My Program Got an Update? Now What? Third Term Planning with Changes

Nothing is certain in life except change (and death and taxes).  I knew going in to WGU that programs were occasionally updated.  Being a computer major, I recognize and appreciate the importance of keeping my coursework in line with current trends and technologies.

I remembered reading in my original degree program plan two important tidbits about program changes.  1) You don't have to change your program to the newest version and 2) Changes won't increase the amount of time it takes to complete your degree, aka no additional credits.

So, what changed?

General Education courses:

• Intermediate Algebra (3) + College Algebra (4) => Applied Algebra (3) = -4 cu
• Integrated Physical Sciences (3) => Integrated Physical Sciences (3) + Natural Science Lab (2) = +2 cu
• Survey of US Constitution and Govt => American Politics and the US Constitution = 0 cu Δ
• Intro to Probability and Statistics => Applied Probability and Statistics = 0 cu Δ

Computer courses:

• Data Structures => Data Structures and Algorithms I = 0 cu Δ
• Ethics in Technology -- new course = +3 cu (waived due to meeting double math requirement already) -- this was where "won't increase completion time" came into play

My total credits did not change and my time to complete my program did not change.

That was the first hurdle.  The second was, turning on the new degree plan wiped out my degree plan.  All the courses I had meticulously thought through and put in the order I wanted and even set dates for, gone.  Thankfully I had saved screenshots last week.  I spent this evening rebuilding my degree plan.

In addition to my program requirements changing, WGU changed their policies a bit starting July 1, 2019.  Here's the summation to the best of my understanding:

1. Weekly meetings with student/program mentors is no longer required - If you want a standing meeting great.  If you want occasional meetings as needs arise, great
2. The change made in December where you can't have more than 14 days of inactivity is still in effect
3. Students no longer need a course mentor to turn on a pre-assessment or get approval for a first attempt at a PA/OA -- this will speed things up, especially for students that keep odd hours
4. Courses cannot be activated outside of your current enrollment - you can look at the overviews, but cannot activate to read course material or take pre-assessments unless you enroll in the course in your current term.  Some are worried this will slow down their "acceleration" through their program.  At this point, this does not worry me, I think my acceleration window has passed, my remaining courses will take what they take time-wise.  We'll see if it impacts me later.
5. If you do pull in a course but are unable to finish, you are allowed to take a 30 day incomplete, and finish it at the beginning of your next term.  This is meant to help accelerators with the above mentioned issue.  I don't intend to use this "safety net" as I'm not sure what my employer would do with my tuition reimbursement if an "I" showed on my transcript.

So, here I am, starting my third term with WGU.  I'm excited about my upcoming classes and cautiously optimistic about the changes to everything.