University of Wyoming

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Maniac Craniac, Aug 28, 2010.

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  1. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Well, I'm at it again. I am considering changing my path once more. Although my heart is set on double majoring in Psych and Soc, my brain tells me that those majors are so unspecialized that I might as well consider other options.

    The one that really stands out is University of Wyoming's Outreach Program. I could get two degrees for the same cost of one degree from Columbia College. UofWy also has a much more flexible acceptance policy for college-level exams (they accept a full 30 more of these types of credit per degree!), AND they offer a large array of self-paced courses, which, to me, are the distance course equivalents of gold nuggets! Needless to say, I sent them an email and am strongly considering changing my signature to say:

    Goal: BA in Social Sciences & BS in Business Administration - University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY)

    Anyway, I want to hear about some experiences that anyone may have had with them. Did you have an easy time transferring? Are the degree requirements as straight forward as the website makes them out to be? What's the technology like? What are the professors and customer service like?

    Any info would be appreciated.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 28, 2010
  2. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I see better job prospect with Soc.
    Actually MSW accredited by the examining board of Social Work that allows to become LCSW is more job secured rout.

    Then you still can continue to Psychology.
     
  3. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I see better job prospect with Soc.

    Actually BSW, MSW accredited by the examining board of Social Work that allows to become LCSW is more job secured rout.

    Then you still can continue to Psychology or Business.
    Double major is fine, you will be able to get in to program directing or case management.
     
  4. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    I have never taken classes at UWy, but I do know that its situation (the only state university in a large, sparsely populated state) made it necessary for UWy to be an early practitioner of distance learning, so there is a lot of experience there. I only know faculty in the Adult Education and Technology program and they are quite good.
     
  5. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I'm sure it’s a great school, but I have to ask, is it close to where you live? Can you find something like this closer to your home; I get the feeling that you would be type of person who would like to go to the campus and take a class or two (I might be wrong) or mingle with the ladies.
     
  6. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    PM Fortunato. He graduated from UoW.
     
  7. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    You read me well. Yes, I am a B&M student at heart who loves the classroom, classmates, teachers, there's even something about the hallways. I miss it. Anyway, my life will not allow that to happen. I have so much else that is so much more important to me that I wouldn't even consider B&M.

    Oh, and I don't need to go where the ladies are. They come to me ;)
     
  8. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    UofWy doesn't have any of those programs. This is my dilemma. Go for the degree I have my heart on, or the degree that UofWy offers, which is somewhat similar but not the same. In a practical sense, UofWy seems to win out because the two degrees would cost the same and take about as much time as just the one degree from Columbia.

    Also, I am already working in the field I plan on remaining with for life. If I could open more options, that would be a bonus, but I am not looking to secure any specific type of employment with the degree.
     
  9. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member


    I see zero job prospects with soc. As you can see, my first BS was in sociology. I never was able to get a job with that degree. Even if I live to be 90, I'll never forget one rejection letter I received. They were kind enough to let me know that I was one of 67 people to apply for one single position.
     
  10. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I would like to see schools do a better job of warning people of these types of situations. I know it's not their specific responsibility, but, since they are offering such degrees, it would seem that they could provide some sort of job availability info. It's primarily the responsibility of the student to research this, but many don't.
     
  11. jmmjr78

    jmmjr78 New Member

    well, I was told a long time ago to think long and hardabout what you plan on going to school for. you may really want to go for something that you really enjoy but if the job prospects for it are limited it really wouldn't help you except for the fact that you are bettering yourself for what you want. but ultimately, if it is not going to move you forward in your career, then it is a decision you would have to make. do it for career or self enrichment. for me if i went for what i enjoy i would be in culinary school. but instead i am in construction and trying to find ways to further myself for my family in the field i have chosen.
     
  12. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    It doesn't matter what I get my degree in. I am already qualified in my field, and having a degree to match my certification would be redundant. Even a general studies degree would do just fine, and the UofWy Social Science degree is basically general studies, but with a nicer sounding name. It really is up to me what I study, so I picked subjects that I am interested in. The thing is, the degree cost would be split in half if I chose another path. Since either degree works just fine for me in a practical sense, I would need to just forget about my double major and go for something else.
     
  13. lawrenceq

    lawrenceq Member

    Go with the University of Wyoming.
     
  14. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Employer: So, why did you chose University of Wyoming?
    Maniac Craniac: lawrenceq told me to.
     
  15. lawrenceq

    lawrenceq Member

    A raise is sure to follow.
     
  16. workingmom

    workingmom New Member

    I didn't go to WY but I dealt with them in the past and their customer service was top-notch. I actually wish I could have taken classes with them.

    Plus, they have a B&M grad program I am interested in, but alas, it looks like it's very hard to find a place to live in the area. So, I may never get to be a Cowgirl :)
     
  17. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    Maniac (or should that be Mister Craniac?),

    I graduated from the University of Wyoming's Outreach School with a BSBA in December 2004. The rules have changed a bit since I was there (so take my advice with a grain of salt!), but UW is an excellent place to study, and their distance offerings are second to none. The Outreach school offers classes via online instruction, correspondence, teleconference, and compressed video. If you're outside the state of Wyoming, as I was, you're pretty much limited to online and correspondence classes. My program (general business) was just short of 100% online. I took a health class via correspondence, and I did an independent study project that was technically classified as on-campus although I did all communicating with my supervisor via email and telephone.

    Unlike when I started, you must be admitted to the university in order to take classes at UW. Don't stress too much about getting accepted - if you aren't accepted directly into the program, you can reapply as a non-degree student, and take courses to build a good solid UW GPA before applying to the College of Business. I was admitted with conditions after completing 13 hours of A/B work as a non-admitted student, which is not an option they offer anymore, but being admitted as a non-degree student is roughly the same. Find out who your advisor will be and keep in touch with her (almost all the advisors are women) throughout the admissions process, and you should be fine.

    On a related note: If you choose to use CLEP/DSST exams, you will have to work very closely with your advisor to make sure credit is applied correctly, and the policies regarding credit for requirements versus actual credit hours can be a little bewildering until you've done a few. For example, I took the principles of accounting CLEP exam and was allowed to use it for my accounting requirement, but was not granted any actual credit hours, so I had to make up the hours with free elective credit (which I had plenty of to transfer in, being a failed engineering major). Wyoming doesn't limit the number of credits earned via testing, but they don't accept as many CLEP and DSST exams for credit as, say, the Big 3 would. In order to use some tests in my degree program, I had to appeal to the department head of the relevant department and get approval to use the test.

    Online classes and exams are administered via their eCollege platform and are generally not proctored (of course, you must acknowledge the University honor code), but correspondence exams require a proctor. This may have changed since 2004, obviously. UW is a great place to earn a BSBA, you'll definitely enjoy your time there. Let me know if I can help you in any way.

    Good luck!
     
  18. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Thank you very much. I am waiting for a return email from them. If they answer my questions in a way that satisfies me, they will be my new school.

    I did notice that their CLEP/DSST policy was nonstandard. Enrolling with them would cause me to lose 9 of my AP credits, yet gain a couple of CLEP credits and a few of my exams wouldn't apply to my degree in the way I expect they would. Not a big deal, if everything else about the schools pans out.

    Oh, do they accept ACE transcripts for transfer (I forgot to ask them in my email)? I wanted to do a course from ALEKS.
     
  19. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    I have no idea, but if you can make a good case for yourself, you have a good chance of being able to appeal to your advisor and the relevant department head. I was able to have a public speaking requirement waived by providing documentation from when I won a few Toastmasters speaking competitions and some experience I had as a lecturing TA during my first pass at undergrad. They waived the requirement, but didn't grant me any credit hours, which tends to be common in the appeal situation, at least as I experienced it. Since I had tons of unused elective credit, that worked out well for me.

    One last note about the BSBA program: it is designed for (but not restricted to) Wyoming community college graduates with an AA in a pre-business curriculum. That means that for the most part, only the last two years of the program are offered online. To be formally admitted to the BSBA and the College of Business, you will need "Advanced Business Standing", which includes satisfying a series of lower division introductory business classes. If you don't already have those classes, you can be admitted as a non-degree student, but be aware that UW enforces prerequisites very strictly due to their AACSB accreditation. Since most of the upper-level classes require classes in the advanced business standing sequence as prereqs, you will find it hard to make any progress until you have achieved advanced business standing. That being said, you should be able to fill in any gaps you have with either credit by exam or by transferring lower-division coursework in from another school. Before they retired the Principles of Accounting CLEP it was possible to use CLEPs and test out of "advanced business standing" entirely, now you will need to take at least one lower-division accounting class. It's not an extremely high hurdle, but I thought I'd make sure you knew it was there.
     
  20. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    If I enroll with them, I will be going for the Social Science degree first. I may later move on to the BSBA, depending on certain factors. My preliminary research suggests that what you say is correct, that all or nearly all of the prereqs can be completed by exam. I have some elective wiggle room, so I may actually fill those prereqs en route to finishing the Social Science degree.

    I'm starting to feel very strongly about UofWy. I will likely apply very quickly after I receive a response to my message to them..
     

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