If an employer questions your degree during an interview?

[SandraNC]

I agree that aggressive advertising is a turn-off. I've always had a good opinion of Western Governors University and I think it's a shame that they're now advertising on TV. It lumps them in with ITT Tech, Devry, and UoP.

[cookderosa]

I don't think anyone I know would question EC. I think it's a little easier if you can say that you went to a state college, but there's nothing wrong with a private college at all. Lots of great schools are privately owned! I also wouldn't assume that anyone else out there would have any clue about residency requirements and testing requirements. Very very few people ever think about this sort of thing.

This is true, and I know from my time at TESC, that MOST students are not using testing or don't know about it or understand it. I spent a lot of time discussing why they should consider taking the A&I CLEP instead of 2 classes, but even there, I met a lot of resistance. Linda will share her experience of sitting at TESC graduation and catching crap from a few classmates for testing instead of taking classes.

People have a misunderstanding of the college. TESC is a regionally accredited state college- the highest level of accreditation available. There is no dark side- the college is 100% as "legit" as your local university. There are policies that the motivated/observant student can exploit to the fullest. It is our group here that is a collective of how to do that to the fullest. If you have a problem with testing out, it's a problem with this board, not TESC.

Additionally, there are MANY MANY MANY colleges with generous test out policies, but they don't always get talked about here. University of Wyoming, for instance, has no limit on CLEP credit, so would you have to "explain" your degree earned there? It's the EXACT SAME process. Opening up a college catalog, understanding their policy, and using it to the fullest. Period. If attending TESC isn't going to make you feel warm and fuzzy, attend somewhere else. If taking tests makes you feel bad, take classes. It's very simple.

[JDM]

It's absolutely true Jennifer. Even people on this board use TESC for more than just testing out. For me, it's the transfer policy that makes TESC so appealing.

My boss asked about this just last week. Her question was more polite, but she basically said, "It's great that you're going back to school, but why in the world would you choose an obscure state college all the way across the country to do it?"

My answer was something like, "TESC has a very strong degree completion program, but most important, they allow me to take my classes anywhere I want. Last semester, for example, I studied Greek literature at Harvard. I watched online while the kids from Harvard College sat in the seats, but otherwise I took exactly the same class for one fourth the price and without leaving my house. This semester I'm doing a similar course on Shakespeare from UC Berkeley. In the Fall I'm planning to take literary theory from Oxford. TESC allows me to pick and choose the best online courses in the world and combine them into a regionally accredited degree, all while working full time. For my situation, I couldn't ask for a better combination."

[burbuja0512]

Yes it's very funny that a TESC student would give another TESC student crap about testing... ha ha like um duhhhh don't you realize that if we're both sitting here at graduation we have the exact same diploma.... mine just cost less


@JDM - love the response to your boss. That's brilliant!!

[FinancialWorld]

Linda will share her experience of sitting at TESC graduation and catching crap from a few classmates for testing instead of taking classes.

Haha yeah I know. I was with my brother at the TESC graduation last year. An IC member gave a shout out to CLEP and Instacert, and the other graduating students around my brother where like "what's CLEP and Instacert?". Poor buggers, a little more research can save a lot of time and money.

[bricabrac]

Poor buggers, a little more research can save a lot of time and money.

hilarious Yeah, and to read the many bi*** and moan posts about the struggles of course work...the one that really makes me laugh is COS101. If you are majoring in computer science or an engineering degree, you need the course as it is intro level programming (50-60%). If not, its so much easier to take the non-science/liberal arts version (dsst or clep exam) and get credit for the course! Many barely study for the darn thing. We keep on referring students to the CBE's but they will not listen. What's the adage, "you can lead a horse to water but..."

[skybirds]

Self learners need motrivation to complete their degree. Many traditiional
students wing it. I walked out of interviews. I had an interviewer that got
so testy I politely excused myself and left.

[Ace_King]

Hmmm. That's a nice thing to know..excusing yourself from an interview. I usually just try to take all the things they throw at me. But than again, I never applied for a position that requires a degree. I'm assuming those interviews are harder >.< Just getting an insight, when I do graduate from one of the big three and have my diploma in hand. =]

[burbuja0512]

Hmmm. That's a nice thing to know..excusing yourself from an interview. I usually just try to take all the things they throw at me. But than again, I never applied for a position that requires a degree. I'm assuming those interviews are harder >.< Just getting an insight, when I do graduate from one of the big three and have my diploma in hand. =]

yes, I love that concept. What do you say? "I'm sorry, but I think that you as an interviewer are too much of an a***ole and I am afraid that I could never work for someone like you, so I'm leaving this interview now." hilarious

I've only applied for jobs that require diplomas. LOL... I don't let the BA/BS requirement stop me. They just have that there as part of the generic company job template half the time.. sometimes you don't get a call back, but sometimes you do. If you have decent experience, the degree doesn't always matter.

[Ace_King]

Haha that would be so funny. The reason why I haven't applied for any jobs is because I currently work and of course I don't have my bachelors degree yet. I do medical billing/coding. It's enough to get by, but I do not expect to stay here forever. All I needed was a high school diploma, but everyone here has at least an bachelors/associates in medical billing/coding or a certificate. A temp agency found me the job, I was "filling" in for some one who moved to another state until they could find some one else, after my three month evaluation they told me I was so good that they decided to keep me. Yay =]