DegreeForum mentioned on the TESU blog!

[rlw74]

I just wish they chimed in with helpful info like study.com does. It might eliminate a lot of guesswork and some of the complaints against them. But if not for this forum they would never have gotten thousands from me. I would have gone to one of the other Big 3. So it's in their best interest to keep drawing in people from this forum.

[davewill]

I do think TESU keeps messing with the GEN ED to make it harder on students.  I do not see that same level at the other two?

I do understand ALL non-profits must make some money to break even.  Only the Feds can print money.    That only explains EC.  Both COSC and TESU are taxpayer funded are they not?

The percentage of the budget made up of tax money has been declining for decades at our public universities. They very much have pressure to balance the budget. I don't believe for a second that TESU is purposely targeting the forum. They can look at their own student stats to know which policies are cutting into their bottom line. The residency waiver change was obviously aimed at raising the minimum cost of a degree, but I don't think any other moves were intended that way.

[sanantone]

Marc, who heads a department at TESU, has been posting here for years. If the rest of the higher-ups didn't already know about the forum, Marc probably told them. It's just kind of unsettling that TESU is probably monitoring this forum to make decisions that make completing a degree less flexible and more expensive.

Why? They have no incentive to create obstacles or user cost. More profitable? Sure, because even non-profits need to be sustainable. If TESU doesn't make money, we don't have a college. But making it harder for the sake of making it harder doesn't match their mission or make sense financially.

There is an incentive to improve reputation and academic integrity. If they have the reputation of being a degree mill, then it doesn't bode well for the school or students with their degrees. Some changes make sense, but they do make completing a degree less flexible and sometimes more expensive, not just with money that will go to TESU, but with money you have to spend at other schools and course providers.

There are other ways they could have used this forum to draw in students, but didn't. They could have improved customer service, better trained their advisors, and stopped making unexpected changes in the middle of the academic year. Sometimes, they make changes without informing students until their credits are rejected. I have attended many schools, and I have never attended one, other than TESU, that would make drastic changes in the middle of the school year. They could have also fired Todd Siben years ago for yelling at students and intentionally giving them misinformation.

The fact is that TESU lost students in a recent year. I can't remember which one. There was a thread on DegreeInfo on the number of students attending online programs. I can understand adding the residency waiver to help with the money loss, but what did they think would happen after getting rid of the enrollment fee? They don't have the brightest people running that school, and they don't realize how bad customer service leads to losing students and money. They don't realize how unaddressed complaints on various websites affects their reputation.

It was 2016. Their enrollment dropped by about 500 or 600 students right after they stopped accepting TECEPs and portfolio assessments as residency credits with little notice. At first, it was almost no notice, but they extended the deadline after multiple complaints.

[cookderosa]

I think we are over-estimating the influence our forum has on TESU. They have over 17,000 students, and this forum only has about 1000 active members. Of those, how many are attending TESU or have already graduated?
When I was a TESU student, I often talked to my classmates about CLEP, I only met 1 or 2 all year that even knew what it was. When you filter out TESU students by those using CLEP and then that are getting help here- it's a pretty small percentage.

OTOH, the S companies need us and rely on social media for sales.

[Life Long Learning]

cookderosa

Marc, who heads a department at TESU, has been posting here for years. If the rest of the higher-ups didn't already know about the forum, Marc probably told them. It's just kind of unsettling that TESU is probably monitoring this forum to make decisions that make completing a degree less flexible and more expensive.

Why?  They have no incentive to create obstacles or user cost.  More profitable?  Sure, because even non-profits need to be sustainable.  If TESU doesn't make money, we don't have a college.   But making it harder for the sake of making it harder doesn't match their mission or make sense financially.

There is an incentive to improve reputation and academic integrity. If they have the reputation of being a degree mill, then it doesn't bode well for the school or students with their degrees. Some changes make sense, but they do make completing a degree less flexible and sometimes more expensive, not just with money that will go to TESU, but with money you have to spend at other schools and course providers.

There are other ways they could have used this forum to draw in students, but didn't. They could have improved customer service, better trained their advisors, and stopped making unexpected changes in the middle of the academic year. Sometimes, they make changes without informing students until their credits are rejected. I have attended many schools, and I have never attended one, other than TESU, that would make drastic changes in the middle of the school year. They could have also fired Todd Siben years ago for yelling at students and intentionally giving them misinformation.

The fact is that TESU lost students in a recent year. I can't remember which one. There was a thread on DegreeInfo on the number of students attending online programs. I can understand adding the residency waiver to help with the money loss, but what did they think would happen after getting rid of the enrollment fee? They don't have the brightest people running that school, and they don't realize how bad customer service leads to losing students and money. They don't realize how unaddressed complaints on various websites affects their reputation.

It was 2016. Their enrollment dropped by about 500 or 600 students right after they stopped accepting TECEPs and portfolio assessments as residency credits with little notice. At first, it was almost no notice, but they extended the deadline after multiple complaints.

I hope the Big 3 do NOT forget that they started as "assessment colleges" not B&M or online colleges.  

I do not buy the improve reputation and academic integrity BS.  Graduates over 30-years have proven to be very successful.  A Capstone will not make you successful.

---

I do think TESU keeps messing with the GEN ED to make it harder on students.  I do not see that same level at the other two?

I do understand ALL non-profits must make some money to break even.  Only the Feds can print money.    That only explains EC.  Both COSC and TESU are taxpayer funded are they not?

The percentage of the budget made up of tax money has been declining for decades at our public universities. They very much have pressure to balance the budget. I don't believe for a second that TESU is purposely targeting the forum. They can look at their own student stats to know which policies are cutting into their bottom line. The residency waiver change was obviously aimed at raising the minimum cost of a degree, but I don't think any other moves were intended that way.

NJ State budget was 2.2 Billion for education.

TESU received in FY2017........$3,292,000 from NJ taxpayers.

http://www.njascu.org/Analysis-Govs-Prop...030217.pdf


FY2014 TESU Budget
$62,047,624 Total Revenues
$39,319,950 Student Fees
$3,551,000 State Taxes
$11,560,662 Revolving
$7,616,012 Contracts

$56,550,992 Total Operating, Revolving, and Contact Expenses

$5,496,992 FY2014 Profit

http://www.tesu.edu/documents/Presidents...ressed.pdf

[bjcheung77]

Anyways, I am still wondering who that person is, I have an idea, but after checking... wrong person...
It’s great that we have a wonderful group of volunteers here. I am pretty excited DF was mentioned.

[davewill]

NJ State budget was 2.2 Billion for education.

TESU received in FY2017........$3,292,000 from NJ taxpayers.

http://www.njascu.org/Analysis-Govs-Prop...030217.pdf

And so? Is that a bigger or smaller percentage of TESU's budget than in years past? And did you notice that TESU got a fifth the amount that any other NJ University got and an order of magnitude less than most?

Raw numbers without analysis or context mean nothing.

[Life Long Learning]

NJ State budget was 2.2 Billion for education.

TESU received in FY2017........$3,292,000 from NJ taxpayers.

http://www.njascu.org/Analysis-Govs-Prop...030217.pdf

And so? Is that a bigger or smaller percentage of TESU's budget than in years past? And did you notice that TESU got a fifth the amount that any other NJ University got and an order of magnitude less than most?

Raw numbers without analysis or context mean nothing.

FY2014 TESU Budget
$62,047,624 Total Revenues
$39,319,950 Student Fees
$3,551,000 State Taxes
$11,560,662 Revolving
$7,616,012 Contracts

$56,550,992 Total Operating, Revolving, and Contact Expenses

$5,496,992 FY2014 Profit

http://www.tesu.edu/documents/Presidents...ressed.pdf

FYI, TESU is not a real B&M University.  They are not Rutgers.

[davewill]

NJ State budget was 2.2 Billion for education.

TESU received in FY2017........$3,292,000 from NJ taxpayers.

http://www.njascu.org/Analysis-Govs-Prop...030217.pdf

And so? Is that a bigger or smaller percentage of TESU's budget than in years past? And did you notice that TESU got a fifth the amount that any other NJ University got and an order of magnitude less than most?

Raw numbers without analysis or context mean nothing.

FY2014 TESU Budget
$62,047,624 Total Revenues
$39,319,950 Student Fees
$3,551,000 State Taxes
$11,560,662 Revolving
$7,616,012 Contracts

$56,550,992 Total Operating, Revolving, and Contact Expenses

$5,496,992 FY2014 Profit

http://www.tesu.edu/documents/Presidents...ressed.pdf

FYI, TESU is not a real B&M University.  They are not Rutgers.

So they are getting less now than in years past, and tax dollars are a small percentage of their budget. Just what I thought and said.

[Life Long Learning]

NJ State budget was 2.2 Billion for education.

TESU received in FY2017........$3,292,000 from NJ taxpayers.

http://www.njascu.org/Analysis-Govs-Prop...030217.pdf

And so? Is that a bigger or smaller percentage of TESU's budget than in years past? And did you notice that TESU got a fifth the amount that any other NJ University got and an order of magnitude less than most?

Raw numbers without analysis or context mean nothing.

FY2014 TESU Budget
$62,047,624 Total Revenues
$39,319,950 Student Fees
$3,551,000 State Taxes
$11,560,662 Revolving
$7,616,012 Contracts

$56,550,992 Total Operating, Revolving, and Contact Expenses

$5,496,992 FY2014 Profit

http://www.tesu.edu/documents/Presidents...ressed.pdf

FYI, TESU is not a real B&M University.  They are not Rutgers.

So they are getting less now than in years past, and tax dollars are a small percentage of their budget. Just what I thought and said.

They get 8% less total than 3 years ago from 5.7% of their budget.  Have they raised students fees only 8% total in the last 3 years?

They have a 10% profit margin.

The percentage of the budget made up of tax money has been declining for decades at our public universities is not true with TESU. They very much have pressure to balance the budget is NOT true.
-$259,000 vs $5,496,992 FY2014 Profit is no pressure!