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.

I Think I'll Squeeze One In --- C175 PASSED!

Before finishing English Comp, I was feeling pretty confident.  I decided to take a look at my next class, C175 Data Management Foundations.  I activated the course, without pulling it into my term, and glanced through the material.  It sure seemed like a course I could complete in short order.

I pulled the course into my second term and I was right.  I spent about 4 days going through the course material, practice test, quizzes and flash cards.  I finished on 6/13.  It felt good to wipe a class out of the way so quickly.  Three cheers for competency based education!  I suspect this is the last course of my college career that will be so easy.

BS DMDA Progress After Second Term

Not to lose my momentum, I activated my next course C170 Data Management Applications - it's a basic vendor neutral SQL course.  I'm thinking this one will go fairly quick as well.  I won't pull it into my second term, I'll save it for a quick success at the beginning of next semester.

In other good news, I was awarded a scholarship at work.  Each year they give out 1 $1000 scholarship for an employee pursuing coursework in IT or business.  Yay me!!!

All in all, I'd say this was a successful semester and a successful end to my first full year with WGU.  2 terms down, 4 to go.  Now that the IT basics are out of the way, it's time for the fun to begin.  My third term will be mostly programming basics, fourth will be SQL heavy, and the last 2 will be all data analytics related.  It's getting exciting!

C455 English Composition and Task Stream

C455, English Composition I, was my first experience with PAs (Performance Assessments) using WGU's Task Stream.  Task Stream is the system by which a student uploads papers and presentations to a queue to be graded.  It's a simple browse to select your file or drag and drop, you can leave a kind note for the reviewer, and hit submit.  If a paper, it gives you an "originality score", which is structured backwards in my opinion.  My papers have all received an originality score of 0%, which means they are completely original.  Logically, I would think they would be 100%.  Oddly, the score directly equates to what percentage of your paper is unoriginal.

Once submitted, it's a waiting game.  Your submission status starts out as "submitted", then moves to "in queue" quite quickly.  They have 72 hours to complete the grading of your submission.  The next status is "In Evaluation", followed by "Evaluation Done".  If you've signed up for them, the system will give you an automated message on the student portal, text message and email once your evaluation is complete.  Within 72 hours you'll know if you passed or if your item was kicked back to you for revision.  I've not needed revisions to work yet, but as I understand, they will let you know what you are lacking.  I'll likely need revisions to something at some point in the next 2 years.  It's not a big deal, make your changes, review with a course instructor or writing lab, and resubmit.

I hate writing for the sake of writing.  I like writing when I'm actually learning something or have something to say (clearly, LOL).  Across my entire college career this is my 4th attempt at this class.  Not because I'm not capable, but because life always got in my way.  I hate English Comp 101, it is my collegiate nemesis.

For C455, for IT majors, I strongly recommend attending the corresponding cohort (live interactive webinar) for IT majors.  The instructor breaks down exactly what is needed and in what format for each of the 4 papers including how many paragraphs and how many sentences in each paragraph, how to structure your thesis statements and paper formatting.  I used the APA guide included in the course material to confirm my reference page citations.  I also used the formatting video provided in the course to be sure my papers were formatted correctly, title page, headers, indents, etc.  Aside from these formatting checks, I did not use the course material at all.

If you're unsure about anything, the course instructors are wonderful.  Set up an appointment with one of them or shoot them an email.  They are happy to review your thesis, and even glance at your paper to help with proper citations and general flow.  I had one formal meeting with my course instructor, I put my paper in Google Docs, and shared it to her, we reviewed it live together.  I received 2 impromptu follow up calls from course instructors offering to be of assistance.  If you need in depth tutoring, the writing lab team is supposed to be extremely helpful as well.

As of the publishing date/time of this post, I have completed the first 2 tasks and submitted a third which is currently "in queue".  I am working on the fourth and final task for the course at the moment.  Wish me luck!