TLDR: I need encouragment to push through the next nine weeks and get 7 classes completed. 

I'm completing my first term for my degree in Elementary Education at WGU. I already had an associates degree, so I transffered in a lot of credits. My plan was to complete all my regular courses this term, and do all my field experience and studnet teaching next term. I am taking tests on 3 courses tomorrow, and after that I will have completed 9 courses. I have 9 weeks left in my term, and 7 courses.  I know I can do it. Part of the reason it took me so long to get the first nine done was computer issues. I was without a computer for a month. I have been completing most of my courses in a weekend. However, I feel myself getting burned out.  I could really use some encouragment from everyone who is or has been in the trenches. Thank you! 
This forum is what convinced me to go to WGU and I love it!

Hi there,

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and currently have a job. However, I’m interested in Online Master’s degree in either Data Science or Web Development.

I’m particularly drawn to Data Science because of its significant potential for societal impact. However, I’m concerned about my math skills, as I’m not very strong in this area. Are there any online graduate programs in Data Science that start with a strong focus on building foundational math skills?

Additionally, I’m interested in Web Development, but I’ve had difficulty finding graduate programs specifically for this field. Are such programs available?


Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

When did WGU get a BS in Communications and a BS in user Experience? Are they new?

Has anyone taken TECEP exams on a Mac, remotely?

I recently had THE WORST experience with CLEP remote proctoring via their offshore vendor for it, Proctortrack. Which wouldn't even let me use a USB mouse without freezing their system, because their persistent app sniffer running in the background detects a device driver they haven't whitelisted. It's secure, sure. Just completely, pathetically, unusable - on Windows 11; they don't even let you schedule an exam on a Mac never mind take it.

I'm really hoping I do not encounter any Mac OS compatibility issues with Sophia and Study.com as well. Have any fellow Mac users here had any issues with any of these course/exam providers?

Hello everyone, I am currently enrolled in WGU Master of Public Health and will be finishing up soon. I don't have a job in the field yet and I am working on finding a job at the moment. I haven't been in the work field in years but have been taking certification classes/certificate classes. I am disabled (Severe controlled RA) Anyways, I have applied to internships via WGU and also just waiting for responses. I just want to know if there's a possibility of me enrolling in a PhD program seeing my lack of job history (seems experience in some programs are needed)  and where would a good program be online. I prefer a ABD and online. I'm using financial aid, and located in NYC. 

In Progress: WGU Master of Public Health 
Completed: UMPI B.L.S Mangement & Pre-Law
Pierpoint BOG A.A
Certificates & Certifications:
CASAC-T (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor Trainee) – Expires: 11/09/2028
I.C.C. Phlebotomy Tech with Honors – Completed: 10/2023
Goodwill® Career Coach and Navigator – Completed: 12/14/2023
Introduction to Generative AI Specialization (Coursera) – Completed: 06/11/2024
HIPAA Privacy Training (OSHAcademy, 01/2023)
American Red Cross Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification – Valid through 11/01/2025 | Certificate ID: 01CDFL3

Did I mess up a setting or did this forum completely change? I can’t find anything. It is much harder to see new threads. Whatever happened, I hate it.

I know Unidema's digital certificates are ugly and have basic spelling errors from people laughing at them on the sister forum, but do Unidema degrees have a transcript that could potentially evaluate as something useful? I sent them an email in Spanish but they didn't seem to think my money was worth the time it takes to type si or no and hit send. So the same high quality customer service you would expect from ENEB or Manuel from Fawlty Towers appears to be alive and well at Unidema/ETSINE.

I'm asking because Unidema is currently currently running a Groupon offering 14 degrees for 81.49EUR. It'll be valid for another 3 days after this post. You get 2 years to complete as many of them as you can.

https://www.groupon.es/deals/unidema-54

The course materials are...fine. I guess. Unidema uses the SOBAT model of letting you do the content for free and charging for the credential so you don't need to buy it if you only want to do it for the learning experience. But if you're not doing it for a credential, you're probably better off reading a book in English. Nothing I did was worth the hassle of machine translation.

Your Location:
Dublin, Ireland (I am an Irish citizen)

Your Age: 
31

What kind of degree do you want?:
BSc or BA in Information Technology. Would take IT related degrees, but would prefer avoiding Computer Science if possible (it's just not as applicable to my job)

Current Regional Accredited Credits:
0

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits:
0

Any certifications or military experience?: 
CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CCNA (test scheduled)

Budget:
~10-15k total

Commitments: 
Currently work full-time in an IT job

Dedicated time to study:
1-3 hours per day

Timeline:
Up to 2 years

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: 
Employer might possibly reimburse my fees, in full or in part, at the end of the second year

Hello, I'm  looking for some advice on my situation. I am just about to complete an apprenticeship in Network Engineering  here in Ireland and will be kept on with my current
employer. There's lots of room for growth/progression and it doesn't require a degree but I would like to get one all the same. The main goal is to do a Master's degree in
Cybersecurity or similar area in a few years time.

And while I have no real time constraints I'd still like to complete the degree as fast as possible and for a reasonable price which somewhat rules out a usual 4 year
university. And although university is generally cheaper here in Ireland, options for a degree that can be done online are quite limited and would take 4 years as well.
Following the advice I've seen around here, my initial plan is to utilise Sophia.org followed by Study.com to gather as many credits as possible. I'm also looking into CLEP
but there doesn't appear to be a test centre in Ireland.
 
Since I'm looking for IT degrees a lot of advice is pointing to WGU which looks great but sadly doesn't take international students. Next up looks to be TESU, SNHU
or Excelsior who all offer IT degrees. 
I was leaning slightly towards Excelsior simply because their online IT program is ABET accredited as opposed to TESU or SNHU. ABET accreditation doesn't have
any impact on my side of the Atlantic but I was wondering if would it impact my options when looking at Masters in the US down the line?
However Excelsior seems to be on the pricier side of things and it's possible I wouldn't be able to transfer in ~90 credits.
Also if anyone has other options or paths that I might have overlooked (other sources of credit available, community colleges, other Bachelor's programs, etc.), I am absolutely open to any
and all advice. Thanks.

P.S This is a great community and the information here is incredibly helpful.

Looking around for something to fill in the gap for the Pierpont BOG degree, the cheapest I could come up with was Ashworth College.

Ashworth College allows you to transfer 75% of the courses for their Associate Degrees (45 out of 60 credits). This means only 5 courses (15 credits) or one semester would need to be taken at Ashworth which costs only $1299 (A.A. General Studies) of $1399 (A.S. General Business) and you have 12 months to complete them.

Using Sophia, some of their Associate Degrees should be easy and cheap to complete:

A.A. General Studies
A.S. General Business

Granted this is a NA schools so transfer options are more limited for the 15 Ashworth credits but Excelsior should take them and regardless the 45 Sophia credits are widely accepted. UMPI also accepts some courses from Ashworth.

From the Ashworth Degree Catalog 2024.

Quote:To enroll as an associate degree candidate, students must have successfully completed a high school diploma program, earned a GED or equivalent, or completed at least 12 semester credit hours of college coursework. [...]

In the associate degree program, students may receive credit for 15 courses out of 20 (45 credit hours out of 60) as a combination of transfer credits, prior learning assessment, and credit by exam. Credit by exam is limited to a maximum of 3 courses (9 credit hours). [...]

Ashworth degree programs are self-paced, and students are encouraged to set their own schedules for completing coursework. [...]

An associate degree program can be completed in approximately two years (no more than 12 months for one semester); however, students are allowed a maximum of six (6) years from the date of enrollment to complete their program. [...]

To earn an Ashworth College associate degree, a student must complete 60 credit hours with a minimum GPA of 1.00. [...]

At the end of each semester, students are required to take a proctored, online semester exam. [...] Students may use their textbooks, online and printed course materials, and notes during the exam, but may not use the Internet or previously saved electronic files. If applicable, students may access eBooks within their courses. [...] 

Semester exams are graded on a pass/fail basis and the semester exam scores are not factored into the individual course percentages or letter grades. The student must pass each section of the semester exam, earning no less than the applicable passing score of 70 percent for undergraduate semester exams to continue in the program. Students who fail the first attempt will be given one retake opportunity for each section in order to obtain the passing score. Students who fail a semester exam on their second attempt will be placed on academic review. Certain factors will be considered in determining whether the student will be permitted to remain in the program or be permanently dismissed. These factors include, but are not limited to, the student’s grade point average for the semester, the number of semesters completed, and the scores earned on the first and second attempts. [...]

The semester exam consists of five sections that cover the five courses taken in a particular semester; each section consists of ten (10) multiple-choice questions. Students are given three (3) hours to complete the semester exam.

Ashworth has a $1199 Undergraduate Certificate in Business Management (NA)

5 courses required (C01 + 4 electives) 15 credits.

Required course
C01 - Introduction to Business

Course electives
A01 - Introduction to Accounting 
C06 - Business Ethics 
C09 - Principles of Finance 
C13 - Microeconomics 
C15 - Principles of Management 
C16 - Principles of Marketing 
M03 - Organizational Behavior

75% (3) of the courses can be transferred in from Sophia.

This may be one of the fastest and cheapest college credential someone can earn and the two NA courses you take at Ashworth should transfer to Excelsior.