Most people who dislike WGU either 1) have no actual experience with it 2) don't understand the model 3) overestimate the quality of brick and mortar schools in comparison 4) all of the above in some combination.

The reality is it's a regionally accredited school with verifiable metrics and for any industry level certifications they are conducted 3rd party. The classes with associated industry certifications require that cert's passing to pass the course (e.g., to pass the Network Security course, you have to pass CCNA Security; to pass Operating Systems, you have to pass Linux+, etc.) -- this is actually useful since it applies industry recognized certifications as a metric vs merely showing up and getting a C in a class.

Here's the list of schools accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities:
http://www.nwccu.org/member-institutions/directory/

Some notable ones include Boise State University, Brigham Young University, "-Idaho, Gonzaga University, etc. I doubt your friend would poo-poo those, but they are held to the same standard of accreditation as WGU. The only difference is one isn't wasting money on stupid college "experiences", subsidizing liberal arts professors' studies on the "Feminist Poetic Modalities of the New Zealand Stock Exchange As Understood Through Maori Social Media Trends", etc. Nor is one wasting time listening to the driveling bullshit that comes out of 18 year olds' mouths, fighting for parking, and working off of some arbitrary class schedule. You're just in it to win it. You aren't held back or pushed forward beyond need, within reason. Understand VLANs in 15 minutes? Good. On to something else.

It's not for everyone though. But, having completed an Associates at a brick and mortar, and having several co-workers who also have brick and mortar experience along with WGU, WGU is a good alternative for a serious student who is non-traditional (read: you didn't graduate high school last week and know a bit about the world).

For the non-CompSci IT track, you have to meet the following requirements:

Option 1: Possess an associate’s degree in information technology or equivalent (A.S. or A.A.S. acceptable).
Option 2: Possess a high-level IT certification in network, security, programming, data management, operating systems, or hardware management earned within the last five years.
Option 3: Provide your r?sum? showing three-plus years of IT work experience.
Option 4: Show completion of high-level IT coursework within the last five years:
Two or more upper-level networking courses; OR
Two or more upper-level object-oriented programming courses (Java, C#, etc.); OR
One or more upper-level operating systems courses; OR
One or more upper-level information security and assurance courses.
https://www.wgu.edu/admissions/it-re...ubscriberModal

If you don't meet any of those, I'd recommend going after something like Network+ in order to show competence w/ a certification to be accepted. While it's fairly low level, it should meet the requirement. I don't recommend A+ as it's so broad and shallow. Net+ will be a good foundation for going either on the network or cyber track.

The reality of WGU is it's on you to demonstrate competency. If it takes you 4 traditional years, or 6 months (full time students and guys with 10+ years experience just getting a degree to check an HR block seem to be the two types who do this), you still have to demonstrate the same proficiency.