGU 

just as the price of the A+ and Oracle cert is

I did not realize that - you're right, you earn the udacity nanodegree during the process.

[rvm]

I thought the price of the udacity nanodegree was included in the tuition for WGU 

just as the price of the A+ and Oracle cert is

I did not realize that - you're right, you earn the udacity nanodegree during the process.

For my own personal knowledge, I double checked this.  As usual, Dfrecore is correct.  (In the many years Dfrecore has been advising me, she's never been incorrect.   )

To compare the cost of using WGU's terms vs gaining Certifications prior to enrolling, I made a spreadsheet which lists WGU's certifications for the BS in Data Management / Data Analytics - as of December 2018.  The spreadsheet is attached.  I hope it helps someone.  

Of course, the cost to take these certifications from WGU does not take into account the number of terms (at $3200 per term - 6 months for WGU students) you would need to be enrolled in WGU in order to complete those certifications.  That's individual to each person.

---

The transfer guidelines are going to be your friend here.  WGU is ACE friendly (Study.com, Straighterline, Saylor) and takes CLEPs/DSSTs in a pretty straightforward manner.

https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/BSDMDA.aspx

@quigongene and/or anyone who would like to answer:  Does WGU accept NCCRS courses/exams?   What if John takes a NCCRS or ACE exam for credit for SQL, or Python or Project Management (exams where WGU permits substitutes) - will WGU accept those credits?  For example: if he takes Python at OnlineDegree.com, do you think that will be accepted?

[quigongene]

ACE yes, NCCRS not that I'm aware of. They took my SDC PM course, but OD will probably not fly.

[rvm]

ACE yes, NCCRS not that I'm aware of.  They took my SDC PM course, but OD will probably not fly.

Thank you Guigonene!  

[rvm]

ACE yes, NCCRS not that I'm aware of.  They took my SDC PM course, but OD will probably not fly.

Thank you Guigonene!  

I called WGU and spoke with an enrollment counselor.  I was advised that WGU does not accept NCCRS credits.  However, I'm not sure this is gospel because the counselor did not know the answer when I initially asked.  I guess if my neighbor applies and submits transcripts, he'll get an opportunity for a second opinion.

[quigongene]

I called WGU and spoke with an enrollment counselor.  I was advised that WGU does not accept NCCRS credits.  However, I'm not sure this is gospel because the counselor did not know the answer when I initially asked.  I guess if my neighbor applies and submits transcripts, he'll get an opportunity for a second opinion.

Keep us posted!! I have a friend working on GenEds for WGU and if they do take NCCRS, I'd like to give him the option.