TESC policy change requiring 300/400 for UL?

[cookderosa]

Thank you Jenifer,
I applied to TESC in June and got my evaluation in July and by that time, 200 level courses were accepted for upper level but I now late to apply 10 credits of Organic Chemistry/w lab. I wish TESC had given some kind of warning before changing its policy. Oh well! Now I have to look for upper level online science/math courses. Do you know any school offer BIO or CHEM with affordable tuition?
Thanks again.

>>

Yes, however, you NEED TO BE ENROLLED before you register for any "upper level" classes on your own. As you found out, they change things. Had you enrolled, those 200 levels would all be upper level now and this would be a non-issue. There are lots of independent study upper level sciences if you meet the prereqs and are not picky- BUT, without being enrolled, you could end up with TESC evaluating the credit at 200 and then you'd be screwed. I only caution you because I took a 200 level soc class that tesc evaluated as 199 lol. At the time, that was to be part of my major and ended up being a total waste....so, say you take a BIO399 class from somewhere- TESC can decide to bring that in as BIO299. On the other hand, if you are enrolled, TESC will approve your class choices in advance, and then you are good to go.
If you don't mind, I'd like to shed a tear for you, 10 credits in organic chem with lab must have been an insane class. From what I hear, that's the class that sorts out the pre-med drop outs from pre-med completers.

[don100]

Thanks Jennifer. I will do some more reseach and make decision whether going for TESC or another school.
Thanks again.

[JimiT20]

Does this apply to History majors?

[cookderosa]

Does this apply to History majors?
>>

No.

[BURGETRN]

Hey, wait a minute. My wife applied in June also and we were told because she applied before the change that the old rules apply. Remember, you have 6 months from the application to enroll. Her eval was based on the old rules and we called and confirmed this would apply. We just paid the enrollment fee today. didn't want to chance waiting any longer. She has 110 credits and only has to take analyzing and int. lit for 6hrs to complete her concentration and is going to take the gen soc/his for the others. The new rules would have really messed her up. So if you applied before the change and your eval was done on the old rules you should be good to go if you don't wait to long!!!

[TeeitupTom]

Please be sure to get that in writing. TESC is an EXCELLENT choice of schools but some of their advisers are well known for giving out conflicting information and for being uninformed about policy. Application is different than enrollment. I thought the rules in effect at the time of enrollment are the ones that apply to graduation. I asked my who friend recently enrolled at TESC and he said he was under that impression. I don't know.

[BURGETRN]

Please be sure to get that in writing. TESC is an EXCELLENT choice of schools but some of their advisers are well known for giving out conflicting information and for being uninformed about policy. Application is different than enrollment. I thought the rules in effect at the time of enrollment are the ones that apply to graduation. I asked my who friend recently enrolled at TESC and he said he was under that impression. I don't know.

Thanks for the heads up. We went ahead and paid after talking to admissions, advisement, and the registrar. They all told us that the old rules applied to my wifes program, she had applied in early June or late May and we had just not paid the enrollment fee yet, I think the deal was that she applied and was accepted to the uni prior to the date of the change. She spoke with an advisor today and was cleared to take the a&i lit and ss/h to finish her BA in liberal studies. I sure hope they don't try and change it later after we have paid for these exams and the enrollment fee because there is not really anymore tests she could take that would be 300 or 400 level. She has already 6 credits of 400 level liberal arts and 6 more that were free electives (management classes) from fsu. the new rules would mean she needed 12 300 or 400 level credits in the arts to finish instead of just the 10 200 level and up she needs now because the rest of her arts/sci classes are 200 level. That would blow and require actual classes instead of tests and thousands of dollars in increased cost.

[bat21]

Well you can always take the Excelsior exams for your Upper Level Credit, that is what I did, along with a couple of B&M classes for my EC Degree.

I know they have several upper level exams available.

[Jubilee]

Wow... do I ever wish I'd seen this a couple months ago. I just got burned by the policy change.

I'm getting a Social Sciences degree and was on the tail end of it--took my last test a month ago. Couldn't afford to enroll till a couple weeks ago (though I had my evaluation done). Miracle happened, I enrolled, had my transcripts sent, and was set to graduate in December. Until I got my evaluation in the mail and found out about the new policy.

In a desperate attempt to not have to change my graduation I took a day off work, studied madly for three days straight and took Money and Banking (the only UL test I hadn't already taken, and yes it was crazy for someone with NO economics background whatsoever to take it after that little study, but I had to try). Missed it by 4 points. So.... no graduation for awhile. *sighs*

I guess it's nice to know that this was a recent policy change and not just careless reading on my part.

[verity-business]

I can definitely understand why this policy change would come as a surprise if you weren't expecting it. I work with Verity Institute and we had been in touch with TESC since Aug. 2008 regarding these policy changes. It was nice to know ahead of time because we made adjustments in our degree programs so that students were already taking the tests/courses that they would need under the new policy.

Two thoughts came out of this experience:

1) Be in touch early with people at Thomas Edison. Be sure to know ahead of time that what you are doing is going to work. It really stinks to work that hard and then not have it turn out like you were hoping!

2) Yes, TESC is making their degree requirements harder. This however, is not a bad thing. Remember, this is for your benefit: you WANT people to respect your alma mater when you graduate.

In my experience, TESC has been great to work with (and yes, I have corresponded today with people there!) and I trust that everyone else has a similar experience!

Blessings,
Kathleen