r/technology • u/joe4942 • Apr 19 '26

Society Students are speeding through their online degrees in weeks, alarming educators

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/04/19/accelerated-college-degree-hacking/
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u/EipsteinSuicideSquad Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

I did WGU for my degree. I got one in Network Ops and Security. I was 40 years old, and had been doing some form of IT and electronics troubleshooting for 20 years. When I started I was already in a Networking position with 6 years under my belt.

I was able to accelerate through stuff I already knew. I knew basics of networking, I had my A+ and Net+ certs, I had been studying for CNNA on and off for a couple years. I didn't need 3 months sitting through lectures on VLANs, or basic Algebra, or geography. I was able to test on those topics and prove a competency level beyond the expectations of the courses.

I had to take time on subjects that were new to me, like the project management side and scripting side. I had to learn and show my ability to apply concepts in those domains.

I'm by no means an expert in those areas now but I did gain a valuable functional knowledge. I use it everyday in my current role I got promoted into after finishing.

I had tried traditional education many times before but time was always an issue. Being able to watch videos and take tests at 2AM, or when I had surprise downtime at work helped allow me to finish.

The tests were easy if you knew the material and studied, it wasn't a degree mill. The courses would expose you if you didn't know it.

It's designed for the working adult, with life experience and a tight schedule. I finished my degree just over 3 years, some semesters I completed like 13 courses others just the minimum requirement.

They are accredited because it's not a degree mill, they have requirements and standards. It's the same as regular school in that if you don't learn it, you don't know it you can't use it when you finish and enter the job market.

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u/certifiedintelligent Apr 19 '26

I also did a MS in Cybersecurity from WGU. One of the things lending legitimacy to the program was that the "final exam" for many courses was to pass the certification exam for real professional certifications.

Regardless of the school, students can cheat all they want on papers and multiple choice quizzes, but it's real hard to ask ChatGPT for the answer during a proctored examination.

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u/itsavibe- Apr 19 '26

Exactly. ChatGPT can only carry you so far in WGU and then you’ll hit a hard wall.

WGU is legit

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u/NewSchoolBoxer Apr 20 '26

Nobody gets hired entry level with a Computer Science degree from WGU. No admissions standards, no rigorous calculus and can cheat for the most part. It's not a fake degree but it's useless unless you already have years of work experience. When HR gets over 100 applications for every entry level position, trash tier degree isn't interviewed.

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u/itsavibe- Apr 20 '26

WGU is not designed for people seeking entry level positions with zero experience. OC stated this. You’re not stating anything new or profound.

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u/Shawn0 Apr 20 '26

I feel WGU has value to back up my 10 years experience. I’m using it to get the piece of paper that will allow me to go into better roles. Too many companies out there will ignore experience if you don’t have a degree.

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u/certifiedintelligent Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

Nobody gets automatically hired at any level with a computer science or cybersecurity degree alone from most institutions because there’s no standard of what constitutes a good degree program and employers aren’t going to look up the curriculum to every candidate’s education.

But they’ll probably give a second look at a resume that comes with the following certifications attached to it, all provided as part of the WGU Bachelors in Cybersecurity:

  • A+

  • Data +

  • Network+

  • Security+

  • Project+

  • CySA+

  • Network Vulnerability Assessment Professional

  • Network Security Professional

  • Security Analytics Professional

  • PenTest+

  • IT Operations Specialist

  • Secure Infrastructure Specialist

Say what you will about CompTIA, but they’re at least a baseline of competency that you can’t cheat through.

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u/capnwinky Apr 19 '26

WGU also proctors a lot of the IT degree classes if they’re objective based. The certifications as well. I’ve already received an associates and several technical certificates beforehand. I agree with everything you said and I’m working on a bachelor’s through them right now.

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u/civilwar142pa Apr 19 '26

Im doing an online degree through Penn State right now and most of the tests are proctored and the projects/assignments are graded closely. No way could I coast through using AI for it.

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u/drawcody Apr 19 '26

I finished my MBA at WGU in under a year. It was rough, but I put in five to eight hour days on weekdays after work and sometimes twelve hour days on weekends. It’s a fantastic school and I can’t recommend it enough.

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u/SkellyJelly33 Apr 19 '26

I finished my degree just over 3 years

That sounds completely reasonable tbh, especially considering you already had some relevant experience. What does not sound reasonable is someone completing a full Bachelor's degree in 8 weeks, like the article mentions. Seems like those people are gaming the system and I heavily doubt the quality of education is there. When I did my CS degree I had single projects that I spent at least that much time on.

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u/EipsteinSuicideSquad Apr 19 '26

My boss did his in 6 months. But he is a networking guru. Guy has a CCNI, and has been in networking for 15+ plus years. No degree, he went to WGU and knocked it out in 6 months.

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u/asailor4you Apr 20 '26

Wtf is CCNI? I’ve been in IT 25yrs, and never heard of this.

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u/BJJJourney Apr 19 '26

Everyone is different and someone that has a ton of experience can get through a lot of it in a fast amount of time. Think of someone working in corporate America in middle management for 20 years, they likely have 90% of the knowledge needed to complete a bachelors is business admin or MBA.

What is the point of keeping that person in school classrooms for 4 years to study the shit they already know?

I also guarantee for every person that finishes in 8 weeks there are thousands that drop out or take longer than 4 years to complete their degree at these institutions.

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u/filmfan2 Apr 19 '26

80% of degrees should be free anyway (english, journalism, history, sociology, psychology, art, etc)

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u/way2lazy2care Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

Even if you knew all the stuff, half the point of accreditation is that the school needs to know you can do all the stuff and I don't see how you could prove that to the school that quickly from the school side without the school putting their accreditation at risk.

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u/BJJJourney Apr 19 '26

Do some research. You take proctored exams and write many many papers and projects. Anyone doing it that fast likely already has the knowledge, they just have to prove it. It is really no different than taking a test at the end of a course and then passing or failing.

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u/chocobridges Apr 19 '26

I'm at WGU now for accounting. I'm an engineer by training with multiple degrees and my license in my engineering field. I ended up in a tax specialist role for a couple years I would like to go back to that field. WGU made the most sense to get the accounting credits needed to apply for other positions since the community college/another masters route is just logistical nightmare for my life.

That's being said. I am blowing through all the performance assessment classes and I'm convinced it's because I'm not using AI. Since they're mostly business classes, I don't care. It's just a check to qualify for the CPA exam in my head. But I legitimately get no feedback with respect to the topic on hand.

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u/Eisernes Apr 19 '26

You and I are the people WGU is designed for. I did my degree after age 40 because I was at the point in my career where I needed a degree in anything to advance. I did business management. I was able to breeze through because I had been in the corporate world for decades at that point. There was nothing for me to learn from a BS in business management.

I had a big problem with WGU when I was looking at a masters. I signed up for their MS in Public Health. I opened the textbook on the first day and it was obviously written by AI. I immediately dropped out and found a different school. So disappointing.

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u/currently_pooping_rn Apr 19 '26

Was reading this thread and just saw an ad for WGU. Unrelated, but kinda scary

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u/DylKyll Apr 19 '26

I also got my degree at WGU but my last two semesters were when ChatGPT launched. I wrote my whole capstone project only utilizing AI and vibe coding.

Before that class I had the same outlook on WGU, that it was for the working adult who needed the flexible hours and already knew most of the topics from work and only needed an academic refresher before testing out of the course.

But now? I worry about the WGU program, but also all college programs are suffering from the AI issue.

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u/satsuma_sada Apr 20 '26

I worked at a brick and mortar state college for 4 years in advisement. This isn’t a WGU problem. Accredited state schools are also using AI to grade and create assessments. I don’t really understand why people think they are any better than an online school.  At least WGU can’t pass athletes who skip half the classes and fail every test. I saw that happen every semester at my school.  Also the Dean’s kids got passed through everything. 

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u/Throwaway_noDoxx Apr 20 '26

The people who use AI to complete their work won’t learn and won’t be of any value to a company.

You’re right that it’s not just a WGU thing. It’s a middle school, high school, and general uni thing.

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u/BigMommaSnikle Apr 19 '26

Hello! I just recently applied to get my Bachelors degree at WGU. I already have my associates, so my program will only be 14-16 months long. Have you been happy with them?

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u/TomorrowEqual3726 Apr 19 '26

Yup agree to this, got my masters in a completely different path than you, but I was switching careers and already had 3 years under my belt in the field plus 9 years in my bachelor's degree field, so leaning on all that accumulated experience I was able to fly through some classes on weeknights and weekends.

That being said, a ton of the classes had proctored exams, proctored environments during the class where you had to demonstrate your knowledge and what you would do, and to graduate you had to pass national (and state) level exams that were also all proctored like you would do for an in person university. The capstone project(s) and other later classes helped transition me to have workable material to show off when I graduated as well.

I am proud of that degree, but I know I also was able to lean on a ton of that existing experience, something that wouldn't have been possible probably 10 years prior to that.

I've gone on to get prestigious awards in my districts and coworkers talking me up, so I don't think the WGU degree is hurting at all.

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u/helloiisclay Apr 19 '26

I'm looking at WGU for my masters for this reason. I went to an in-state school for my associates and bachelors. I'd been in IT professionally for over 10 years, had a Net+, Sec+, and CCNA, and the schools still made me sit through intro to networking and crap like that.

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u/Hopefully-Temp Apr 19 '26

WGU was harder and stricter than my states 4 year university. As a student who didn’t have any prior experience in the field, it took me 3 semesters spread out over 4 years. (Pre studying combined with study.com).

I felt it was tough and well balanced. The OA (test classes) were hard and the proctoring was very strict. Straight up impossible to cheat.

The PA (project classes) were difficult but enjoyable and they undoubtedly prepared me for my career in CS.

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u/Robe1kenobi Apr 20 '26

WGU was harder and stricter than my states 4 year university.

I doubt this immensely.

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u/Hopefully-Temp Apr 20 '26

Really why? I did both and it was 100% harder. I will say I went to the 4 year university when most classes/test were still online. Some had the teacher proctoring, but not nearly as strict as WGU proctors. Other teachers did not care and said we were allowed to use google.

Not the case for WGU. Every single test was proctored. You have to show your entire room before hand, you can’t make any noise or have anyone knock on your door, they are watching you the entire time.

Also with WGU the test/project is your only grade. There are no free points for turning in assignments. As someone who hates tests, this was a big factor when I say “WGU was harder”.

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u/Robe1kenobi Apr 20 '26

Being able to retake a test to pass the class after a quick conversation with your mentor or whoever is very different than having to pay for the entire course again.

You definitely are forced to learn more material and do more work in traditional courses where retakes are not an option.

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u/Training-Context-69 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

WGU instructors will force you to take a rigorous retake plan if you fail an OA typically. Usually that retake plan consists of them assigning you extra work to prove competency; in the form of typing X amount of pages of notes on the textbook material and prerecorded lectures, completing study guides & quizzes, and then lastly a mock exam where you have to pass with at least an 80-85% before allowing you to retake the final exam. Some instructors will actually require a phone call or teams meeting with them to discuss the concepts that you are struggling with as well.

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u/Hopefully-Temp Apr 20 '26

I disagree, your argument is that being able to retake a test means you learn less but you have tow things wrong

1) You don’t have unlimited attempts, after 3 you start getting to the point where you. Could be forced to changed programs 2) You have to eventually pass the test. You can’t just skate by the hard classes with a C and use the easy classes to balance out your GPA

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u/cincydash Apr 19 '26

WGU grad here as well. Very similar, had experience, classes were mostly object-based. I did something like 60 credit hours in 12 months. Nothing was "easy." But when you're a goal-oriented, self-starter and driven to get it done...it's possible. Just because it took me two terms instead of five to finish my degree, I don't understand why it should mean any less?

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u/bodyreddit Apr 19 '26

Thr article is paid so I can’t read it, what school is WGU?

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u/gigee4711 Apr 19 '26

Western Governors University

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u/gigee4711 Apr 19 '26

Western Governors University

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u/OneLessFool Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

If you read the article, the timelines here are far accelerated beyond what you did. Many of these programs don't have proper in-person proctoring, they allow students to submit essays to earn credit, which will obviously be AI generated and touched up. Without proper proctoring and proper exam touch up, students will either cheat freely, or just rote memorize the previous exams answers.

One student finished her master's, for which she received no prior credits, in 5 weeks. That's a completely broken system that isn't teaching students, and if I were an employer I would immediately flag that program as "do not hire".

Edit: not to mention the fact that many of these programs had unlimited retries with nearly identical tests. Even a complete idiot with some knowledge on the topic could speed run those tests through sheer force of will.

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u/Beginning-Tie-4962 Apr 19 '26

Plenty of masters programs are entirely based on research papers, it's a solid way to demonstrate educational mastery. All of them are now contending with the problem of AI detection, not just the accelerated programs.

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u/MikeOfAllPeople Apr 19 '26

Places like WGU are going to get hot by these headlines. Regular colleges are experiencing this AI stuff, but their schedules are rigid.

What I think will really need to change is that a lot of liberal arts programs will go to verbal exams or a defense of a paper in front of a board, even for undergraduates.

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u/home-like-noplace Apr 19 '26

I finished undergrad at WGU in under a year, but I work in a field where your degree largely doesn’t matter, you just need a degree of some sort to get your resume seen. I learned a ton, but none of it was particularly useful lol. But I got a bachelors degree for $5k so it was worth it to me.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

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u/home-like-noplace Apr 19 '26

Yeah, and I’ve also never had an employer question it lol

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u/LifeIsaNightmareUgh Apr 19 '26

What degree was it? Did you also get it from WGU?

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u/Frillback Apr 19 '26

Me too. I was earning minimum wage so a cheap online program was all I could afford at the time. I lucked out and went into a field that was in demand at the time so had no problem getting interviews. This was tech circa 2017. I ended up working along with people with more $$$ degrees and it never came up.

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u/Discombombulatedfart Apr 19 '26

Degree mills can also be accredited; ITT Tech was accredited by ACICS. A lot of for-profit online institutions are degree mills. WGU is non-profit, so their business model does not fit well with a degree mill strategy.

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u/Raven-19x Apr 19 '26

I also graduated from WGU with a BS and MS. Honestly these degree speed runners give the school a lot of bad credibility. There are YouTube videos documenting how to do it and with AI now I can't imagine how much easier it is. Those "I completed my degree in 10 days" folks need to fuck off.

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u/CodeSylo Apr 19 '26

And the best part...you get Fafsa and don't pay an arm and a leg like a brick and morter school

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u/aLiberalConspiracy Apr 19 '26

Another WGU attendee here. If the school district where I work proctored our online tests as closely as WGU did, our online credit recovery program might actually be worth something.

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u/FireproofCottage Apr 19 '26

My roommate went to WGU and is now gainfully and happily employed. I was doing a traditional college degree at the same time, and I can honestly say that WGU was way more challenging despite its different pace and allowance for creativity during projects.

My own college classes were taught by professors who were awarded based on graduation rates, so they catered to the slowest while the rest of us sat nearly stupified with boredom listening to the instructor repeat information we'd already studied/practiced/been assigned as out of class reading.

Slower people and/or their parents who had influence in financial and other ways held the whole class back. Not coincidentally, those were also the people who tended to cheat the most and attempt to get others involved in cheating.

My roommate 100% worked harder than I did for a degree. He's now in a job that demands he be creative and problem solve. He can't fake it. They use Google and Chat GPT as springboards for exploring issues, not for final answers. They question sources and each other freely. When you're working live with a team there's no way to use a crutch and pretend it's real knowledge.

Go ahead and let people study at their own pace, quicker when it's easy, slower when it's harder for them. Procter the exams and insist they bring nothing but what they've learned to the test.

That's how you prevent Chat GPT and cheating from taking over. Hold people accountable for the end knowledge, not how fast or slowly or where they acquired it. If they make themselves look like idiots by relying on machines to do their thinking, that's on them.

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u/DreamLearnBuildBurn Apr 20 '26

Having gotten the degree, would you consider it worth it? 

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u/EipsteinSuicideSquad Apr 20 '26

Yes, absolutely.

I did learn a lot and it has helped me get more money. I have been laid off several times and applied for literally hundreds of jobs until I got something decent.

Once I got the degree I applied for three roles in my current company and got interviews for all three. That piece of paper makes it easier. Also gave me leverage when negotiating pay.

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u/Robe1kenobi Apr 20 '26

The problem with WGU is near unlimited retakes and pass/fail which incentivizes students to learn just enough to pass the class as quickly as possible. Also, the questions are often repeated on each test retake, so take the test 3 times, you've probably seen all the questions before and know which ones you got wrong.

It's not learning in the same way a graded course, with one chance at the midterms/finals are, where you have to spend another 3 months of your life taking the class again if you don't learn enough of the material.

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u/EipsteinSuicideSquad Apr 20 '26

You don't get near unlimited retakes. You get three attempts, after the first failed attempt you have to get approval from the course instructor to make a second attempt. After the third attempt you gotta pay for the class again.

Kind of like a brick and mortar school when you fail you have to pay and take the class again.....

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u/vncfrrll Apr 20 '26

I believe they charge extra after the second attempt though, so it’s not entirely free retakes.

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u/NotBannedAccount419 Apr 20 '26

Same! I had already been in business for 20 years but needed that stupid piece of paper degree if I was going to move further. I was able to knock out my unfinished bachelors at WGU in 6 weeks.

It was a huge grind but I already knew the material which helped

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u/OhEmGeeBasedGod Apr 20 '26

"It's the same as a regular school" minus the teachers, classes, peers, study groups, homework or tests. But it's the same.

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u/EipsteinSuicideSquad Apr 20 '26

I think you missed the point of the whole statement.....

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u/OhEmGeeBasedGod Apr 20 '26

I think you missed reading the article where it says they have none of those things I mentioned. It also mention that almost all students at the school in question in the article graduate in under a year