Comparing Aspen U & WGU

[MJB2010]

I am looking to go from an RN-MSN. I have a BS degree in another science. I am looking at WGU and Aspen U and trying to choose. Anyone have any input? Any pros and cons I may have overlooked? At WGU I would get a BSN along the way, at Aspen I would not. Both are CCNE accredited and both are affordable. WGU may be quicker. Wgu GPA is only a 3.0 so that may affect me later if I want to continue my education. WGU is also regionally accredited whereas Apsen U is not.

I am leaning towards WGU, but concerned about going back to school later on in life and needing a better GPA than the 3.0 they award.

[goingCOASTAL]

I am in the process of enrolling at WGU, which, if you read their story, will probably be the leader of the pack of online educators in the next 10-15 years because of their innovation in education technology, and because of their extraordinary value (it's now cheaper than many state-supported universities).

While WGU and Aspen share many of the same accreditations, Aspen is not, however ... and I repeat NOT ... regionally accredited, which is the gold standard for academic excellence. You will hear people "rag" on WGU for it's competency units (as opposed to GPA), but it is still regionally accredited. Without that accreditation, you will not be able to transfer any hours to another college, nor will a lower level degree be accepted for admission to another grad school. This is an absolute standard across the board at higher institutes for learning.

Aspen makes no mention of this in the website, so who knows if they're even pursuing it or not ... but, without this, your degree is just a piece of paper with ink on it to another university.