Thomas Edison State College used to offer only BA degrees in "Social Science" and such. My understanding from the TESC 2002-3 literature before me indicates that this has changed. TESC now offers BA "Majors" in a variety of different liberal arts disciplines! This is a welcome surprise. On page 40 of their "Undergraduate Prospectus," the BA options are both wider and simpler to understand than the Excelsior product. One can have a Liberal Studies degree without specialization, although with the usual depth requirements; an "Area Concentration," similar to a humanities "major" or natural sciences "major," or a social sciences "major;" or else one may pursue a traditional Major (degree concentration) in the usual disciplines. Unusual for their list of "approved Major Areas of Study" for the BA include: Music, Religion, Theater Arts, Anthropology, Environmental Studies--and even Computer Science! This development is welcome because it shows reponsiveness to public demands and needs, as evidenced by requests on the board within the past month-and-a-half, for example. It also positions TESC to be more competitive, whateve their other recent problems have been. These are fine complements for their already extensive list of BS specializations, collectivel amounting to "14 degrees in more than 100 Major areas of study!" (p. 28) Only one thing: is "education" excepted as a major--or did I miss it somewhere? --Orson
funny flow A number of colleges are economizing and cutting back on the number of majors. They cite the need for full-time faculty in that major as a large expense. I wonder how TESC meets accreditation standards? All the best!
Huh? TESC has offered these majors (both in broad area concentrations and as individual specializations) for many years; they are, by no means, new. (When I graduted in 1987, all of them were available at that time.)
irat TESC offers 100 majors by having others teach the courses, at no expense to themselves and no teaching faculty.
Mr. levicoff: .... Mr. levicoff-- My understanding (from reading Lawrie Miller and elsewhere), was that they only offered degrees in "humanities" or "natural sciences," etc., in their BA program--without listing a "Major" (degree concentration, in American parlance)--only a "concentration" was offered, not a designated "Major" subject, regardless of what one studied, regardless of the depth or distribution of the subject(s) one studied. So you're saying that neither was ever the case? That they have long offered the BA with Major (unlike Excelsior/Regents); and that this matter and confusion over it discussed in a different thread, "concentration versus major," never applied to TESC? Or does my confusion simply stem from that subtly semantic aspect of credentialization? Best to you! --Orson
OK--perhaps only the "over 100" majors boast is new! I just came across an old 2000 TESC Prospectus. It too has the same "majors." It seems only the "over 100" boast is new.... (let me say sheepishly). Yet I do notice that the new 2002-3 Prospectus has better photos and a superior layout... --Orson
My understanding is that TESC offers a Liberal Arts degree: BA with concentration in a variety of subjects. It does not offer a major in those subjects. In their online publications, TESC does not seem claim to offer "over 100 majors", but rather, "100 areas of study" (1). TESC literature would sometimes confusingly refer to a "major area of study" in these subjects, but the official TESC BA guide, "Liberal Arts Degree", and the 20012-2003 catalog, spells out the nature of the possible specializations on page 31 and page 36, respectively. (2) (3) They are: A. "Area of Concentration" B. "Area of Study" C. "Liberal Studies Area" Each of the choices includes 33 semester hours in one or more disciplines. The most concentrated option is B, where 33 hours are required in one subject. Of the three options, a BA degree student may choose, A or B or C. This organization in most material respects, mirrors that found in the COSC and Excelsior Liberal Arts bachelor degree programs. The main difference would be that COSC and Excelsior offer the choice of BA or BS, and TESC only offers a BA. It is true that COSC degrees are designated "General Studies", while those at Excelsior and TESC are identified as "Liberal Arts", and that all three offer different nomenclature to describe the same collection or concentration of credits, but it seems to me to be six of one and a half dozen of the other. You pays your money and you takes your choice. All may best be described as a BA with concentration. Of course, it would be possible to so organize the degree components to reflect those of a traditional major, but that holds for the lib arts programs at all three colleges. In Business, TESC offers a named major, BS in Business Administration with specialization. Excelsior offers business degrees with several different named majors: BS General in Business; BS in Finance; BS in Accounting; BS in Marketing; BS in Human Resource Management; BS in International Business; BS Management Information Systems; BS Operations Management. By "named major", I mean the degree diploma and transcript state, for example, "Bachelor of Science in Finance". A Concentration, or Area of Study, or Specialization, and on, would not appear on the diploma as (say), "Bachelor of Arts in History", but as "Bachelor of Arts" with notation in the transcript identifying the degree as a BA where the concentration, or area of study, or specialization, was in History. If in fact the TESC BA diploma and (more importantly) the transcript state (say), "BA in History", then that is a different matter. Where this may affect degree marginal utility* is in candidate selection for some position in (say) computing, where the degree prerequisite is commonly advertised as say, a BSCS. You may have a BA with concentration in Computer Science, but it is not a BSCS. Now, if you have so organized the components of your degree to reflect the work commonly comprising a BS with major in Computer Science, you have every right to argue the degree is equivalent. That would be if you get the chance to argue the case, and your resume does not find the round file (waste basket) on the first HR screening. Where your concentration falls well short of the work found in the average major in the particular subject, it may be difficult to get the prospective employer to see it your way, even if you do make interview. Of the three assessment institutions, only one offers a named major in computing. That is Excelsior College's BS in Computer Information Systems (note in passing, that a BSCIS is not the same animal as a BSCS, used in the preceding example). * The "marginal utility" of a diploma, refers to the *relative* positive effectiveness of a degree in helping getting you what you want, when all other factors are removed from the mix. Lawrie Miller BA in 4 Weeks http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks (1) TESC Catalog 2001-2003, Pages 3 and 9, http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/pdf/catalog.pdf (2) TESC Program Planning Handbook, Liberal Arts Degrees, Pages 29-39, http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/pdf/pphbookla.pdf (3) TESC Catalog 2001-2003, Pages 36-43, http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/pdf/catalog.pdf
I've found that many traditional schools use this same terminology when referring to the major associated with a BA degree. I.e. it is referred to and transcribed as an "area of concentration," but also referred to as a "major." I've also found that the BA with a CS major from TESC isn't substantially different from the BA with a CS major offered by at least several well recognized traditional universities. That is, it isn't as strong as a BS in CS, but it does not seem inaccurate or misleading to refer to it as a BA in CS, and it should meet any HR requirements for a "bachelor's degree in Computer Science." However, people who have a BS in CS would generally seem to have a stronger academic credential in computer science. TESC admistrators consistently refer to the "area of concentration" as a major. It seems to be a matter of opinion on this board, but I have absolutely no qualms with listing a "Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Computer Science and Psychology" on my resume. I have no fear that I am misleading anyone, and neither do I feel that there is any risk of an employer feeling that I have been dishonest. "Area of Concentration," "Field of Study," and "Major Area of Study" seem to be used interchangably, and claiming that there is any real difference between them seems to go beyond nitpicking. Obviously most BA programs in something like Computer Science are not as strong as most BS programs in the same field, but that does not mean that it shouldn't be considered a "major." Whether or not the major is named on the diploma does not seem relevant, since many schools do not print a major on either their BA or BS diplomas. For example, I can't see anyone claiming that a BS in CS from Purdue doesn't qualify you for a job requiring a "BSCS," or that you would somehow need to explain that it is equivalent, just because the major isn't listed on the diploma, but instead is listed as a "Field of Study" on the transcript. Lawrie and I debated this issue in more detail in the following thread: http://www.degreeinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3326&highlight=computer+science+major
But the issue is a TESC Liberal Arts BA degree with a Computer Science "area of study", not the content of a diploma from Purdue. As we have discussed, the problem is not what is written on the diploma or even on the transcript, but what that may say about the construction and content of the degree itself. What is meant by the term "major" and what reasonable assumptions do employers and other decision makers make about one's degree major in terms of depth and breadth in the specialization, given the use of the term? Is a BA with a 33 credit hour flexible "area of major study" in Computer Science the equivalent of a BSCS requiring at least 60 hours in the field with certain advanced math and other science requirements? Anyway, we have gone over this before, and must agree to disagree. .
Obviously not, but it doesn't seem to be much different than the BA in Computer Science, or with CS major, or CS concentration, or whatever, from at least several major traditional universities. I hold to my position that it's a difference between a BS and a BA, rather than a difference between a "major" and a "concentration." I agree, neither of us will probably ever convince the other, so there's no point in rehashing it. We do agree though that the TESC BA in CS (or whatever you prefer to call it ) is a relatively weak CS oriented degree, so I intend to supplement mine with an MS in CS from Capitol College. Capitol may not be a prestigious school either, but IMO an MSCS should still trump just about any BSCS, and I will have gotten my TESC BA degree and Capitol MS degree in just a few months longer than it would have taken me to complete a traditional BSCS.
