What's the point of minimum residency requirements ?

Discussion in 'CLEP, DANTES, and Other Exams for Credit' started by mastergeek, Mar 18, 2014.

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  1. mastergeek

    mastergeek New Member

    Why do universities and colleges require that, despite credit transfers and exam challenges, a certain minimum (typically 50% or 25%) of credits must be earned through them before they award a degree or diploma ?

    Is it just for financial reasons (require students to pay tuition) ?
     
  2. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    Yes, I think it has to do with finance and credit requirement by accredited agencies. Thomas Edison State College used to require ZERO, but you have to pay about $2,500.00 before receiving the diploma.
     
  3. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Say you're an employer. Would you write a letter of recommendation and sign your name to it for someone you had never seen at work for one day, entirely on the basis of recommendations you'd read from their previous employers?

    "If we put our college name and sign our officers' names on a degree, we should have worked with the candidate directly for at least {one cumulative capstone course, a cornerstone plus a capstone, a quarter of the degree, or half the degree}:" these aren't unreasonable positions aside from tuition revenue.

    And remember that residency requirements for the grant of a degree are still there in situations where students generate no tuition revenue, or not much tuition revenue relative to expense – e.g. for service academies, tuition-free private colleges, waived tuition for groups like senior citizens or dual-enrolled high school students, California CCs at in-state rates, and recipients of large in-house scholarships anywhere.
     
  4. lawrenceq

    lawrenceq Member

    Imagine that: pay us tuition for 30 credit hours and we'll confer your degree if you meet the requirements.
     
  5. mastergeek

    mastergeek New Member

    This puts a considerable limitation for people seeking to earn a degree for stuff they already know. You can have knowledge for 100% of the program but you'd still need to restudy 50% or so
     
  6. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Every school that is accredited by SACS is required to have at least a 25% residency requirement. The Middle States Association, which accredits TESC and EC, does not have this requirement. I'm assuming the New England Association doesn't have this requirement either since it accredits COSC.

    I think this is a quality control issue. All of the Big 3 now require that you at least take a capstone with them for most of the degree programs. Just think that they could possibly be putting their names on diplomas for people who are poorly educated. I'm not a fan of the capstones, but I guess they are a necessary evil when you don't have a real residency requirement.

    Yes, schools do need to bring in revenue in order to continue their operations. EC charges a higher enrollment fee for those who don't take at least 12 credits in residency. TESC has 3 tuition plans; the high enrollment fee is for those who plan to take little to no credits in residence. COSC requires that two courses be taken in residence for at least two semesters with semester fees regardless of how many credits you have to transfer in. They just can't hand out degrees for free or a couple of hundred dollars.

    Competency-based programs are made for people with prior knowledge. There is still residency, but you can progress more quickly based on your prior knowledge. The Big 3 are sometimes called "assessment colleges" because they accept an unlimited number of CBEs (credit by exam). They also give credits for PLAs, some certifications/licenses, and ACE/NCCRS-evaluated training.
     
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    For the most part, schools want you to earn their degree, not someone else's, if they're to award their degree. While there are three "clearing house" colleges (Excelsior, TESC, and COSC), it's never become a trend. All three were established 40 or so years ago, and there's never been a fourth.
     
  8. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I forgot to mention Athabasca University which accepts 100% transfer credits for their 90-credit bachelor's in general studies, but they don't accept CBEs.
     

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