Rumor of More Capstones at TESC

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by sanantone, Jan 5, 2013.

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  1. RBTullo

    RBTullo Member

    On the plus side, requiring capstone courses to complete a degree will solve the old GPA issue of TESC only listing your GPA for courses completed through them (it used to be possible to complete your degree entirely by transfering in course work, and your transcript would be issued without a GPA). With this new requirement everyone will now have a GPA on the transcript, even if it was only for one course.
     
  2. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Like I said, no one needs 3 months to write a paper or to complete a project. In my opinion, the capstone is a waste of $663. I don't see the value in the course. I'd rather spend money on a course that adds to my knowledge, not "culminate" it. I'm doing just fine in grad school without having done a capstone.
    This is easily solved by taking one of TESC's one-credit courses or any other course. If someone really wanted to have a GPA at TESC, then all they had to do was sign up for a course. I could think of more useful courses than a capstone. People obviously didn't think it was much of a problem to not have a GPA if they didn't even bother to sign up for a course. The option was always there.
     
  3. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    I've loved the 1 course = GPA concept, but let's remember that grad school adcoms are not idiots. No one is being fooled by a GPA composed of 1 course. Everyone assumes they'll score an A and graduate with a 4.0 (oooooo....ahhhhhhh) but I'd like to see you get into grad school if that one course turns out to be a C, and with the concept of a capstone being a cumulative --> essay writing class, I think they'll be plenty of C's handed out. Instructor interpretation is a land mine for heavy writing courses, especially if someone really ISN'T able to rise to the challenge after a year of multiple choice credit.

    If it were up to me, and it isn't, I'd require a flat residency number of credits that be met in-major.
     
  4. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I agree that graduate schools aren't stupid and that a GPA on one course won't do much. I had no GPA at TESC, but a lot of graded credits from other colleges. However, it should be up to the student whether or not they have enough graded credit to get into graduate school. Some might not even care.
     
  5. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    The student? Really? I've never bought the "student as customer" trend ever since that rolled out in the 90's, but that's probably not relevant.

    I'm not really going to debate, I took full advantage of their degree program while it was zero residency- ALTHOUGH, I did take classes with them for 4 full terms, all in my major. Honestly, I only did so because I figured out a way to pay for my entire education with cash and a Pell grant. Had that not been an option, and I'd have had to pay all with cash, I'd have skipped the classes and that's just the truth. It was totally a financial decision.

    In retrospect, however, I would do it exactly as I did it for the single argument of gaining writing experience. My argument was that "gaining writing experience" is an argument, but probably not the one that fuels TESC's motive or one that can be realized by 1 class.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 9, 2013
  6. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Adding more residency requirements would make the Big 3 more like other schools and less geared toward serving adult learners. There would be no reason to pick them over schools with more name recognition, especially if one could get a good deal on in-state tuition rates.
     
  7. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

  8. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I don't think it's an issue of extra work that so many are concerned about...it's the extra cost.
     
  9. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Yep, and it's for a course that wraps everything up. It's not meant to teach you anything new. It's also not all that useful for graduate school like a mini-thesis, especially since these are only associates degree programs.
     
  10. RugbyMan187

    RugbyMan187 New Member

    If accreditation played a role in this, I back TESC 100% for implementing capstones in the programs. Heck, add more capstones throughout all the programs. I'm a TESC alumni and I don't want to see 8+ years down the road that TESC is shut down because of accreditation problems. Yeah, I finished my bachelors with them with no residency requirement, but if I had to take a capstone I would of. EC and COSC students aren't complaining that much. At the end of the day, if done right, a student can graduate at one of the big three under $10,000 even with these capstones being thrown into the programs. Heck, I'd go to a cruise after that. Whose with me? :]
     
  11. IrishJohn

    IrishJohn New Member

    I too am a TESC alumni and wouldn't necessarily mind capstones for all of their bachelor's degrees (right now it's only required for their BA's). However, adding capstones to their Associate's degrees seem a bit silly to me and if that were my goal it would steer me to look for something else.
     
  12. pfelectronicstech

    pfelectronicstech New Member

    I doubt TESC, a state school is going to just shut down.
     
  13. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    It could be an accreditation issue, but now all of the Big 3 are terrible options for associates degrees. In most cases, I cannot recommend the Big 3 for those who just want an associates because

    1. There are a lot of cheap community colleges with online courses.
    2. Many community colleges have a 15 credit residency requirement that can be completed in one semester for less than one course at any of the Big 3.
    3. Believe it or not, there are many community colleges and even some public universities that give more credit for individual CLEPs/DSSTs. For example, many community colleges give lab credit for the science exams. I know of one college that gives 6 credits for the Financial Accounting CLEP.
    4. You'll end up with more graded credit without having to shell out thousands of dollars.
    5. Community colleges do not have high, annual enrollment or semester fees.


    Technically, almost all of TESC's bachelors degree programs have capstones. The BS in Homeland Security and the BS in Human Services have had capstones for as long as I knew about TESC. All of the BSAST programs require Current Trends and Applications. It's not called a capstone, but it is.
     

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