New Charter Oak Requirments

Am I mistaken or has Charter Oak added both an oral speech requirement and an information literacy requirement for which there are no available tests?

 

According to their website, it looks like the new requirements apply to those to matriculate after July 1, 2005. DANTES does have a speech test, Principles of Public Speaking. I wonder if they will accept this test to fulfill that requirement. I checked their page for what areas certain tests will fulfil and it looks as if it hasn't been updated since 2002.

 

Re: New Charter Oak Requirements

When I read this I dashed off a note to Lori Pendleton, director of admissions at COSC, this is what she said in response:

"Thanks for catching this. We do have two new general education requirements. Oral Communication can be met by the DANTES exam “Principles of Public Speaking”. ( Our current website is in err and I have alerted the appropriate folks). The information literacy requirement can be met by taking our 1 credit on-line, computer literacy course – or by taking any other online course that requires the retrieval of internet based material. It can not be met through examinations. The point is that any graduate of a post-secondary institution should be computer literate. A student may demonstrate computer literacy without taking a course. If they have this competency because of work/life experience, they could apply for a waiver."

 

The public speaking DANTES is listed in the catalog as fulfilling the speech requirment. On the website it just says N/A. Thanks for the info on the information literacy requirment. It looks like they are copying Excelsior.

 

You're welcome! I think Lori said that she notified the applicable folks about the omission on the website. I prefer to think that COSC and Excelsior are trying to adhere to the same dynamic standards and evolving best practices for distance learning rather than copying each other.

 

John,

you should ask Lori if discovering the omission on their website shows competentcy in retrieval of internet based material

you're doing a better job than their own development and QA team

 

Maybe a test for the production of internet based material would be in order.

Do you think the discovery of the missing information is enough to qualify me to skip the requirement?

 

Ha! It sure couldn't hurt to ask I guess. Good luck!

 

Hi James,

You have a point. I know that COSC works with a pretty small amount of resources dedicated to the website. All of their courses are done through the online teaching arm, The CTDLC. That is where the rubber really hits the Internet road for them and they do a really admirable job. When I was a student there I was Always impressed with the customer that they provided. Out of curiosity how are Thomas Edison's and Excelsior's sites? It looks as though Excelsior might be the slickest looking. Is it pretty timely?

 

I HATE excelsior's site. You have to register for a free ID to view their catalog and test outlines.

Nothing is laid out correctly. By that I mean, I am registered as a Liberal Arts students studying for a BS in Psychology. I have paid tuition and everything.

When I log in, their should be a link to all their psychology exams and the psychology requirements displayed. They know it's me. Display the stuff I'm most likely logging in to see. But I have to go searching for them. And they are not always that easy to find. A link leads to a link leads to a link and FINALLY you find stuff.

The ONLY thing I like about their site is the course request form. I click Search Courses. Then it shows me all the requirements I need to fulfill and radio buttons nect to them.
For instance 6 credits in General Education with a radio button next to it. 3 credits of Social Psychology with a radio button next to it.

So I click a radio button and it shows me all the courses and exams Excelsior knows about that will fill that requirement. Problem is that is shows me courses/exams I've already taken as well as ones I haven't.

Excelsior isn't very quick or informative. I got a regular land mailing a couple of months ago from Excelsior saying that they were going to offer new exams this fall and even more new exams next year. But there is NOTHING on their web site about these exams.
Why can't they announce that? It's been two months and they still haven't put the info on their web site.

 

Does anyone know the cost of the COSC online Information Literacy course and if it's offered to outside students?

(This is practically all I have left to complete my AS at Excelsior's but am still resisting to spend the 250 dollarsssssss on Excelsior's course offering to fulfill this requirement)

?

 

A number of years ago Excelsior had a great list of DL courses offered by schools all over the country. Do they still make that available to their students?

 

This is from the COSC Bulletin : "All online courses that require the use of the internet to do research papers or projects meet the Information Literacy (y) requirement.
All video-based and correspondence courses with an online component also meet this requirement (y). " Also, COSC courses are usually in the range of about $160 a credit so I assume a one credit course would be around that much.

 

Re: Re: New Charter Oak Requirements

Information Literacy...the new academic "Band Wagon".

 

John DeCarlo
--A number of years ago Excelsior had a great list of DL courses offered by schools all over the country. Do they still make that available to their students?--


They still have their DistanceLearn database. It used to be free for everyone, student or not, as a distinct search tool. I may be wrong, but know I think you have to be a student.

You click on their CourseSearch button and it shows you what requirements you have left to fulfill your degree, something like this

General Education (Arts & Sciences Requirement)
* 9.00 semester hours at the lower level
* 18.00 semester hours at the upper level

Written English Requirement
* 3.00 semester hours in Written English

Then you click on one of the * (really a radio button) and it searches the DistanceLearn database for courses that meet you search request


The bad thing is that it lists courses/exams I've already taken. If I select

Psychology
*12.00 semester hours at the upper level

it lists Exceslsior Exam Abnormal Psychology, which I've already taken and of course they already know I've taken it.

 

Thanks James

 

Thanks, I'll check this. Maybe there's extra fees for foreign students and that. If it were only 160$ with no more costs in books I would definitively be interested. I'll let you know.

 

So does COSC actually offer a course of their own in INFORMATION LITERACY, or did I misundestand and they just want that requirement to be fulfilled, which can be done so with other type of courses?

 

Hi Will Makeit:

I believe COSC does offer their owen Info. Lit. class. E-mail them, I think it is hard to find on their website.

Take care,


Abner

 

Thanks Abner, I called them because I'm starting to be in a hurry now...

So here's the scoop:

COSC INFORMATION LITERACY COURSE
-------------------------------------------------
There is a web link with all the information here:
http://www.ctdlc.org/courseoffer/detail.cfm?cid=4937&sr=1
(includes cost, syllabus, etc.)

Basically, according to what they have just told me by phone:

-Credits: 1

-Cost:
$160
+$ 67 out of state students
+$ 30
--------
$257 no more costs as there are no books.
BUT, if you need to have a transcript to another college, like is my case, there will be a small fee (don't know how much exactly).

-TIME to COMPLETE: A few hours, IF you are good at using computers, longer if you're not. You can register directly online with a credit card and proceed immediately.



Considering that I am enrolled at Excelsior and they have a course for $250 total, I think that EXC wins here because it's also a quick completion course.

So, still looking for something cheaper, but doubt I'll find it.
Meantime started the last (my ninth) essay for my Colorado State English composition course. So have:
3 essays approved
4 sent but no news on whether approved yet
1 almost finished and about to send
1 just started

All that separates me from my AS are those essays and that Inf Lit course.