New TESU Residency Requirement!!! 16cr, TECEP's do not count?!?

[sanantone]

I emailed TESU about adding an undergraduate certificate and which tuition plan it can be completed under. I was informed that the Enrolled Options Plan is being eliminated April 1st. It looks like they're combining the Enrolled Options Plan with the Per Credit Tuition Plan. For those who didn't want to take TESU courses, TECEPs, or complete portfolio assessments, this is a good deal. For those who wanted to use the Per Credit Tuition Plan, the process just got a little more expensive. I'm locked in under the old Per Credit Tuition Plan.

[Mamasaphire]

Math not being my strong point, this is all making my head whirl!

[sanantone]

Math not being my strong point, this is all making my head whirl!

For future Enrolled Options students majoring in business, this will save them $1,296. For those majoring in other programs, it will save them $540. For those who wanted to use the old Per Credit Tuition Plan with TECEPs and/or portfolio assessments, it's going to cost more money. It's hard to calculate how much more. People usually just think in terms of 7 TECEPs, for example, costing $777 (a little more now) and compare that to enrollment fees, but those TECEPs also replace whatever CLEP, DSST, or Uexcel you would have taken in its place. It wasn't just money thrown at TESU that didn't earn you any credits.

[alzee]

For future Enrolled Options students majoring in business, this will save them $1,296.

I thought you said that plan is going away April first, or did I misread? It sounds like they're going to have only the per-credit (with or without $2k waiver) plan and the standard plan after that?

[sanantone]

I thought you said that plan is going away April first, or did I misread? It sounds like they're going to have only the per-credit (with or without $2k waiver) plan and the standard plan after that?

Yes, it is going away. I was talking about students who were planning on choosing the Enrolled Options Plan. They will no longer be able to choose it, but they will save money with the new Per Credit Tuition Plan up to a point. If they want to take a few TESU courses, then the Per Credit Tuition Plan is going to cost them more.

[jsd]

hrm...

i did the enrolled options plan in Feb, as I needed only up to 3 courses/TECEPs available though TESU (and in fact ended up doing something else instead of one of the TECEPS and will only be doing 2 online courses with TESU). I think I lost money by doing this and not doing the new Per Credit + waiver instead. Bummer.

[Mamasaphire]

Thanks for the patient explanations! So my next question is how Federal Aid can/will be applied under the new plans?

Am I thinking about this correctly? I had planned to use 1/4 of a semester's worth of my Pell Grant money to help with part of the Capstone, and part of the PLA-200 course. Then I'd pay for 12 Portfolio credits out of pocket, along with 4 TECEPS. Thus making my TESU OOP close to $3000.00 for a BA.SS.

If I switch to the new plan I'd probably just go with the BA.LA and take the Capstone and pay the Waiver, meaning it would cost close to $3400.00 OOP at TESU for an even more general degree :/

I can't do an Apples-to-Apples comparison because they won't be allowing PLA Portfolios for the 16 credits, correct??

[dfrecore]

I can't do an Apples-to-Apples comparison because they won't be allowing PLA Portfolios for the 16 credits, correct??

You can still do PLA, but it will not count towards residency. It's still a great deal though.

[Mamasaphire]

You can still do PLA, but it will not count towards residency. It's still a great deal though.

I'm a little confused what part you are referring to. What part is a deal? The option to do PLA even if you still have to do an additional 16 cr ($7984.00)? Or the ability to do PLA-200 ($998) & Portfolio ($379/12 cr if the price stays the same) and then pay the $2000 waiver, which makes it between $114 & $281/cr?

[sanantone]

I'm a little confused what part you are referring to. What part is a deal? The option to do PLA even if you still have to do an additional 16 cr ($7984.00)? Or the ability to do PLA-200 ($998) & Portfolio ($379/12 cr if the price stays the same) and then pay the $2000 waiver?

Compared to 99.9% of other RA schools, it's a deal. I graduated from TESC before there was a Per Credit Tuition Plan. I paid almost $3,000 under the Enrolled Options Plan, but this was a lot cheaper than finishing my degree at most other schools. I did use money from a financial aid refund check from a community college to pay for it. That's the trick. Use your financial aid at the cheapest school you can find so that you will have leftover money.

Whether or not it would be cheaper to go to COSC or EC depends on the major and your transfer credits. For me, at the time, the UL credits at those two would have made the total cost of my degree higher than it was at TESC. It doesn't hurt to apply at the other two if you can afford the application and transcript fees.