Tesc(Thomas Edison) Lied To Me, My Degree Audit Was A Mistake!!!

LJ

You said you studied the threads here on TESC right? It has been in several threads about TESC's customer service issues. If you want I can provide you multiple links. I merely asked a question when you started down this trail. I don't think you are feeling my antagonism but, hey, I could be wrong.

 

As I read this thread, I find it hard to imagine that the folks at TESC are as bad to work with as those complaining about them here allege.

For what it's worth, I applied to TESC on 5/1/1985. I enrolled on 5/7/1985 with a whopping six credits under my belt, finished my work exactly 18 months later and, at the conclusion of the administrative process, graduated on 3/1/1987.

During my time at TESC, I had one program advisor except for a 3-month period when he had to fill in for another advisor in the business department. I never had a problem with my advisor (who, incidentally, went on to become an undergraduate dean at Union), nor with the advisor who temporarily filled in for him during the staffing substitutions.

I also had two portfolio advisors - one who left to teach at new York University, and his successor. I got to know both of them, as I spoke with them regularly by phone and dropped off my two sets of portfolio submissions in person. I had one advisor in the testing & assessment department throughout my program, and found her to be very accommodating to my needs.

In short, every time I see these gripes, I wonder what people are griping about -- they don't jive with my experience. And, for what it's worth, I've found (as a teacher) that when students kvetch about their programs, advisors, etc., it's usually because the student isn't doing his or her job.

I have always maintained that students who maintain in-person touch with their advisors make out far better than students who maintain contact solely by e-mail or phone. It's one way of guaranteeing that when you do call your advisor, he or she has a face to identify with. If this didn't work for LJinPA, there's something wrong with the picture, and I can only wonder if he or she (since we've never established LJ's gender) whined as much in person as on this forum.

By the way, Merry Christmas, LJinPA. I trust that God will be far more patient with your incessant and continuing whining than I have been.

 

Seasons Greetings

Merry X'mas LJinPA. Mine is a sunny one with the X'mas carols blarring from the corridor speakers of my apartment. Get some mince pies and make a wish.

 

Re: Advisor's "Concern" Not Relevant

Cogent

I agree totally that advising is completely seperate from determining if standards have been met. If standards have been met and LJ wants to graduate despite GPA or other issues, he should be entitled to. I also agree totally that the advisor should be the student's advocate.

 

I've made this mistake before,
but I'm no longer going to make this mistake on this thread:
With careful feeding, a troll will grow big and strong.

This person asked for help, got it, and is now running amok.

I'd rather watch it snow. Basta.

Omul amarnic, omul nãuc.

 

I cannot speak to JLinPA's experience, but my experience has been awful. Not the coursework or the instructor but the bursar, the financial aid office and testing services. The bursar consistantly misbills me for tuition financial aid said was approved and supposidly "covered" but was not. Testing services can't decided whether they will or will not approve a proctor. I get a letter stating its approved and then another stating its not. When I call, they show no record of each! Even though I HAVE the letters.

These problems persist despite phone calls. One hand knows not what the other hand does and I am caught in the middle. And when I submitted my requests for corrections to the appeals committee, they was quickly and swiftly overridden with zero input from me. I guess whence there is money involved, they care not about the students that they are screwing...afterall...I cannot get a transcript release unless I comply.

 

Hi Beachhoppr:
Thank you for the intelligent complaint about TESC.
I hope it moves this thread from a primal scream therapy session
to a reasoned discussion of what is right or wrong with TESC.
Regards,
Janko

 

Actually, when asking about TECEP, the one advisor just told me I'm better off with DANTES because theyre more "user friendly".

The reasons I chose TESC:

I applied to ALL three and got evaluations from 2 - TESC I just studied the curriculum, TESC was the most linient with degree requirements - ESP compared to Charter Oak, and had what wanted for concentration. In THEORY they were up my alley.

If COSC's customer service is better MAYBE it's cause it has the smallest enrollment (1000-2000) as opposed to TESC's 10,000 and Excelsior's 27,000.

I wanted a degree with STATE in the schools name. It would sound more authentic than "Excelsior College". Something about the name "Excelsior" for a school sounds wierd- makes me think of the Paula Jones scandal.

This may sound silly BUT also being that both CT and NJ are supposed to be among the most educated, affluent, progressive states I would expect their public school systems to be well funded and more than satisfactory....... They certainly pay high enough taxes in Jersey.........

PS: I just got out of Midnight Mass btw so lets bury the hatchet...

 

I graduated from TESC in 2002, so while my information might be dated, I doubt it's changed dramatically.

The program folks were top-rate. I, too, had only one advisor, who re-worked my program plan to take advantage of every last possible credit. (Verbatim quote for one change: "Trust me. It's easier for me to do it than explain it." She was right.) She responded to inquiries or course substitutions within hours, was professional, thorough, and helpful. The testing office was overworked, but accomodating. Portfolio and practicum advisors were similarly responsive.

I live/work close enough to Trenton that it was no problem to "drop in" to take care of business/appointments, and like Steve I think this helped.

Dealing with the Registrar's Office, on the other hand, turned my hair both greyer and thinner, and that's even WITH the ability to take care of problems in person. Examples? Sending out transcripts to grad schools noting an incorrect degree and major. Not sending out transcripts at all. Sending incoming transcripts to my file but not actually evaluating them. Transposing grades from different courses on incoming transcripts.

None of the bureaucratic hassles at TESC came even CLOSE to what I experienced at large B&M institutions, either previously as an undergraduate or after as a graduate student. It's part of the whole experience. Roll with it. Practice by smiling at PITA bank tellers and surly waitresses.

 

I keep copies of all of my updated paperwork from TESC and it turned out that recently they made an error when they did an update. I was able to go through and document exactly what had changed, I emailed my advisor and he solved the problem for me in a day. Got the updated document and all's well.

I think the main thing to do is simply keep documentation and get everything in writing. And, if something goes wrong, don't freak. OK. Freak a bit. ;-) But work the problem.

Unless they've screwed something up in my plan, I should be graduating. Can't apply for graduation until I get a grade from a course and get the transcript sent over to TESC. So, I'll miss the cutoff and have to graduate in June.

BTW, I've been using Strattera for oh, 6 months now. After getting over the nausea, it has been really good for me. (Eating peanutbutter seems to help, if you're having that problem.)

Good luck!

 

L J,

You have to use this forum for what it's worth...to YOU. Obviously, there are some self-appointed "DL Deities" that enjoy flexing their verbal muscles to the embarrassment of others. You have to ignore them, their self-serving rhetoric, and take away information that is useful in attaining your goal, YOUR DEGREE!!

On a few of my EC evals, credit was not given when I thought it should have been. I was concerned and surprised, but I didn't get upset. I was confident that if I pointed out what I perceived as a error, they would make the necessary revisions. They did on each occasion. Keep in mind that TESC, EC, and COSC have to review thousands of credentials and are going to make mistakes. And, in their defense, each schools policy seems to be to shoot (evaluate) and let you ask questions later.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

I think this is the whole point of most of those who have offered advice. Very nicely worded LC

 

Please!!! read this carefully

OK but the only thing I have been trying to across is that I'm NOT upset that TESC didn't accept a credit that I thought they should.

I was upset BECAUSE they did the evaluation, sent the degree audit in black and white, said they would accept X number of courses. I was at peace and content with it.

THEN all of a sudden THEY TOOK CREDITS AWAY THAT THEY ONCE ACCEPTED (the caps are for emphasis not yelling). Even an advisor himself couldnt figure out why it could have happened! Everyone on here keeps thinking I'm just mad because they wont accept a credit for whatever reason.

If people would just read ONE of my "redundant" posts CAREFULLY , humbly and hear me out, there wouldn't have been an argument. I know SOME of you mean well, but are misinterpreting what I'm saying and giving GOOD advice but for the WRONG situation!

 

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Hello DeeEff: Thank you for good advice and words of intelligent encouragement. I am sure some one will profit from them. Your humble but self-serving reader, Janko the Mad Priest

 

Actually LJ, no one said or even implied anything of the kind. It's possible (?) you might be jumping to conclusions based on one statement from my last post to this thread, specifically this one:

I'm sorry if that hit a nerve for you, but in no way was it implying that success on meds is "cheating". What each individual needs is up to that individual and that individual's physician, and in the case I cited it was also up to the individual's parent. But I was speaking about a child, the statement was in reference to the fact that kids aren't good at discretion (they tell each other who's on meds) and kids can sometimes be cruel. No one can ever say to that child that his success is solely due to "your meds finally kicking in", especially since in the case of a child it's rarely the child's choice whether or not to take meds. Since taking or not taking medication is not the child's choice then it's entirely possible that succeeding without it adds to self-esteem. But adults make their own choices based on direct advice from their physicians. Also, most children have more fragile self-esteem than most adults, since the kids are only just forming theirs.

Additionally, since all medications have side effects the goal in prescription is to use the lowest effective dosage. If the dosage can be lowered to none then so much the better, as in no side effects. The point of the post wasn't about medication vs. non-medication though. It was about recognizing hyperfocusing and using it to one's advantage. I truly hope you can do that and that it adds to your success in seeking your degree, whether you choose to take meds or not really isn't relevent.

Kit

 

More off-topic ADD stuff

It is weird, but I haven't found that Strattera has eliminated my ability to hyperfocus. What it *has* done is reduce the *need* to hyperfocus because I'm generally better at scheduling myself and attending to things. However, when I sit down to work, I can get into hyperfocus without needing all that pressure that used to be necessary. Part of it is of course, maturity, but since I was never that mature to begin with, I have to credit the Strattera.

Anyhow, I got the point about the original poster being upset about the error in the audit. That would certainly irritate me and since I had something like that happen, classes dropping off the audit, I contacted my advisor as I stated. I don't know, but maybe cultivating a good relationship with an advisor up front means that when something goes wrong they're more willing to work with you. I've never talked to the guy except in email, but we always exchange a few non-school comments and are generally more friendly than just business-like.

There are posts on the TESC board about errors all of the time and the overwhelming majority are settled to the student's satisfaction. A couple of real screwups have been noted, and TESC's attitude wasn't overly nice (in that getting them to at least admit an error was like pulling teeth for the folks), but at least those are minority cases.

All the best, y'all.

 

Kit, my comment about peple's attitude towards meds was about some people in general, not on this board.

I hae both ADD and am on the "Autistic Spectrum" I'm not sure if Strattera can help both. I'll see...

Straterra is technically an anti-depressant similar in chemistry to Wellburtin.

Like I said ADD should have a thread of it's own someday somewhere in this board. It would be interesting since DL can have advantages for add people.

 

If an ADD person is working on the problem, then DL would be fine as I expect B&M would. For ADD folks who aren't working out their issues, I don't see that DL would be any great advantage especially because you don't get the face time. Heck, I did a bunch of classes at a B&M where I never showed up except when I started to feel like an exam might be coming. Then I showed up to find out the date. But it wasn't like I was back at the dorm doing the assignments in the meantime.

What I like about DL is that it seems to be more oriented toward weekly assignments. That keeps me on track. When everything is about midterms and finals, it is really easy to get lost in all that free time, especially in a semester world. Quarters are easier because there is more pressure... if that makes any sense.

Everyone is different though.

 

Re: Clarification

Yes you do. However, if Levicoff were to give me advice I would most certainly take it to heart. If you don't know who Levicoff is, and why you should heed his advice then that is another thing you might wish to learn.

I don't know what you do for a living but where I come from the loudmouths and whiners seldom get what they want. Those with reasoned argument frequently see things go in their favor.

So quit whining and take a few classes, geez 9 hours. I have 366 hours so 9 more won't kill you.

 

How many times do I have to say I was diplomatic with TESC... Just cause my first post was a vent doesnt mean I was like that on the phone, hardly.

...and that Mr. Levicoff's advice was good advice but directed at the wrong person (and thus led to an unsolicited therapy session)