Clubs and organizations at TESU

[jch]

Hello everyone, 

I'm new to this whole online distance learning space. I started in April and have been plowing through the Sophia and ASU EA catalogs ever since. I am admitted + enrolled in TESU as of June. Thanks everyone else here for all the helpful threads that I have been reading! All your posts have guided me quite well through the process.  

I expected that, as an institution aimed at non-traditional learners, TESU would not have the traditional "college experience" typically associated with colleges. What I was not expecting was to have essentially no opportunities to interact with other students! It appears that there's only the general discussion boards, which seem to focus largely on textbook sales, and the class-related forums within a course. Am I missing anything, or is this it? Does TESU really have zero clubs and organizations (outside of some honor societies, I'll make another thread about those)?

The main thing that held me back from online classes in the past was the lack of social interaction. I recognize that higher education is often seen to help you develop as a person in addition to the stated curriculum. I was really looking forward to that aspect of my college experience, as I was often an isolated teen. Once the pandemic hit and all of the online course offerings this summer opened up, I jumped on them to finally get my education progressing and take advantage of the discounts. While these digital platforms are really resonating with me academically, they aren't meeting my social needs at all.  


Has there ever been any discussions about starting some student organizations at TESU? Is there a stated reason or policy I'm missing here? Did these kinds of groups simply never form because of the unique context of TESU students and structure?

One organization that I have been really looking forward to participating in during college is PBL - Phi Beta Lambda. In high school, I was very active in Future Business Leaders of America, and was particularly dominant in the competitive events. I'd like to continue into PBL, which is the collegiate arm of the program. Additionally, I want to become more involved in the leadership aspects of the group, which I did not do in high school. If possible, I'd start a PBL chapter at TESU. If that doesn't work out, I'll just join PBL independently of a school. 

I'm planning to start a thread on the TESU student discussion board investigating any potential interest in starting a PBL chapter. Anyone have any feedback or suggestions?

Thanks!
-JCH

[rachel83az]

I don't think that's a thing that exists at TESU, no. At least, not if you're an online-only student. I can't speak as to what might be going on at the actual campus (or would be going on, if not for the pandemic).

[inkleind]

I noticed the lack of options as well. I'm guessing they have more options if you attend on-site classes?

[ss20ts]

Typically online programs don't have student clubs and organizations. We don't pay for them either. You pay hefty sums for those clubs on a campus.

[conflitz]

I'm planning to enroll in TESU soon, and I was just thinking about the same thing! Business isn't my primary interest, but I'd be interested in your idea of a PBL chapter or an informal club for TESU students.

[monchevy]

APU (American Public University) does have a lot of student/alumni organizations, academic honor societies, clubs, etc. for online students.

What I find strange is that even for online students, community colleges charge crazy fees per credit hour for all the on-campus activities, such as student union, clubs and athletics. That's on top of separate per-hour technology fees, distance learning fees, registration fees, etc.

[ss20ts]

APU (American Public University) does have a lot of student/alumni organizations, academic honor societies, clubs, etc. for online students.

What I find strange is that even for online students, community colleges charge crazy fees per credit hour for all the on-campus activities, such as student union, clubs and athletics. That's on top of separate per-hour technology fees, distance learning fees, registration fees, etc.

Not all community colleges do this. Maybe the ones in your area do. They don't in my area. Everyone pays technology fees at colleges nowadays it seems. All of the fees are money grabs because tuition doesn't cover all of their expenses. Many colleges are regulated so they can't raise tuition, but they can raise fees and hammer you with those. 

Many online programs have online alumni organization. Quite often it's on Facebook. Some have honor societies for online programs. That's up to the college to pursue and many haven't. Probably because not enough students have inquired to make it worth their time. 

What would an online club be for online students? A bunch of us chatting on Facebook or some other forum? Plenty of that out there already.

[monchevy]

APU (American Public University) does have a lot of student/alumni organizations, academic honor societies, clubs, etc. for online students.

What I find strange is that even for online students, community colleges charge crazy fees per credit hour for all the on-campus activities, such as student union, clubs and athletics. That's on top of separate per-hour technology fees, distance learning fees, registration fees, etc.

Not all community colleges do this. Maybe the ones in your area do. They don't in my area. Everyone pays technology fees at colleges nowadays it seems. All of the fees are money grabs because tuition doesn't cover all of their expenses. Many colleges are regulated so they can't raise tuition, but they can raise fees and hammer you with those. 

Many online programs have online alumni organization. Quite often it's on Facebook. Some have honor societies for online programs. That's up to the college to pursue and many haven't. Probably because not enough students have inquired to make it worth their time. 

What would an online club be for online students? A bunch of us chatting on Facebook or some other forum? Plenty of that out there already.

I've been searching nonstop for affordable RA credits all over the country, and very few don't have those insane fees. And not even per course... per hour. For services and activities you will never take part in. Distance learning fees and technology fees per hour in addition to doubled or tripled out-of-state tuition fees should more than cover my participation. 

I started a CC class last week that is nothing but auto-graded online quizzes, message board discussions, uploaded video journals and essays/papers. A week and a half and there has been no instructor interaction except to post assignments and due date reminders. She hasn't "taught" us a thing. The course content is entirely an online dump of generic material from elsewhere (even the message board discussion topics). Obviously she'll be grading essays, but other than that, this course is nothing I couldn't have gotten for free on Sophia.

[jch]

I've been searching nonstop for affordable RA credits all over the country, and very few don't have those insane fees. And not even per course... per hour. For services and activities you will never take part in. Distance learning fees and technology fees per hour in addition to doubled or tripled out-of-state tuition fees should more than cover my participation. 

I started a CC class last week that is nothing but auto-graded online quizzes, message board discussions, uploaded video journals and essays/papers. A week and a half and there has been no instructor interaction except to post assignments and due date reminders. She hasn't "taught" us a thing. The course content is entirely an online dump of generic material from elsewhere (even the message board discussion topics). Obviously she'll be grading essays, but other than that, this course is nothing I couldn't have gotten for free on Sophia.

Yep, I'm on the same credit gathering spree right now. I've latched on to ASU EA, as they offer a decent gen ed catalog, the technology platform works well enough, and the pricing right now is amazing. That's the situation that led me to start this thread; when doing college this way, there is essentially no opportunity to form relationships with anyone. Sure there are replies to discussion postings, but most students just write the minimum replies to get the points and move on. You don't actually get to know people.  

FBLA-PBL is actually quite suited to online distance groups. Just about all of the activities could be conducted over some remote means. There's a lot more than just chatting, as there are numerous projects, competitions, and other things to do.

[ss20ts]

APU (American Public University) does have a lot of student/alumni organizations, academic honor societies, clubs, etc. for online students.

What I find strange is that even for online students, community colleges charge crazy fees per credit hour for all the on-campus activities, such as student union, clubs and athletics. That's on top of separate per-hour technology fees, distance learning fees, registration fees, etc.

Not all community colleges do this. Maybe the ones in your area do. They don't in my area. Everyone pays technology fees at colleges nowadays it seems. All of the fees are money grabs because tuition doesn't cover all of their expenses. Many colleges are regulated so they can't raise tuition, but they can raise fees and hammer you with those. 

Many online programs have online alumni organization. Quite often it's on Facebook. Some have honor societies for online programs. That's up to the college to pursue and many haven't. Probably because not enough students have inquired to make it worth their time. 

What would an online club be for online students? A bunch of us chatting on Facebook or some other forum? Plenty of that out there already.

I've been searching nonstop for affordable RA credits all over the country, and very few don't have those insane fees. And not even per course... per hour. For services and activities you will never take part in. Distance learning fees and technology fees per hour in addition to doubled or tripled out-of-state tuition fees should more than cover my participation. 

I started a CC class last week that is nothing but auto-graded online quizzes, message board discussions, uploaded video journals and essays/papers. A week and a half and there has been no instructor interaction except to post assignments and due date reminders. She hasn't "taught" us a thing. The course content is entirely an online dump of generic material from elsewhere (even the message board discussion topics). Obviously she'll be grading essays, but other than that, this course is nothing I couldn't have gotten for free on Sophia.

Welcome to higher education! If you're looking at community colleges, those are public schools so they are taxpayer funded. Taxpayers pay a fortune into these systems. Out of staters are typically hit hard because you haven't paid into the system. There are a few in expensive online community colleges and 4 year schools out there. It all depends what courses you're looking for. 

I find that it's up to me to get what I want out of a class. It's not up to the instructor. It's up to me to do what I need to get what I want or need out of it.