Have you actually taken classes at a traditional state school online to compare? Or are you just talking out of your ass about something you know nothing about?. The quality of a school's online program depends on the quality of that degree program in general. I did UMass and it was fantastic. And tech wise, WGU uses blackboard like every other school. And it's not that hard to make a curriculum for a specific online program when there are many examples to follow. It's not like WGU is so much more advanced. If they were, they would use Moodle, for instance, if you even know what that is.
If the quality of WGU's education so good... why is it not even ranked? The reality is, since it is a no-ranking school, and adjuncts usually only make about $20 an hour, the quality of the professors is very inconsistent at best. State universities usually pay professors pretty decently and the online profs get the same salary as the in person ones generally. So you attract better professors. At UMass for example, many of the online professors also teach a few on-campus classes. SO you aren't getting some random sketchy professor who doesn't respond to emails.
nobody in IT gives two shits about where your degree is from.
Yes and no. Maybe they don't care about the exact ranking. They they do group it into three tiers: the fake online schools like University of Phoenix, random unknown accredited universities, and the Ivy leagues. WGU is technically the middle tier, but it is dangerously close to the lowest tier, and many will group it in with UoP. I am arguing for cheap, random public schools, not even expensive, much better ranked private schools. As I said, Minot State University is a lot more legit than WGU, and is almost as cheap.
Also, IT managers might not care about the school, but there is the HR that a lot of companies use and select candidates before anyone technical gets to look at the resumes. College and school ranking is one of the easiest tools for them to go with, so they use it. Is it right to do? No. But it's how the fucking business world works.