Bad news for my TESC degree

[Snickerdoodle]

Alright, I spoke with both registrars this morning.

TESC gave me an answer along the lines of, "There's not much we can do, it's really up to the school you're applying to, but we can send a letter of explanation regarding the lack of a residency requirement only after you apply for graduation." Unfortunately I'm not quite ready to apply for graduation. It'll be a few more months since I'm aiming for the Sept. graduation.

My target school's registrar refused to deal with it and threw me back to the same program director I spoke with. I left her a message asking to confirm exactly why my degree isn't recognized, and then I'l probably follow that up with the letter I wrote once I hear back from her.

Thanks for everybody's support.

[chiquitacobbe]

Alright, I spoke with both registrars this morning.

TESC gave me an answer along the lines of, "There's not much we can do, it's really up to the school you're applying to, but we can send a letter of explanation regarding the lack of a residency requirement only after you apply for graduation." Unfortunately I'm not quite ready to apply for graduation. It'll be a few more months since I'm aiming for the Sept. graduation.

My target school's registrar refused to deal with it and threw me back to the same program director I spoke with. I left her a message asking to confirm exactly why my degree isn't recognized, and then I'l probably follow that up with the letter I wrote once I hear back from her.

Thanks for everybody's support.

Good Luck! you have a solid letter here. Please keep us posted.

[rebel100]

Alright, I spoke with both registrars this morning.

TESC gave me an answer along the lines of, "There's not much we can do, it's really up to the school you're applying to, but we can send a letter of explanation regarding the lack of a residency requirement only after you apply for graduation." Unfortunately I'm not quite ready to apply for graduation. It'll be a few more months since I'm aiming for the Sept. graduation.

My target school's registrar refused to deal with it and threw me back to the same program director I spoke with. I left her a message asking to confirm exactly why my degree isn't recognized, and then I'l probably follow that up with the letter I wrote once I hear back from her.

Thanks for everybody's support.

Well, I'm sorry to hear this. I think it was your single best bet. I would proceed with your letter and the recommendations....and I would start looking in earnest for another school. You have too many options to earn that RN to mess around with these snobby fools.

[AbleU]

Hi,

Haven't posted here in a bit (crazy busy with AbleU work and school), but I thought I'd chip in as someone who'd gone through what you're facing now. From personal experience, the graduate programs/law schools I applied to either immediately rejected me, or else immediately accepted me with tons of funding. There was virtually zero middle ground (out of over 25 schools I applied to, only one waitlisted me). I highly recommend applying to a broad range of nursing programs to increase your chances of admission.

The good news is, you get past the "why didn't you go to real college?" thing once you're about 12 credits or so underway into your graduate/post-bachelor program. This certainly isn't some huge stigma that's going to follow you around for the rest of your life. I have two friends that have exclusively P/F grades from TESC, both completed fairly decent online graduate programs, and are now looking at substantial/full-ride scholarships to top-20 law schools.

Long story short, yes, you will face difficulty with getting every academic program to recognize the legitimacy of TESC, but you really only need a handful of acceptances, since you can only attend one school, anyway. ;)

-Peter

[marianne202]

I'm sorry you are having such issues, but it has nothing to do with your degree being from TESC or even the non-residency issue. Every school has the right to accept any and all credits you have from any other school. They don't even have to recognize your degree at all if they feel it isn't comparable in content to a similar degree they offer. Example: I applied to a school locally for a bachelor's program and they would only enter me at their school as a freshman second semester, even though I had a bachelor's degree at the time. I didn't have a PE class that they require, I was 47 at the time, the last PE class I took was in 1979 in HS! They also said my bachelor's didn't equate to the associates degree at their school, because I was missing coursework they require. Each school can accept or refuse anyone's degree or credits for any reason. You can appeal it, but in the long run would you really want to go to that school if that is how close-minded they are? Every school has this clause and even with articulation agreements, some credits are usually still open for case-by-case review and acceptance. I agree with Rebel, there are a ton of RN programs and bridge programs, so I would spend your valuable time on more worthwhile schools. You have a lot to offer and if they can't see that, then it is their loss. Good luck!

[barcotta]

Alright, I spoke with both registrars this morning.

TESC gave me an answer along the lines of, "There's not much we can do, it's really up to the school you're applying to, but we can send a letter of explanation regarding the lack of a residency requirement only after you apply for graduation." Unfortunately I'm not quite ready to apply for graduation. It'll be a few more months since I'm aiming for the Sept. graduation.

My target school's registrar refused to deal with it and threw me back to the same program director I spoke with. I left her a message asking to confirm exactly why my degree isn't recognized, and then I'l probably follow that up with the letter I wrote once I hear back from her.

Thanks for everybody's support.

I'm also REALLY glad you are following up on this. I know I'm a little late to the game, but it may help to insert the fact that TESC is the THIRD LARGEST COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY in continuous operation since 1972 and, as such, you felt confident that a degree earned at a large, regionally accredited state university would have the best chance of being valuable and universally recognized. I've been following the Big 3 since the early 1990's and I can't even remember the last time I saw anyone having this problem--if ever. I also agree you should focus on your performance at THEIR school Good luck!

[cannoda]

I just got off the phone with the nursing program that I'm applying to. They had "a lot of questions" about my degree from TESC. Apparently the main issue was that I've never taken any classes from TESC--all my credit was transferred in. The commitee was like, "How is that possible?" They found it really suspect. . .

In my experience, most faculty have little knowledge of what goes on in academia outside of their discipline and academic experiences. If the committee member's undergraduate experiences were as 18-to-22 year-olds, followed by the "normal" career path into grad school for a masters and subsequent doctorate, a TESC degree is totally outside of their experience.

On many occasions I've sat on university-wide faculty committees where I've had to educate my faculty peers on the differences in expectations and practices across disciplines. The disciplines of music, engineering, sociology and physics have very different expectations for faculty in research, teaching and service. It is not uncommon for a professor to view everything in academia through the lens of their discipline and personal experiences. This is a recurring source of conflict when attempting to address university-wide issues. I believe that this insularity is the likely cause of your situation.

It is also likely that you are more knowledgeable about accreditation than any member of their admissions committee. Private school or not, they should recognize that you have earned a degree. TESC's lack of a residency requirement should not be an issue for them; its a matter for TESC's accreditor. I question whether they would have a problem with TESC's lack of a residency requirement if you had transferred in 100 percent of your courses from Harvard.

That being said, I acknowledge their right to determine whether the academic content of your degree is acceptable to them. I routinely consider quality of institution in graduate admission decisions, but it almost every case it is because of direct experience with a particular institution's students. On no case would quality of institution be the sole factor in an admission decision.

I had a similar experience when obtaining a non-health related professional license many years ago. The state board did not want to recognize my USNY degree. I prevailed because the requirements for the license was a matter of law. The law required an RA degree in my area and I had earned an RA degree in my area.

Unfortunately for you, admission to a degree program involves a subjective evaluation of your credentials.

[Snickerdoodle]

Alright, so the program director called me back. I sensed a lot of negativity on her part. We basically went over the same points. I offered to send her more info regarding my choice of TESC (i.e. my letter) and she declined saying that the records office and the committee had extensively researched TESC over an extended period of time and that any additional information would not change that decision. I agree that there are other schools that are more worth my time to apply. At this point, I don’t wish to further antagonize this school by sending a clearly unwanted letter. I’m probably already on the blacklist. Thanks everyone for your valuable advice. Like some of you have said, I think I really have to move on.

[namwen]

I believe it was a worthy cause even if you didn't see any tangible results. you most likely educated a few people even if they didn't change their minds. As a fellow DLer I appreciate the fight you put up.

Now shake the dust off of your feet and proudly move on.

[rn2bsn]

Its because its a nursing program....they are sticklers for everything. I had to explain my high school failures 12 years after the fact when I applied to nursing school. Nursing programs are so picky these days, but there are others that would glady take you I'm sure. Keep pressing on. For what its worth, I jumped thru alot of hoops to get my RN a few months back from Excelsior in my state.....best thing I ever done. The day I took boards, I was offered my dream job and I'm loving it. Don't let anything get in your way.