Quote:
Originally Posted by jaynarie
I am going to go back to school to get a second Bachelor's degree in accounting. I have been researching schools, and I would like opinions of WGU and NAU.
About me: I currently teach but I am becoming burned out. I am in my early 30s, so I want to do something now. I have a BS in Elementary Education with a concentration in mathematics. I want to become a CPA.
I'm drawn to these schools because of time. I want to switch as soon as possible. Online learning is nothing new to me. A lot of my continuing ed credits for education have been completed online. I've even taken online classes in this style- at your pace, no instructor.
My questions:
Which is better? Is there really a difference?
Were you able to find a job? Is a degree from either looked down upon? (From what I've researched about WGU, I don't think so, but I'd like to hear from someone directly.)
Has anyone completed the B.S. Accounting program? At WGU, it is only 120 credits. I know I'd have to go further to be a CPA. Was this an issue for anyone?
Will I be able to get out of some of the core classes? I know some colleges won't accept credits from another school if you received a degree. I'd rather skip past the prerequisites if possible.
I appreciate any help given  |
NAU is a traditional, public school. It's not a well-known or highly-ranked school, but it shouldn't appear questionable to anyone. WGU is completely online. While it doesn't have a bad reputation per se, some employers have a bias against online schools.
First, you should review your state's requirements for becoming a CPA. My state might be an outlier, but it requires at least 15 accounting credits to be taken butt-in-seat. I don't see that NAU has an online accounting degree or a business administration degree with a concentration in accounting. You would have to earn most of your accounting credits in a graduate program, probably.
WGU will accept transfer credits, but all of the transcripts have to be in a month before your start date. They also accept CLEP, DSST, and Straighterline courses. These are cheap options for earning mostly lower level, general education credits.
Other options would be Charter Oak State College, Thomas Edison State College, and Excelsior College. TESC and COSC are cheap if you are a resident of New Jersey and Connecticut, respectively. TESC's Comprehensive Tuition Plan has a competitive rate for out-of-state students. Excelsior is a private college and kind of expensive. However, you can save tens of thousands of dollars at these schools because they accept 114-120 transfer credits. I don't think COSC has an accounting program or concentration, but TESC and Excelsior do. Excelsior also has a 150-credit track CPA program.
Those three schools are extremely flexible in accepting credits earned by testing: AP, CLEP, DSST, Uexcel, and TECEP. They also accept credits earned through training or cousework that is ACE or NCCRS-approved for college credit: Straighterline, ALEKS, Saylor, Sophia, military training, Microsoft certifications, etc. If one were starting from scratch, one could use all alternative sources of credit and complete a business degree at TESC for between $3,000 and $5,000.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
