Advice on WGU Business Management

[HorseManiac]

Hello All!

It's been about 3 years since I've been on the forum once I finished my BSBA from TESU. I'm back but this time it's for my boyfriend.  I'm hoping to get some feedback and advice since I feel like it's been so long since I've been in the world of degree planning!

Here's the info:

My boyfriend is wanting to get his Bachelor's in Business (probably management) through a distance learning school.  He hasn't been in school since he graduated high school 8 years ago.  His employer offers tuition reimbursement so we are checking to see if they have any stipulations on where he earns his degree from. He is not super excited about testing out (he does much better with a class structure) so I am looking into other options, although we may have him take a few CLEP tests.

I'm looking into WGU and thinking about having him max out the classes he can take from Straighterline before enrolling.  That should leave him with about 20 classes to take at WGU (if he takes nothing else before enrolling) which I feel like he could complete in about 5 terms by taking 4 classes per term (the terms are 6 months).  Now obviously he could complete it faster but I'm trying to plan worst case scenario here.  By taking some classes at WGU that should allow him to use up the full amount that his employer offers for tuition reimbursement and not cost him all that much out of pocket. I may also look into classes at Saylor, but I know they've changed a little since I took them.

I'm open to any and all suggestions and feedback that anyone can give. Anything you wish you had known before going to WGU?  Any tips/tricks to make the process easier? Reasons WGU might not be a good idea in this case?  Again, you are all amazing as I've been scouring the forums for the past 2 days getting information!!  It's like deja vu for me! I apologize in advance if I missed a very obvious thread about this already.

I am currently working on putting together a degree plan so I will post that here once I finish!

Thank you all so much!!

[dfrecore]

I would think that if he does not want to test out, and would prefer to take a class, that WGU is NOT what he's going to want to do. Actually, none of the Big 3 is either.

Has he ever taken any online courses? Maybe he should start with a couple of those at the local CC and see what he thinks. I wouldn't drop $3500 at WGU without knowing that he can do an online course at all. I would also have him do some SL or Study.com (or both) courses to see if he likes that style before doing WGU (or any of the Big 3).

If he takes a bunch of courses through the different alternative providers we discuss, and finds that he's doing well, then I would have him do a bunch that would apply to WGU and TESU/COSC, and then decide partway through the degrees if he wants to continue with that, or switch to WGU.

Re: tuition reimbursement - does he have a limit? If so, WGU can be done by starting the 1st term in the 2nd half of the year (like July, August) and then starting the 2nd term in the 1st half of the following year. That will leave him with 0 out of pocket.

Also, does tuition reimbursement cover "college credit", or does it have to be at an actual college? If they will cover college credit, then he can have them pay for CLEP, DSST, Davar, Saylor, Study.com, SL, etc. You need to find out exactly what's covered so you can plan everything out.

[HorseManiac]

I would think that if he does not want to test out, and would prefer to take a class, that WGU is NOT what he's going to want to do.  Actually, none of the Big 3 is either.

Has he ever taken any online courses?  Maybe he should start with a couple of those at the local CC and see what he thinks.  I wouldn't drop $3500 at WGU without knowing that he can do an online course at all.  I would also have him do some SL or Study.com (or both) courses to see if he likes that style before doing WGU (or any of the Big 3).

If he takes a bunch of courses through the different alternative providers we discuss, and finds that he's doing well, then I would have him do a bunch that would apply to WGU and TESU/COSC, and then decide partway through the degrees if he wants to continue with that, or switch to WGU.

Re: tuition reimbursement - does he have a limit?  If so, WGU can be done by starting the 1st term in the 2nd half of the year (like July, August) and then starting the 2nd term in the 1st half of the following year.  That will leave him with 0 out of pocket.

Also, does tuition reimbursement cover "college credit", or does it have to be at an actual college? If they will cover college credit, then he can have them pay for CLEP, DSST, Davar, Saylor, Study.com, SL, etc.  You need to find out exactly what's covered so you can plan everything out.

I don't think that he doesn't want to test out...I think it is just a little intimidating to him. I'm working on convincing him to try some

He has not taken online classes and I completely agree with you. I think he's going to try some SL or Saylor classes before he enrolls anywhere (which he has to do if he decides to go with WGU since they won't take any transfer credits after enrollment). He is very motivated and I don't foresee him having any trouble but I definitely want him to get his feet wet before jumping in head first!!

They have a limit of around $5,000 per year I believe. He's in the process of getting more information from them on whether they will cover credit or if he has to be enrolled.  My guess is that they will only pay if he is enrolled which means he will pay out of pocket for the SL classes and such before he enrolls.  Thank you for the suggestion of starting the first term part way through the year.  I didn't even think of that.

I know he wants to complete this as fast as possible and is very motivated so that is why we were looking into online schools, but he hasn't been in school for years so its going to take some getting back into!!

---

Other questions I've thought of:

Is there any benefit to applying (but not enrolling) at WGU just to get some guidance on how the classes would transfer?  It would be probably at least a year before he would enroll so is it worth it to apply?  The nice thing is SL and Saylor have great guides on how the classes will transfer.

Do you have to be enrolled in 12 credits per term as a minimum with WGU? I've read conflicting things.

[dfrecore]

Saylor courses are hit-or-miss, so be careful with those. They can be terrible. I would have him do a month of SL, and then a month of Study.com, and see which one he likes best. They are very different, but both transfer to The Big 3 and WGU if you choose the right courses.

[ss20ts]

All courses on Sophia. org are FREE until July 31st. Might as well go take some of those. Worse case scenario he gets transfer credits that cost him nothing.

[xicovu]

I don't have the same expertise as dfrecore other the others on this form but what I did an think is a good way to go about it is Ashworth AS to WGU BS. Ashworth is low-pressure & stress, relatively cheap and pretty lenient on transfer. I've been enrolled for a few months and 2/3s of a degree done with transfer credit. It gives him an Associates with might help with giving him a "milestone" for accomplishment.

I've never finished schmoop, SL, SD, OD or anything so I can't compare how hard and fast they are, but Penn Foster & Ashworth have been pretty awesome if your primary concern isn't money.

Others probably have more experience with Penn Foster vs. the others though, so I can't advise anything outside of my own experience.