Thomas Edison State- Questions/ Problems

I applied to TESC on Tuesday, out of the big three aggragator schools this seems to be the one with the curriculum I like the best next to Excelsior. Only thing I prefer to have STATE in the title of the school. It sounds more authentic.....

ANYWAY I have some questions I will cut n paste an email I sent TESC that they wont respond to. Can anyone else help with any?

Hello, I plan on applying to TESC this week but have a few ?'s before I send in my transcripts. (sorry to be so wordy)

I earned 92 credits at a community college and 12 at Penn State University, I am aware that only 80 credits from the community college would apply to my degree. HOWEVER :

For credit banking would I still be able to list all of them?

Also since there will be 12 credits at least that they WONT accept from the 2 year college can I choose which ones will be discarded??? I have several D's from that school and some are in courses I would like to put in my concentration. I know I can't use D's in the concentration. I'd like to take those courses over or take a standardized exam to aim for a better grade so I can put it in my concentration. Can that be done? (Or if I have duplicated credit can I choose to only have the more useful one used?)

Would it be better to take the necessary courses and exams first and THEN apply to TESC? (after studying the degree requirements for TESC online)

My concentration will be Social Science/History and hope to at least combine Psychology, Sociology and History. Are there any guidelines for that degree more specific then in the online handbook or can any courses in those subjects be chosen as long as they fit the listed guidelines? Are there any essays required to articulate my choice of courses? (like Charter Oak required for example?)

THANK YOU and I apologize for so many legnthy ?'s. IF any can be answered Id appreciate it.

 

I more thing

For the Social Science/History concentration, the requirements are very vague:

I know you pick at least 3 subjects within the discipline- You need 33 credits and 27 need to be 200 level or above (most colleges say 300)

Thats as much detail as they give- WITHIN those guidelines, can you do anything you want? Do some credits have to be either 300 or 400. I have at least 90 credits already and want to finish with standardized tests.

Do you need to have a concentration approved with an essay saying how the courses make sense like Charter Oak????? I dont want any surprises to burst my bubble like happened with Charter Oak.

 

Has anybody else on here looked into ANY of the area concentrations (Social Science-History/ Humanities, Natural Sciences/Math, or Liberal Studies) from TESC???

 

Hi!

I graduated from Thomas Edison State College with a Social/History degree in 2000, and I would be more than willing to talk about my experience and degree requirements with you. Feel free to email me at [email protected].

Take care!

Lilith

 

My response... 5 business days later...

OK I FINALLY got a response, but they totally interpreted my ? wrong and didn't hear me out. I was NOT ASKING FOR PERSONAL ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT! If you read my ?'s carefully I was only asking them to clarify THEIR RULES AND GUIDELINES or DEGREE REQUIREMENTS. I think they assume everyone is trying to get free advice and respond to all long ?'s the same way w/o reading them!

Thank you for your interest in Thomas Edison State College.

Thomas Edison State College's Credit Banking program is a service available to students who wish to document college-level work documented elsewhere into a Thomas Edison State College transcript. It is not a service which will transfer credits into a Thomas Edison State College degree program.

Thomas Edison State College will require that you are an enrolled student prior to receiving an evaluation of previous achievements and prior to receiving academic advisement. It is not possible for us to determine which course will be accepted towards our degree program nor will it be possible to determine which courses you still need to take towards a degree program until you have enrolled and submitted your transcripts for evaluation.

At this point in the process you may find it most beneficial to speak directly with an Admissions Counselor for guidance. You may do so by calling our office toll-free at 1-888-442-8372.

In the interim, we will be happy to send you information that will assist you with getting started. If you are interested in receiving this information please provide your full name and mailing address.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Hutchinson

 

Military option the cheapest alternative...

For TESC, there is a cheaper way to get full advisement privileges and an official review of your credits.

They have a military enrollment option (called the Military Degree Completion Program). Excelsior already has one and from what I understand, COSC just recently started one as well.

For TESC, the option is appx $300 and keeps you enrolled and you must complete 6 semester hours at the school for an AA, 12 hours for a BA. I believe you can "test out" (TECEP) of these requirements.

Of course you must either be in the military (any branch, active, reserve, retired, veteran), or a qualifying dependent.

This is the best option even if you have no intention on completing the residency. You can always switch back later (i.e. after you've completed all your degree requirements).

With Excelsior, I used the military enrollment option for the AAS, and paid the regular enrollment fees for the BS. I could have switched over for the AAS (had the degree requirements already finished). But I wanted to save the money and let the Navy pay for it (tuition assistance). So my AAS fees were $75 military enrollment, $75 to graduate, + 6 semester hours taken at excelsior (covered by the tuition assitance) I took 2 "guided learning courses" which were nothing more that excelsior college exams on a different color answer sheet. Those grades were transcripted as a course vs credit by examination. Could have did the bachelors the same way, but didn't want to wait. So I paid the full BS fees ($800+ to enroll, $500 to graduate)

Remember, the schools want their money one way or another. It's essentially an effective way to attract military (gov't) funds.

Hope this information helps.

 

Re: Military option the cheapest alternative...

No, "Testing Out" does not meet requirement for Military Program at TESC.

You have to take classes such as online courses, or ePack courses.

Or you can pay $1,200.00 for one year enrollment; this option does not require taking class at TESC...however T.A does not cover for this fee.... YOu have to pay from you pocket/account.

 

I'd double check with admissions...

I was told by the test admin office that the per semester hour rates for the TECEP are actually different for the military program enrollees (it's higher) and are used for credit towards the residency. But on the flip side, only 12 credits have to be taken for the BA (6 for AA). The best thing to do is double-check with an admissions counselor (preferribly one in the military programs).

I don't think their prospecus covers the Military Degree Completion Program in detail, but according to http://www.tesc.edu/prospective/military/credit.php and what the test admin office told me, YES you can use TECEPS (not clep, dsst, etc) towards the residency. Cleps, dssts, etc can be applied towards normal degree requirements.

Perhaps you heard or know of something different.

The best thing to do is double-check with an admissions counselor (preferribly one in the military programs). Make sure you ask the person if they are sure. I hate when they have a new-hire that doesn't know and instead of asking someone who does know, just gives you an answer to not look stupid. That happened at excelsior a few times. But Excelsior college is A LOT better at outlining exactly what you can use to fulfill degree requirements in their catalogs. Whatever wasn't included in their catalogs I got reliable answers from their academic advisors via e-mail.

PS: Tekman, do you really have a Ph.D in Assassination?

 

Josh,

I talked to the adminission counselor of TESC about that options. And I am currently working on Associate degree in Applied Science in Computer Studies @ TESC, and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science @ Troy University. I joined Marine Corps in July 2002; just straight from High School....did not have any experience about college. So, sometimes it is hard to me to deal with some subject that I have difficulty to understand.

No, I don't have Ph.D degree in Assassination. I just put down for fun... Well, everybody can figure it out....Marine Corps Institute does not offer any degree...

GOOD LUCK with your Master Degree.