WGU changes to Business Undergrad starting March 1st 2020

[AwardTour]

WGU changes to Business Undergrad starting March 1st 2020. My start date is February 1st and I will be part of the last group of people following the old curriculum. That is fine with me. Anyone starting on or after March 1st 2020 will need to re-confirm what will transfer as there will be new transfer guidelines. 

This is the email that I received. They later told me not to worry about it as I am starting Feb 1st. The original message from WGU is below:


As of March 1, 2020 our Undergrad Business programs are changing to one program with new curriculum and new transfer guidelines. We will introduce the BS in Business Administration in which a major is selected including Business Management, Accounting, Marketing, Information Technology Management, Healthcare Management, and Human Resource Management. This is exciting news for our students as the new curriculum includes micro-credentials based on their major of interest.

Key Features:
One integrated Business Administration program- BS in Business Administration
Incorporates a choice of 7 different majors- 2 Business Management tracks, Accounting, Marketing, Information Technology Management, Healthcare Management, and Human Resource Management
Includes 2 Business Core micro-credentials and
4 micro-credential options based on program

[dfrecore]

There was already a lot of overlap between degrees, this just kind of solidifies it. I would say though, that a BS in Accounting should be different than the rest. I wonder what differences that will have...

[AwardTour]

There was already a lot of overlap between degrees, this just kind of solidifies it.  I would say though, that a BS in Accounting should be different than the rest.  I wonder what differences that will have...

I wonder what their new transfer guidelines will be? That was the part that caught my attention. Before I even had a chance to email WGU, I got an email saying that I should not have received the email discussing the upcoming changes on March 1st and they apologized for the error in sending it to me. 

WGU assured me that because I am starting on Feb 1st that I will not be impacted by any transfer changes that occur. It left me wondering, what kind of changes are coming? Will they be drastic or minor? Will WGU lower the amount of transfer credits they accept?

[terryd5150]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

[AwardTour]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

We won't truly know until after March 1st to see what changes take place in-terms of possible transfer changes. I spoke with WGU the other day and I didn't get the impression that any massive changes would take place for transfer credit from Straighterline, Study.com, and Sophia.

[bluebooger]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

is the name 
BS in Business Management 
really that different from 
BS in Business Administration 

I can see the transfer changes being a problem, but is that name change really such a big deal ?

[dfrecore]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

is the name 
BS in Business Management 
really that different from 
BS in Business Administration 

I can see the transfer changes being a problem, but is that name change really such a big deal ?

BSBA with different concentrations is VERY common, I'm not sure why anyone would take them out of the running for that reason.

My main concern would be the loss of the BS in Accounting, as I think there are more than the normal number of accounting courses.

But, in spending a LOT of time recently looking at the business degrees, I do think it's kind of strange that every degree is different, without a more standardized GE and "core" that applies to all of them, and then more concentrations.  So I think this will actually make their degrees MORE functional and similar in the core, and make more sense overall.

Just some examples of differences in the GE:
- they require between 30-36cr, but they should really all have the exact same requirements (none of the requirements is related to the degree)
- the BS in Accounting is the only business degree that doesn't require Critical Thinking & Logic
- the BS in BM is the only business degree that requires Ethics in Technology (BSB in IT Mgmt doesn't though?? weird)
- the BSB in BM and BS in Mkt Mgmt require College Algebra + Stats, the BSB in HCM, BSB in ITM, and BS in Acctg require those two + Int. Algebra, and the BSB in HRM requires Int. Algbra + Stats.  No rhyme or reason as to why these are the way they are.
- the BSB in BM, BSB in HCM and require Integrated Physical Sciences, Geography & Sociology; the BSB in HRM requires Integrated Physical Sciences, Psychology & Sociology; the BSB in ITM requires Integrated Physical Sciences & Psychology; and the BS in Acctg & BS in Mrkt Mgmt require Integrated Physical Sciences & Sociology - again, no rhyme or reason as to why these are all different

It feels like different people wrote up the degree requirements, and none of the 6 talked to the others.  They could easily all require College Algebra and Stats, get rid of Int. Algebra, get rid of the Ethics course (they require Ethics in the Core), do a Science w/o lab, Soc or Psych, and make them all 30cr.  So easy to standardize them and it would look more professional in the standardization (I'm pretty sure there is no one who can give a good reason why the BS in Acct needs Intermediate Algebra AND College Algebra for instance).

Differences in the major (outside of the "core"):
- HCM has 9 courses, all of which are HCM-related
- Acct requires 10 courses, all of which are accounting-related
- HRM requires Marketing Applications, which isn't HR-related at all; has 7 "concentration" courses
- ITM requires Workforce Planning & Change Management, which aren't IT-related; has 6 "concentration" courses
- Marketing requires Employment Law & Intro to Business, but only has 4 "concentration" courses

It's like they couldn't come up with enough "concentration" courses for each degree, so they just randomly stuck some courses in there if they needed to increase the number of credits.  For Marketing for instance, there are EASILY more courses they could use that would be useful in the degree, like Digital Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Brand Management, Global Marketing, etc.  But instead they stuck in Employment Law?  Why??

I think we are going to see an improvement in the degree requirements, and it's going to be MORE of a reason to go to WGU, not less.

[terryd5150]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

is the name 
BS in Business Management 
really that different from 
BS in Business Administration 

I can see the transfer changes being a problem, but is that name change really such a big deal ?

That's a fair question; for the overwhelming majority of degree seekers I'd venture that the answer would be "no".

However, the are some career fields in which a Business Administration degree is almost a "kiss of death"; you're only deemed a slight step above those with Liberal Arts degrees - or no degree at all.

Unfortunately, I'm in one of those fields. The lack of the word "administration" in the degree field is needed to get a resume through applicant tracking systems.

[dfrecore]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

is the name 
BS in Business Management 
really that different from 
BS in Business Administration 

I can see the transfer changes being a problem, but is that name change really such a big deal ?

That's a fair question; for the overwhelming majority of degree seekers I'd venture that the answer would be "no".

However, the are some career fields in which a Business Administration degree is almost a "kiss of death"; you're only deemed a slight step above those with Liberal Arts degrees - or no degree at all.

Unfortunately, I'm in one of those fields. The lack of the word "administration" in the degree field is needed to get a resume through applicant tracking systems.

Ok, what field is that?  Because I worked in HR for many years, the vast majority of business degrees are Business Administration, with a variety of concentrations.  Just went on UC Berkeley's website (was looking at something else already), they have a Business Admin degree.  Looking at our CSU-system schools, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, all have BSBA's.  Texas Tech and ASU both have a BBA.

[terryd5150]

So instead of a BS in Business Management, it will be a BSBA with a concentration in Business Management?

Have I interpreted that correctly?

Combine that with "different transfer guidelines" and I strongly suspect that WGU may have removed themselves completely from my degree plan.

That's disappointing, particularly considering that they were my #1 choice.

is the name 
BS in Business Management 
really that different from 
BS in Business Administration 

I can see the transfer changes being a problem, but is that name change really such a big deal ?

That's a fair question; for the overwhelming majority of degree seekers I'd venture that the answer would be "no".

However, the are some career fields in which a Business Administration degree is almost a "kiss of death"; you're only deemed a slight step above those with Liberal Arts degrees - or no degree at all.

Unfortunately, I'm in one of those fields. The lack of the word "administration" in the degree field is needed to get a resume through applicant tracking systems.

Ok, what field is that?  Because I worked in HR for many years, the vast majority of business degrees are Business Administration, with a variety of concentrations.  Just went on UC Berkeley's website (was looking at something else already), they have a Business Admin degree.  Looking at our CSU-system schools, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, all have BSBA's.  Texas Tech and ASU both have a BBA.

Not interested in derailing this thread, but since you asked, I'm in manufacturing - specifically, operations.