COSC adding new Majors

[Yanji]

that is the piece of information I was missing. Now why does COSC do that, but TESC that was chartered in 1972 have Majors and some areas of study? Did TESC start out like it is now or did it change at a later time. While what they are doing with the BSBA and Applied Sciences and their areas of study are similar to a major in General Studies with a concentration, I feel that what TESC is doing is more defined and therefore more marketable to the job market.

The two simply cannot be compared - while both have similar missions, COSC is and likely always will be a LAC while TESC started out as more of a technical school which has become somewhat more comprehensive over the years. If the concept of LACs offends you, you don't have to choose to attend one.

[publius2k4]

I think it's also important to note that COSC and TESC are both, as their names imply, state schools. So the schools fill the rolls that their respective state systems require of them. This would explain why their degrees are structured differently, even though their overall mission appears to be quite similar.

[SteveFoerster]

that is the piece of information I was missing. Now why does COSC do that, but TESC that was chartered in 1972 have Majors and some areas of study? Did TESC start out like it is now or did it change at a later time.

COSC is in Connecticut, and thus NEASC territory, whereas TESC and Excelsior are in Middle States territory. Different accreditors meant different rulings on what were then unusual cases.

While what they are doing with the BSBA and Applied Sciences and their areas of study are similar to a major in General Studies with a concentration, I feel that what TESC is doing is more defined and therefore more marketable to the job market.

This is probably something where better decisions are made using data than feelings. I'm not aware of any actual study on this, but the anecdotal evidence seems to be that it's not more marketable.

By the way, I'm not sure where the "COSC is a liberal arts college" idea originates. On looking I see that our Wikipedia entry says that, but to me that's not the case at all, so I've asked COSC for clarification whether we really self-identify as that. COSC does have a liberal arts requirement, but not all that strong of one, and it has concentrations (and now majors-by-name as well) that are clearly not liberal arts.

[cookderosa]

When I enrolled at COSC before deciding to move on, the advisor I had and spoke to quite often made it very clear that I had a major and my major would be in general studies, and that psychology would just be my concentration. So maybe a general studies degree is just equivalent to a B.S or B.A degree in liberal arts with a concentration in XYZ?

The technical distinction between major and concentration that the school makes is for them. The distinction is in-house, not some universally differing distinction colleges use. There is no applied distinction between a major, a concentration, specialization, or any such jargon. It's a 30+ credit block of subject matter specific learning. That's what you're looking for- that block of upper level in-subject learning.

Similar instances of this are found from region to region, and state to state. For instance, an AA vs AS in some states is consistently defined (eg. all the community colleges in our state that issue AS have 6 credits more math than AA which has 6 credits more social science/humanities) but step into the private sector even within that state, and that no longer applies. Having an AA may have no expectation of additional or less math than any other degree. Furthermore, cross the state line and it all starts over. HOWEVER, an AA/AS share similar characteristics no matter what state, no matter private/public, etc. They'll be roughly 60 credits, etc. So, even though you can argue that in YOUR college, there are in-house distinctions, they are still essentially the same in a global way- everyone understands what they are: 2 year degrees that usually cover the gen eds that usually transfer into a 4 year program.

It's like that for the word you're using to mean the 30+ credit block of courses in a certain subject. It all means the same thing in general, no matter how the school titles it.

[Prloko]

I was confused by this when I first came here too. But, I know that Harvard calls their "majors" concentrations and in principle the concentrations at COSC are as many credits as the majors so....I am confused by how everyone classifies the two in the first place.

This is two different situations. COSC's degree HAS a major, General Studies.