TESC or Charter Oak?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Traci, Feb 3, 2001.

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  1. Traci

    Traci New Member

    I love the new Board!
    Well, because of the name change, I have to rule Regents out.
    I've noticed that Charter Oak is a lot more responsive to my inquires than TESC. I am stuck between these schools because TESC is better known and they accept a lot more Dantes test that COSC. But, whenever I call Charter Oak, they are more that willing to speak to me at length about any questions.
    Has anyone had similar experiences? Which school did you choose? I am currently doing my DANTES and CLEP testing and looking to get my AA from one of these schools.
    Thanks :)
    Traci
     
  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Traci wrote, in part, <<Well, because of the name change, I have to rule Regents out. >>

    Interesting. I hope you will write and tell them of your decision.

    I'm not the one to comment on Charter Oak versus TESC; I hear almost nothing but good things about both. What's the opposite of "a rock and a hard place"? You're between a pillow and a soft place.

    And we will all light a candle for the wish that whichever school you choose does not accept a huge donation from the Snoodlephart family, in exchange for naming privileges.

    John Bear
     
  3. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    I did my own BA from Regents (of the University of the State of New York) in 1996, and can sympathize 100% when it comes to the name change. I'm only thankful that my diploma does not mention Regents or Excelsior College, but rather the University of the State of New York, which I now list on my resume as the degree-granting entity (though the longer version includes a ", Regents College Program (now Excelsior College").

    If I were going for a degree and didn't particularly care about the major, I would lean towards Charter Oak as well. I've heard they're awfully friendly and eager to help. They also run a few hundred dollars cheaper.

    Edison is probably a better bet if you have a specific major in mind; e.g., you can get a B.A. in humanities at TESC but it would be a B.A. in general studies with emphasis in humanities at COSC.

    Excelsior is still competitive in technology and nursing fields, but I wouldn't really recommend it anymore as a liberal arts college since there are so many other options available, most of them state-run (and given the choice between an obscure private institution and an obscure state-run institution, I'll go with the obscure state-run institution any time).

    So you're definitely on the right track. You might also look into the University of Nebraska at Omaha (http://www.unomaha.edu), which now offers a Bachelor of General Studies through a model similar to Charter Oak's.

    Good luck!


    Peace,

    Tom
     
  4. Lawrie Miller

    Lawrie Miller New Member

    Yes, many other may follow you elsewhere.

    Yes, I too found COSC warm and fuzzy: folksy. TESC was quite responsive, I thought but had a kind of DMV attitude. Would want to mess with some of those women on the other end of the phone.

    I chose the University of the State of New York, because it was a university and because of the easy access to materials (catalogs, students handbook, examination requirements and detailed score requirements etc.), and the relatively low cost of completing the degree.

    In addition to previous suggestions, you may want to look at the BOG. I think it a great deal. The offering (BOG) from Governor's State University is particularly good. No entrance fee as I remember, federal loans available (I'm pretty sure), and very flexible. Can use exam-based credit but the university is not known as an assessment institution. Oh, and it's a university. Note that this school has nothing to do with Western Governors University.

    You might want to look at the rest of the schools offering the BOG degree. (The Board of Governors degree is a BA offered by Illinois institutions)


    Lawrie BS USNY, BS Regents
     
  5. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Hi Traci,

    I don't think you can go wrong with either TESC or Charter Oak, I've heard nothing but good things about both.

    Also, I can sympathize with you about the name change with Regents. The school where I'll most likely pursue my Ph.D. had a perfectly fine name to start with (The Graduate School of America), and then they went and changed it to Capella University. Whenever I hear "Capella", I get visions of a bunch of guys drinking wine and harmonizing over a burning trash can.

    However, that's small potatoes compared with the University of Sarasota's brilliant plan to change to Argosy University. Now *that's* a really bad name. I remember that HG regular Dennis Huber (who is working on a DBA through Sarasota) actually mentioned legal action if the name change went through. And with a name like Argosy, I really can't blame him.

    Bruce Tait
     
  6. Traci

    Traci New Member

    Thanks for the input and suggestions!
    I'm a little confused.
    Lawrie, you have a BS degree from USNY and Regents; from reading Toms post I thought Regents=USNY. IS USNY a separate school? Also, another thing I didn't know about was the name on the Diploma from Regents, do they still say University of the State of NY? If so, would I be able to put that on a resume instead of Excelsior?
    FYI - I plan on eventually getting a BA in Psycology/Sociology
    And yes, I did send Regents an email on how I felt about the name change...
    Haven't heard back ;-)
    Thanks again-
    Traci
     
  7. Dan Snelson

    Dan Snelson New Member

    Hi Traci,

    There are several reasons I chose Charter Oak State College. First, they actually do the Portfolio assessments for Excelsior College, The Regents name change, they are slightly less expensive than TESC and they have had the most helpful staff on the phone of the three schools.
    The down side for Charter Oak would be none of their degrees have majors, they have areas of concentration. Another plus for COSC is their ‘special assessment’; this is a method of gaining credit similar to portfolio for specific certifications or licenses. My certifications are in Prosthetics and Orthotics.

    For others out there, I transferred in 87 semester credits from 1969-1974. The staff has been extremely helpful, both before and after I signed on the dotted line. [​IMG]
    Currently I am finishing my first week in their on-line class Eng 301 power writing, so far so good.


    Good luck,

    Dan
     
  8. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Whoops -- I think I may have worded things a little poorly before. Here's the timeline:

    1971 --> 1997: Degree is awarded by the University of the State of New York through the Regents College program. The phrase "Regents College" appears nowhere on my 1996 diploma. In 1997, the Regents College program "buys its freedom" and goes private, without really giving its alumni much in the way of a warning. I remember it didn't sit real well with me at the time.

    1997 --> December 14, 2000: Degree is awarded by Regents College, now privately owned. Part of the privatization deal was that Regents would have to change its name, so...

    December 15, 2000 --> ?: Degrees are awarded by Excelsior College.

    So the BS (USNY)/BS (Regents) means that Lawrie earned a bachelor's from pre-privatization Regents and post-privatization Regents. Not a bad achievement.

    I consider it morally acceptable to describe a pre-1997 bachelor's as a BS (Regents) because the phrase "Regents College" appears on the transcript and because this has been the common practice for as long as I can remember, but Rich Douglas, Lawrie Miller, and I all agree that the USNY name certainly sounds nicer.


    Peace,

    Tom
     
  9. Lawrie Miller

    Lawrie Miller New Member

    Hi Traci,

    As Tom has explained in part, Regents separated from USNY and became a distinct autonomous entity on 9th April 1998. The last USNY degrees were conferred on April 24th 1998. Thereafter, until Jan 2001, all degrees were conferred by Regents College. Degrees are now conferred by Excelsior College. The original plan was for Regents to separate on Jan 1st 1998, but that transition was held up for "legal reasons".

    Clearly, degrees conferred by USNY were not conferred by Regents College, since, at the time, Regents had no authority to confer degrees (stating the obvious). It is therefore inaccurate to say that a degree conferred by USNY is a Regents College degree. It is held by some (and not least by me) that to characterize a USNY degree as a Regents College degree is a sin endangering the immortal soul of the of the offending heretic.

    Yes, that would be nice. The original USNY diploma does not mention Regents College at all (and it's a very nice diploma, Traci). The diploma conferred by Regents Collge does mention USNY ("by virtue of the authority vested in them by the Regents of the University of the State of New York") and it is likely the Excelsior diploma will be similarly styled (the Regents diploma looks rather cheesy, by the way). However, I don't think that would provide enough justification to say you graduated from USNY, in fact, I'm sure it wouldn't. Now is all this concern about the name justified? Yes, I think it is. I wrote a well regarded essay on this subject titled "The College Name Game" (well regarded by my mother and by me - but my mother is now dead) that can be found in the Deja News archives of AED.

    No surprise. I sent William Stewart several email expressing concern at the time of the proposed change from USNY to Regents. Never heard a word back from him. What galled me was his frequent solicitations in AED, that if anyone had any concerns about the separation they should not hesitate to email him and he would give them his immediate attention.

    Whatever your final choice, best of luck, Traci.
     
  10. Roger Habeck

    Roger Habeck New Member

    Traci-
    I have no experience with TESC except that when I was looking I found them unhospitable. I chose Charter Oak because of their helpfulness. I tested out my entire degree with CLEPS, Dantes, 1 GRE and 1 COSC. I could not have had a better experience. For example, after I had completed my requirement for graduation, an important family celebration came up. I called COSC and spoke the President, she had my diploma in my hands within 72 hours without any extra charge. That's my idea of real service.
    Roger
     
  11. Dan Snelson

    Dan Snelson New Member

    Roger,

    Could you tell me when you completed your degree? I thought that tehy only issued the actual degree once a year (like in May). I am looking at completing just after the May date and REALLLLLLLLY don't want to wait a year for the piece of paper. [​IMG]

    Dan
     
  12. Roger Habeck

    Roger Habeck New Member

    If memory serves, I completed everything in October and after all the paper shuffling was done, had "graduated" in December. I got my Diploma in late January so I would have it for my folks 57th Anniversary.
     
  13. Sonya

    Sonya New Member

    I attended TESC for one year. It had been my intention to enroll there a few years ago when I started college, but at the last minute I decided on Chemeketa Community College in Oregon to get my general ed done for less money.

    I had a number of problems with TESC, most of which rested on the fact that one department rarely knows what another department is doing. I think I spent more time tracking down answers to questions than I did doing actual schoolwork with them.

    I had problems coordinating with my proctor. I had problems with registration. I had problems with book orders. I had problems with tutition being applied where it was supposed to be. I had problems with instructors being non-responsive. And on and on.

    I'm usually hesitant to post my experience with TESC because it seems to be so different from other people who post on a.e.d. (and here now). I think the price was good (I did the comprehensive plan, but I had to fight hard to get it applied because they changed the rules on me after I had made my payment, but before I had started classes), but I wasn't thrilled with the quality of the classes or some of the instructors I had.

    I've taken a year and a half off and I'd love to finish my degree. I need degree specific upper level credits for a BS/CIS degree, but I haven't found a place yet where I feel comfortable completing my degree. Maybe I'm a little gunshy at this point.

    I think that if you feel that Charter Oak is responsive and helpful to you, you should go that route. IMX, if you need responsive and helpful, TESC isn't the best choice. If you want a place to test out of classes quickly and for a low price, TESC might work for you.

    BTW - I've had a discussion with someone not on aed or this board that went the TESC route and they loved their experience. The biggest difference I noted was that they were 10 minutes away from campus and didn't bother with phone calls, etc. They just went there. I'm in California and the time difference (especially because my proctor only tested after 2pm my time, 2x a week) only added to the confusion and complications.

    Good luck!

    Sonya
     
  14. Traci

    Traci New Member

    Thanks, I really appreciate your honesty. Being also from California, I am worried about some of the exact things you went through (like transcript info getting mixed up or people not knowing what is going on) and not being able to drive down and figure out what was going on,
    COSC is sounding better and better!

    Thank you all!
    Esp. Lawrie M, for inspiring me to finally get of my butt and start testing!
    Traci
     
  15. Roger Habeck

    Roger Habeck New Member

    A Late further note. The Charter Oak Diploma is pretty nice. It comes in a nice padded blue leatherette cover embossed with the Connecticut state seal and the words State of Connecticut in gold. The diploma itself is displayed under a clear plastic shield inside with the signatures from the President of the College and the Chair of the state board for academic awards again with the state seal and the diploma is headed with State of Connecticut. It is very classy indeed.
     
  16. blahetka

    blahetka New Member

    It could be worse- It could be Argosy.
     
  17. Lawrie Miller

    Lawrie Miller New Member

    Simply irresistible.
    You should be writing ad copy for Cosmo, Roger. Could you bring me two of the above please. Don't bother to wrap, I'll wear 'em.
     
  18. JRP

    JRP New Member

    TESC awards degrees six times a year. They mail you your diploma. There is a commencement ceremony in Trenton, NJ once a year in October.

     
  19. Roger Habeck

    Roger Habeck New Member

  20. Roger Habeck

    Roger Habeck New Member

    Lawrie-
    They are coming right up. Delivery is in ten months and the price is only $2695.00 and 29 examinations each. They have a lifetime guarentee and all your friends and neighbors will want one.
     

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