Competency-based education puts working IT professionals in the driver’s seat of their education.
One of the things that makes WGU a different kind of university is competency-based learning. Competency-based degree programs allow you to speed up your progress—no waiting for other class members, no waiting for a new semester to start.
Already familiar with a subject? Review the material, take the assessment, and move on. Taking a course in a subject that’s new for you? Maximize all available resources and ensure you’re comfortable with the material when you take the assessment.
“The competency model made all the difference. The fact that I could go in and prove what areas I have mastery in by taking the pretests. Going in, taking the pretests, finding which areas I was knowledgeable in, finding which areas I needed to work on, drilling down to those areas, really focusing on them and then taking the preassessment test. It was the absolute modus operandi for how I went through the program.”
Bill Burn,
BS Information Technology
Designed for working professionals.
At WGU, you’re not committed to attend class at a set time, complete homework on a professor’s schedule, or log “attendance” hours. You’ll earn your degree by proving what you know. Whether you’re a quick-study, have extra time to dedicate to your program, or can draw on your years of data experience, you can put these advantages to good use: graduating faster.
When you’re comfortable with a course’s material, you’ll prove your competency through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments, earning respected credentials designed to prepare you prepare for increased success and career advancement.
Efficient
Save time and money by focusing your efforts where they matter the most.
Because all of WGU’s M.S. Data Analytics courses are online with no set meeting times, you can study whenever and wherever works best for you. Early in the morning, on weekends, or even at your child’s soccer practice. Earning a degree will take hard work, but you can fit your study around your existing commitments, not the other way around.
Flexible
Learn on your own terms.
Some people do their best studying in the early mornings, before going in to work; others are most energized when they come home in the evenings. Sometimes work gets crazy; and sometimes, it gets really crazy—deadlines loom, you hit the busy season, and then you enjoy the relative quiet of “down time.” While you will be required to maintain a base level of consistent progress through your program, WGU is designed to empower you to maximize your personal schedule by allowing you to build a study plan that fits into your life—not one that requires you to rearrange it.
Results
Know you’re learning real-world skills.
You will frequently find that what you learn in your courses can be directly applied to what you are doing at work, which can improve your effectiveness as well as expand your education.
Finish courses by proving what you know, when you’re ready.
With competency-based education at WGU, success is measured by actual learning, not class time. You advance by demonstrating that you've mastered the course subject matter—whether you learned it through your study at WGU or picked up that knowledge through years of work experience.
Your progress through a course is driven by you.
How quickly you learn
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The time you devote to studying
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How much previous knowledge you bring
Your experience pays at WGU.
Why start from square one when you could already be well on your way to a degree?
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