I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than $5000 (2020)

Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by sandworm101 on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @01:01PM (#31182622)

A headline stating that a 4-year degree can be earned in 3-months? That alone is a huge red flag suggesting a degree mill. Lack of national accreditation is red flag #2. I don't mean to say that this is a degree mill, but the nature of the article does raise reasonable suspicions. Alumni are rightly critical of such articles that make their school sound like something it probably is not.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by suresk on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @01:08PM (#31182730)

The speed at which you can get a degree can look like a red flag, but you are mistaken about the accreditation. Regional accreditation is actually what you want, not national. Most universities you think of are regionally accredited, whereas the for-profit ones that you can't transfer credit from are nationally accredited. Ie, Stanford = regionally accredited, DeVry = nationally acccredited.

WGU is accredited by NWCCU, which is the same as the University of Utah, University of Washington, etc.. See: https://nwccu.org/member-institutions/directory/

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by sandworm101 on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @03:05PM (#31184367)

Thanks. My knowledge of accreditation is mostly from law schools, for which national v. regional is a huge deal.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by bdavis__ on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @11:02PM (#31188311)

How about the gold standard for engineering and computer science(s), a program accredited by ABET?

Is WGU?

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by suresk on Thursday April 28, 2022 @01:14AM (#31188981)

It is not, but I didn't think ABET accreditation was a big thing for CS and was more common in engineering? CMU and Stanford, for example, do not have ABET-accredited CS programs, although MIT does.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by bdavis__ on Thursday April 28, 2022 @06:26AM (#31190828)

A lot of CS programs are ABET accredited.

CMU and Stanford don't need anyone or any organization to tell the world they do a good job educating CS students. Not so clear if the CS dept is at the Small Town Liberal Arts College and Seminary.

But the other 4,999 schools CS programs, like the one being discussed at WGU, the source of the accreditation is a valuable signal.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by kingaillas on Thursday April 28, 2022 @12:09AM (#31188627)

At the bottom, the article says they are not ABET accredited.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by AviationAtom on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @01:04PM (#31182668)

Read about national accreditation elsewhere in the comments. It is not what you think. Regional accreditation is more desirable.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by skeeter2020 on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @01:48PM (#31183346)

Only in the USA. The word "University" means absolutely nothing there.

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by SamBam on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @02:01PM (#31183519)

Yes, well the school in question is in the USA, so the specifics of USA's accreditation system are clearly what's relevant...

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Re:I got a computer science degree in 3 months for less than... by dragonwriter on Wednesday April 27, 2022 @04:43PM (#31185533)

> Lack of national accreditation is red flag #2.

No, having national accreditation would be a red flag.

Regional is the gold standard. (Yes, the names make it sound backwards; it is what it is.)

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