TESU General Education Requirements Plan - What do you think?

[dfrecore]

I'd stay away from Saylor.org, ALEKS, and Straighterline as much as possible for speed reasons. USE DSST's, Cleps, and Study.com as much as you can. Use Study.com and instantcert.com to study for CLEPS\DSST, one a week is a good part time pace. CLEPS\DSST are quick and easy, while study.com is more thorough, you can take two of their credit courses a month, and they have study materials for CLEP\DSST\ECE\TECEP tests.

CLEP & DSST are only fast if you know the material. Otherwise, the studying can take as much time as it would to complete an online course. You cannot say that it will take 1 week of studying for every CLEP/DSST exam - that is unrealistic to think that every test is the same. It is very well known that some of the tests are easier than others, and it's also a fact that depending on life experience and previous coursework taken, different exams will be easier or harder for different people. If you gave me a month to study for the Biology CLEP, I bet I would struggle, but I could go take the Intro to Business DSST and pass it cold. There's just no way to say what will work for different people.

I've known people to get through SL & ALEKS as quickly as Study.com, so I'm not sure why you say Study.com is faster than those 2. It totally depends on the person, but I think SL, ALEKS, Study.com, Shmoop, Sophia - are all comparable in terms of speed. Maybe some courses may take longer than others, but generally the speed is comparable. A person that could get through the SL Financial Accounting course in a week could probably get through the Study.com course in a week too.

I would always encourage people to use ALEKS, simply for the cost. It's almost crazy not to take it. I'm also telling people, if you pass ALEKS Stats, try going Saylor Business Stats as well. It's UL, and a pretty easy 3cr if you can get it.

Regarding Saylor, it's a pretty consistent theme here - there's way to much info, and it's slow going. I would only use them for testing, rather than learning the material. If you think you can pass the exam, it's worth $25. But if you think you're going to need to learn it from scratch, then you might be better off taking it another way.

Regarding IC - I don't know that they will help you pass tests for things that they weren't intended for. Like Marketing - I don't know how closely they Saylor course is aligned with the CLEP. So there's no guarantee there. But it certainly can't hurt.

Not sure if you need IC to help with the English Comp TECEPs. I didn't. And, I would consider taking the College Comp WITH essay CLEP for that instead of the TECEP's, unless it's really difficult to get to a testing center. I thought the TECEP setup for English Comp II was awful.

[toocooltylerd]

Geez, I'm gonna have to keep my guard up with all you keyboard commandos sending rounds out....

1. The Saylor courses I've looked at had WAY more information to look at then flipping through some flashcards at instantcert.com, that being said, you'd probably learn more the saylor way....

2. No one said anything about a Clep or DSST taking exactly a week's time to study. The total amount of time needed DOES VARY from person to person and subject to subject. My pace is one a week (with two study.com's a month) One Clep and DSST, and a half of a study.com, a week is a comfortable, yes you may be able to 4 aleks in a week, but it's (ON AVERAGE) likely to take much more time.

3. My opinion, is just that an opinion. You guys should not be so motivated to gun down someone trying to offer a member some assistance.

[dfrecore]

If anything, I've learned that Shmoop requires the most work. ( Studying aside). It has roughly 10-14 tests to be taken.

Well then, you haven't taken the SL Macro or Microeconomics courses, which require 24 quizzes, a midterm, and a final! And for anyone who struggles with math, getting through ALEKS may be a challenge.

[dfrecore]

Geez, I'm gonna have to keep my guard up with all you keyboard commandos sending rounds out....

1. The Saylor courses I've looked at had WAY more information to look at then flipping through some flashcards at instantcert.com, that being said, you'd probably learn more the saylor way....

2. No one said anything about a Clep or DSST taking exactly a week's time to study. The total amount of time needed DOES VARY from person to person and subject to subject. My pace is one a week (with two study.com's a month) One Clep and DSST, and a half of a study.com, a week is a comfortable, yes you may be able to 4 aleks in a week, but it's (ON AVERAGE) likely to take much more time.

3. My opinion, is just that an opinion. You guys should not be so motivated to gun down someone trying to offer a member some assistance.

2) Here's a direct quote from your post: "Use Study.com and instantcert.com to study for CLEPS\DSST, one a week is a good part time pace."
I was trying to point out to others that this may not be the case for them.

3) Yes, it's your opinion, and we all appreciate that. I was trying to point out that this is your opinion, and that there are differing opinions on here, and what they might be.

Our forum is just that - a place where people come to discuss. That will mean people won't agree with your opinions much of the time. Everyone will throw out their own opinions, say whether or not they agree with you, tell what their own experiences have been, etc. This doesn't mean that you are wrong, it just means that we all have our own experiences that we will put out there.

I am not motivated to gun anyone down, I just happened to disagree, and stated why that was. You are free to disagree with me as well, and I am POSITIVE you will at some point (probably sooner rather than later), and you will tell someone why you like one course provider better than the one I like, or that the course I liked wasn't good, or whatever. No worries, that's what we're all about here.

[Notgodot]

Thanks for everyone's input!

Regarding CLEP/DSST testing, I'm in Vietnam, and would have to travel to either the Philippines or Malaysia to test, so they aren't cost/time effective for me.

As far as ALEKS goes, I completed intermediate algebra, and then initially assessed at 26% for college algebra. I loathe mathematics,so I decided that since I had my requirement for Quantitative literacy to leave well enough alone. The cost savings just isn't worth it for me, personally.

I'm really hoping Shmoop adds some literature courses soon, as was rumored, as they're right up my alley.