trouble getting TESC to accept my last credits

[gryan665]

i am having trouble getting TESC to accept my FEMA course that was taken before march 5, 2014. i was wondering if anyone happened to have saved the approved FEMA courses, from before march 5? i believe the course i took was on it, but now no FEMA courses are on on TESC website. The course is; IS. 1a emergency management.

has anyone taken this course in the past? my cert. says 00001a emergency management. i believe it is the same course but cant be sure because TESC says it is not on their list of approved.

also they are not approving my chem lab through straighterline. they say it is not approved by ace. is this true?

i only need 1.5 credits to graduate. these two course would satisfy that or so i thought. if they don't accept them, can i still take and turn in a clep/dsst test? even if the date that all transcripts must be sent in passed on march 31? i just found out today that they wont accept them, even though they have had the transcripts for over a month. i am trying to graduate with this next class. any help would be nice. i just need 1.5 credits. thanks

[sanantone]

If your FEMA credits weren't accepted before March 5th, I think you're out of luck. An advisor told someone that FEMAs taken before March 5th will be accepted, but the advisors on the phone are often wrong. General Chemistry with Lab is ACE-approved. Did you take it as a standalone? The Intro to Biology Lab is approved as a standalone, but the Chemistry Lab is not listed by itself.

[gryan665]

If your FEMA credits weren't accepted before March 5th, I think you're out of luck. An advisor told someone that FEMAs taken before March 5th will be accepted, but the advisors on the phone are often wrong. General Chemistry with Lab is ACE-approved. Did you take it as a standalone? The Intro to Biology Lab is approved as a standalone, but the Chemistry Lab is not listed by itself.

thank you for responding sanantone i wanted your opinion on this. to answer your question yes the fema course was completed before march 5. i finished it on feb 20, 2014. they dont have a problem with when it was taken they say they never approved it before and it has not been on their lists. they got back to me this morn from office of registrar and said that as for the fema course 1a. emergency management the have approved fema 1 emergency management but not 1a. i seen 1a on approved list i just cant get to one now.

as for the chemistry lab, it was taken with the chemistry class. i took chemistry w/lab. but they sent the class as two separate course numbers, which is the way i have always seen it, but TESC say that they have taken Straighterline chemistry w/lab in the past but not chemistry and chemistry lab.

any advice on how to proceed with this. or am i out of luck. i could prob get the chem lab added but i will still be .5 short. and it dont look like they budging. if i go take a clep/dsst right now would it still count towards this june grad. the deadline to have transcripts in was March 31. they evaluated all this on March 31. it against me

[bricabrac]

I've attached the last listing I saved eff 6/14/13. IS-1 was terminated as of 2/6/13 and IS-1a was not included on the approved list. You most likely had a list prior to this list. Sorry.

Yes, you are within time to complete another clep/dsst exam. Just let the registrar's office know another transcript will be sent soon and the date you took the test. I would get it completed asap.

So far as SL, I would double check the equivalency agreement between SL and TESC. If the lab and course counts as 4 credits, TESC should honor it. Make sure SL did in fact send both courses on their transcript. I read prior there was some problem with this with other students. The SL course equivalency link is here, I would email it to the registrars office and note it states if both courses are taken it will be transcribed as CHE121 (TESC's description of the course: the first of a two-semester general chemistry sequence with labs).
Sometimes you only need provide the proper documentation to have the decisions go in your favor.

Either way, still looks like you'll need the extra credit from the loss of the FEMA exam. Which area did you need the added credit? If free electives, it would depend on your strengths, but I found the following to be the easiest exams: DSST intro to business, tech writing, intro to computing or CLEP A&I lit, I sat them all blind/no study. Even CLEP 102/103 College Math after algebra should be super easy. Another option if you don't have MAT115, is ALEKS intermediate algebra, for easy and fast three credits. You could also take those TEEX credits folks have been discussing. if memory serves they are also online and free?

Take care, hope it all works out for you!

[KayV]

You could also do a couple of the ACE-approved NFA credits, if all you need are free electives.

Q-137 Hydraulic Calculations for Water-Based Fire Protection Systems Plan Review
Q118 = FIS-391 Introduction to Fire Safety
Q318 = FIS-461 Advanced Fire Administration

[SweetSecret]

You could also do a couple of the ACE-approved NFA credits, if all you need are free electives.

I was actually wondering about this. Do we know for sure that TESC is still accepting NFA courses? If so, is there a list of which ones they accept? I've still been hunting for upper-level courses, and noticed the other day that NFA course entitled "Emergency Response to Terrorism: Incident Management (R817)" is listed as a 3 credit hour upper-level course by ACE!

[ironheadjack]

I was actually wondering about this. Do we know for sure that TESC is still accepting NFA courses? If so, is there a list of which ones they accept? I've still been hunting for upper-level courses, and noticed the other day that NFA course entitled "Emergency Response to Terrorism: Incident Management (R817)" is listed as a 3 credit hour upper-level course by ACE!

When I took my FEMA and NFA courses a few years ago, there were 3 NFA courses that were accepted for credit. I might be wrong but Q-118, Q-318, come to mind as accepted courses. This might have changed in 5 years though.

[gryan665]

thank you bricbrac. i looked at the list and my heart sank. its not on there. i must have looked at a past list. talked to SL this morning and it is approved by ACE. straighterline is sending them the approval now so hopefully i hear something soon, keep my fingers crossed. but that still leaves me .5 credits short. you think i am still within the time frame to take a test and turn it in? i have not asked them about this yet. i am trying to get 1 credit for the chem lab so that i can appeal for the .5, it will look more pathetic and hopefully the have mercy. but if that fails i going to ask them about testing and that applying to this graduation. going to look at the options now. unfortunately i have all the maths done. it looks like i may have to take a western civ or american gov. inside the next two days. in dont know about NEF but i will ask them for you sweetsecret and let you know. i will be talking to them today.

[sanantone]

I was actually wondering about this. Do we know for sure that TESC is still accepting NFA courses? If so, is there a list of which ones they accept? I've still been hunting for upper-level courses, and noticed the other day that NFA course entitled "Emergency Response to Terrorism: Incident Management (R817)" is listed as a 3 credit hour upper-level course by ACE!

The 3 courses everyone mentions stand out because they are fully online. I'm not aware of any other NFA courses that are ACE-approved and fully online. As long as a course is ACE-approved for college credit, not vocational credit, then TESC should at least accept it as a free elective.

thank you bricbrac. i looked at the list and my heart sank. its not on there. i must have looked at a past list. talked to SL this morning and it is approved by ACE. straighterline is sending them the approval now so hopefully i hear something soon, keep my fingers crossed. but that still leaves me .5 credits short. you think i am still within the time frame to take a test and turn it in? i have not asked them about this yet. i am trying to get 1 credit for the chem lab so that i can appeal for the .5, it will look more pathetic and hopefully the have mercy. but if that fails i going to ask them about testing and that applying to this graduation. going to look at the options now. unfortunately i have all the maths done. it looks like i may have to take a western civ or american gov. inside the next two days. in dont know about NEF but i will ask them for you sweetsecret and let you know. i will be talking to them today.

So, it sounds like the problem is that they listed chemistry and lab separately even though you took them together. Is there any way SL can change this on the transcript? You can still apply for graduation and list the course (test) that has yet to be transcribed.

[bricabrac]

thank you bricbrac. i looked at the list and my heart sank. its not on there. i must have looked at a past list. talked to SL this morning and it is approved by ACE. straighterline is sending them the approval now so hopefully i hear something soon, keep my fingers crossed. but that still leaves me .5 credits short. you think i am still within the time frame to take a test and turn it in? i have not asked them about this yet. i am trying to get 1 credit for the chem lab so that i can appeal for the .5, it will look more pathetic and hopefully the have mercy. but if that fails i going to ask them about testing and that applying to this graduation. going to look at the options now.

Just make sure to ask if they are still accepting NFA courses before jumping in. If they no longer accept FEMAs, I would imagine it could possibly be the same with NFA. (Haven't heard about anyone using NFA recently.) That's why I suggested TEEX CIS couses. They are currently being accepted for credit. I think you take ~ 2-3 short online courses for 2 credits. Do a quick search on the forum for the specifics.

Yes you are in time to complete another exam. Your file is already in process of being audited, the final transcript will just need to be added and immediately evaluated. They offer an expedited service in filing and evaluating transcripts; it's just by exception and not the rule. See section 3 of the graduation form. With all the changes over the past few years I would not wait longer than 2-3wks for June graduation though.

Be sure to let the registrar know you plan on taking a replacement exam for the missing credits. (That is if they do not waive the missing .5 credit.) Once you've taken the exam, call and ask to speak to the graduation specialist. (Not sure who that person is now.) Confirm with her/him you have a CBE transcript on the way. They will update your file as soon as it is received and expedite processing. I've had my file updated over the course of 2 days while in the grad queue.

If you end up taking another exam, just to be safe, I would fill out a replacement graduation form sign it and fax over to the registrars office, to the attention of the graduation specialist. Be sure to highlight the form as REPLACEMENT - UPDATED TRANSCRIPTS on the top. Mark the payment area, already paid.