COSC Accepting few SDC credits

[scottlefoll]

Just want to let people know that COSC is severely reducing what they will accept from Study.com.  After many conversations with an Academic Advisor from COSC, they finally admitted (I don't think they meant to) that it "was unfair" that people were using COSC just for degree completion and not taking courses directly from them (at $1,500 each).  

So, basically, they are not taking a course if they have the same course in their online catalog. This pertains mostly to upper level courses, but be careful because they could claim it for anything when you go to transfer.

Also, Study.com has shut down any Saylor transfers for the same reason.

This especially pertains to Computer Science - after July 1 only 5 courses from SDC will transfer to COSC (down from 25+ last fall), and none at all from Saylor Academy (down from 5 last fall).  But I get the feeling that this will happen in all areas - COSC is determined to become a full-fledged online school, and to limit mere "degree completion."  

I applied and was accepted there last month, and every phone call I had, every email, only talked about taking classes through them.  When classes would start, the cost, etc... all trying to steer new students towards being "regular online" students through COSC.

[ss20ts]

Saylor and Study.com are 2 separate companies. You can't transfer Saylor courses to Study.com

[LevelUP]

Just want to let people know that COSC is severely reducing what they will accept from Study.com.  After many conversations with an Academic Advisor from COSC, they finally admitted (I don't think they meant to) that it "was unfair" that people were using COSC just for degree completion and not taking courses directly from them (at $1,500 each).  

So, basically, they are not taking a course if they have the same course in their online catalog. This pertains mostly to upper level courses, but be careful because they could claim it for anything when you go to transfer.

Also, Study.com has shut down any Saylor transfers for the same reason.

This especially pertains to Computer Science - after July 1 only 5 courses from SDC will transfer to COSC (down from 25+ last fall), and none at all from Saylor Academy (down from 5 last fall).  But I get the feeling that this will happen in all areas - COSC is determined to become a full-fledged online school, and to limit mere "degree completion."  

I applied and was accepted there last month, and every phone call I had, every email, only talked about taking classes through them.  When classes would start, the cost, etc... all trying to steer new students towards being "regular online" students through COSC.

I saw you posted this same thread in multiple areas which you don't need to do. The other thread was deleted.

COSC is a school in which you need to bring in all your credits before you enroll as they charge quarterly enrollment fees.

I heard they were getting more strict with SDC. In the case SDC credits are denied going against the Study.com transfer guide, you could appeal, then if still denied, I would find another school that take 75%+ transfer credits
https://study.com/college/school/charter...llege.html

[rachel83az]

Not super surprised at this. COSC hasn't been a "good" school to choose since they stopped accepting most alternate credit and UMPI became an option - and a potentially cheaper one at that! If competency-based isn't your thing, Excelsior doesn't cost that much more than COSC and it has roughly the same degrees available.

[bjcheung77]

COSC, what are you doing?! I guess they're gearing up for mainly community college and university non finishers who have plenty of credit and about done with their degrees and haven't had the chance to finish. It seems that way at least... COSC is possible still for a cheap college degree as it still allows 114 credits transferred, let's hope they don't change the 114 transfer limit and setup a residency requirement of 15/16 credits like TESU.

[Tedium]

I mean, I get it from their point of view. It does suck for them. They get ~$3500 at most for a lot of the members on this board. They actually got more from me, because I took several English courses with them. But if this model is hurting them so badly then they need to change their policies all at once.

It's like Pierpont. I have no idea why they allow the AAS BOG to be used by non-West Virginia residents with no residency requirements. Do not get me wrong, I'm glad they are, but we're actually costing them money. I'm so super surprised they have let it go on this way for so long.

It's silly that COSC is even complaining. They could add a residency waiver fee like TESU, and that would net them some extra cash. They could require 25% of the degree to be completed at COSC, or whatever. People aren't taking the courses with them because they cost too much. All they're going to do by taking away more sources of alternative credit is drive students to other schools. Even as recently as when I joined this board, the Big 3 were the only games in town. Now we have so many options, and that's a good thing. I know that most of the students that attend COSC take classes there beyond Cornerstone and Capstone by their own numbers, so how badly are the students on this board actually hurting the school? Their current model is set-up for degree completion, so either embrace it or change your model.

[freeloader]

It's like Pierpont. I have no idea why they allow the AAS BOG to be used by non-West Virginia residents with no residency requirements. Do not get me wrong, I'm glad they are, but we're actually costing them money. I'm so super surprised they have let it go on this way for so long.

I wonder the same thing. Of course, it’s possible that they actually want to help students. 

I also think about graduation rates. These were incredibly important for the Obama Education Department when those rates were linked to eligibility to receive student loans. Pierpont’s graduation rate isn’t great (true for a lot of CC). Numbers reported on vary a fair bit, but one list has it at 12.2% (link below). The BOG AAS could be a strategy to improve graduation rates across the West Virginia college and university system, Pierpont just takes it a step further than other schools. US News puts their enrollment at around 1,800 students.  It is probably a pretty safe assumption that BOG AAS, as a degree completion program, graduates its students at FAR more than 12%. For a school of this size, enrolling only a handful of BOG AAS students each year and graduation them at, say, a 50%+ clip would have a clear and meaningful impact on those graduation rates!  And helping students isn’t bad either…

https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/r...-virginia/

[carrythenothing]

Required data for graduation rates is based on "full-time, first-time degree and certificate-seeking undergraduate students."

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data/s...tion-rates

[Tedium]

Check this out: https://wp.cga.ct.gov/apa/wp-content/cga...4047186258

At least as of 2020, COSC has no idea where it's money is going according to this audit. A few interesting snippets:

Charter Oak executed an online tutoring contract with a maximum value of $24,999.
The contract included provisions allowing for extra tutoring hours which resulted in
the college paying the vendor $76,620 under the contract. Charter Oak did not obtain
the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) approval for the contract even though the
college did not use an approved OAG contract template and did not amend the contract
when payments to the vendor exceeded its maximum value. When the college renewed
the contract for an additional year, it obtained OAG approval but decided against using
a sealed bidding process, because the provider received favorable feedback during its
initial contract. Charter Oak State College should improve controls over procurement
and contracting to ensure the Office of the Attorney General approves contracts when
necessary. The college should amend contracts if payments exceed the contract’s
maximum value and adhere to state competitive bidding requirements.

The college did not sufficiently commit funds prior to incurring nine expenses, totaling
$455,939. Charter Oak State College should strengthen its internal controls over
purchasing to ensure the execution of purchase orders and commitment of funds prior
to ordering goods and services.

The college paid more than $169,000 to an information technology infrastructure
services vendor without knowing which contract terms it used to make the purchases.
Charter Oak State College should not pay for goods or services until it properly
identifies the approved existing contract it used for a purchase and verifies that the
invoice reflects contracted pricing and discount terms.

This is my favorite:

In December 2019, Charter Oak State College discovered the program coordinator of the
Alternate Route to Certification (ARC) in Early Childhood Education program hired a family
member to teach and mentor in the ARC program. For over two years, the program coordinator
supervised her family member’s contracted position for which Charter Oak paid her approximately
$20,445. Upon discovery, Charter Oak determined the program coordinator violated state statutes,
the state Code of Ethics, and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities’ nepotism policy by
hiring and supervising her family member without notifying the college of the conflict of interest.
As a result, Charter Oak suspended the program coordinator without pay for five days, shifted
faculty hiring for the ARC program to the provost, and notified the program coordinator that any
future violations of state, CSCU, or Charter Oak policies would result in termination. After a
review by the Office of State Ethics, the program coordinator paid a civil penalty of $3,500 for
violating the state Code of Ethics. Charter Oak also terminated the family member’s employment.
However, Charter Oak subsequently rehired the family member as a mentor in the ARC program
and she now reports directly to the provost.

The college did not consistently tag or enter controllable equipment items into inventory records. The college also did not have a written controllable property policy. Charter Oak State College should maintain complete inventory records, tag equipment, and develop a written controllable property policy in accordance with the State Property Control Manual and Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Capital & Controllable Asset Manual.

Cry to me about how unfair it is to have degree completion students like us when you get your finances in order.

[carrythenothing]

Here's the 2021 report: https://wp.cga.ct.gov/apa/wp-content/cga...FY2021.pdf