TESU Degree plan - advice needed please

[Tripletmom]

I attached my TESU degree plan - BA in Liberal Studies with a social sciences concentration.  I also want to get the AA at the same time!  I've read the postings about applying before June 30, but I'm worried that I won't be done in time.  I've considered CLEP/DSST exams to speed things up and I've had the InstantCert membership for some time, but I get impatient looking at the flashcards and not understanding the concept.  I doubt I'm giving it a real chance.  I'm just not sure it's the best method for my old brain.  I work full-time and have no idea if the capstone along with other classes simultaneously is manageable.  

I feel lost on what to do and really need some guidance.  Is my plan okay or have I overlooked something?  Do we expect the study.com deal to renew?  I sent my transcripts to TESU and have about 30 credits or so listed with them.  Should I keep plugging away until I'm ready for the capstone and then enroll?  

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Sorry had to attach a PDF.  It wouldn't accept my spreadsheet program.

[bjcheung77]

That's a solid plan of attacking the credits in my books. I would follow it to a T - for the UL AOS/Concentration, do that last as you haven't entered the majority of classes you need for it... and things can change in the next little while. There isn't anything you should worry about, just find your time management "system" and work on those courses the best you can.

Anyways, for Study.com you can actually "pause" the account. I would register and complete the August 2018 Capstone and work at most two Study.com courses during that time. If it seems too much work, then I suggest to "pause Study.com" until your capstone is done. Heck, I would even recommend paying for the residency waiver too, as from looking at your plan, it can be completed within a year.

Please review this thread: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid263571

[Tripletmom]

That's a solid plan of attacking the credits in my books.  I would follow it to a T - for the UL AOS/Concentration, do that last as you haven't entered the majority of classes you need for it... and things can change in the next little while.  There isn't anything you should worry about, just find your time management "system" and work on those courses the best you can.

Anyways, for Study.com you can actually "pause" the account.  I would register and complete the August 2018 Capstone and work at most two Study.com courses during that time.  If it seems too much work, then I suggest to "pause Study.com" until your capstone is done.  Heck, I would even recommend paying for the residency waiver too, as from looking at your plan, it can be completed within a year.

Please review this thread: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid263571

Oh my goodness, thank you.  That's so helpful!!  I am going to pay for the residency waiver, but I think my employer will pay the capstone tuition.  The waiver I can pay by phone (per your post) and the capstone can be paid online when registering for the course?  Also, with the social sciences concentration, is there a specific capstone for that?  Is that a 15-week course?  It's funny that you mentioned pausing study.com.  I had seriously considered pausing it on July 2 when it renews to try and knock out a few CLEPs/DSSTs.

[bjcheung77]

The capstone is a 12-week course, so it'll take 3 months to complete. You can pause it and study for some CLEPs and use the Modern States vouchers. All TESU Bachelors of Arts use the same LIB 495 capstone regardless of concentration or major. Other degrees from TESU schools will have a different capstone, such as their Business or Bachelor of Sciences (previously known as BSAST).

In addition to your PDF, Here are some other Study.com course options for UL Concentration in Social Sciences.
Business 307: Leadership & Organizational Behavior MAN-312 : Advanced Organizational Behavior
Business 323: Organizational Theory PSY-360 : Organizational Theory

History 306: The American Civil War Era HIS-450 : The American Civil War Era
History 308: Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War HIS-351 : A History of Vietnam War
History 311: The Holocaust & World War II HIS-354 : The Holocaust I

Psychology 301: Industrial/Organizational Psychology PSY-401 : Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Psychology 312: History and Systems of Psychology PSY-400 : History and Systems of Psychology

[davewill]

No reason not to enroll. There's no immediate obligation beyond the $75 enrollment fee. The June 30 deadline is only meaningful if you intend to register and pay for the capstone before then, or pay the residency waiver before then. If you pay the residency waiver, you are on the clock and MUST graduate by next June or lose it...I don't recommend it unless you're very close and very confident of finishing on time. The capstone you could go ahead and register for and there's no downside as long as you can commit the time to do well in it.

---

The Study.com deal will likely live on in some form, but it almost certainly won't be as extraordinarily cheap as it has been.

[dfrecore]

I don't know that I would personally pay for the capstone or the RW now if I didn't have at LEAST 90 (and probably closer to 112) credits completed. Seriously, anything could come up, keeping you from taking the remaining courses that you need in the timeframe, and you could lose the $1800 you paid for the RW. And if you haven't already taken a bunch of courses in your major, I wouldn't take the capstone yet. For sure with the Business capstone, it would have made it much harder if I hadn't already taken so many business courses, although I'm not at all certain that the BALS capstone works in the same way.

Anyway, I have stopped telling people about the June 30th deadline at this point unless they are REALLY close to graduating, and can really benefit from it. If the fees go up, you can deal with it. But it would just suck to pay the $1800, and then have life happen, and not take all of the courses you need before your year is up, and then have to pay $2500 (or whatever it will cost then). You won't have saved a dime, and instead paid for something twice that you didn't need to. Ouch.

[davewill]

I don't know that I would personally pay for the capstone or the RW now if I didn't have at LEAST 90 (and probably closer to 112) credits completed.  Seriously, anything could come up, keeping you from taking the remaining courses that you need in the timeframe, and you could lose the $1800 you paid for the RW.  And if you haven't already taken a bunch of courses in your major, I wouldn't take the capstone yet.  For sure with the Business capstone, it would have made it much harder if I hadn't already taken so many business courses, although I'm not at all certain that the BALS capstone works in the same way.

Anyway, I have stopped telling people about the June 30th deadline at this point unless they are REALLY close to graduating, and can really benefit from it.  If the fees go up, you can deal with it.  But it would just suck to pay the $1800, and then have life happen, and not take all of the courses you need before your year is up, and then have to pay $2500 (or whatever it will cost then).  You won't have saved a dime, and instead paid for something twice that you didn't need to.  Ouch.

I quite agree that most people should let the discounts go at this point. However, the LS Capstone doesn't depend on your AOS work, although some folks might prefer to choose a topic related to their AOS. As long as your writing and research skills are up to the task of a 25 page research paper, you can do fine. I would say don't do the LS Capstone unless you have a minimum of all the required English and most of the GenEds, or significant other writing practice. If you can wait until close to the end, as the school wants you to, then you should do so.

[Tripletmom]

I don't know that I would personally pay for the capstone or the RW now if I didn't have at LEAST 90 (and probably closer to 112) credits completed.  Seriously, anything could come up, keeping you from taking the remaining courses that you need in the timeframe, and you could lose the $1800 you paid for the RW.  And if you haven't already taken a bunch of courses in your major, I wouldn't take the capstone yet.  For sure with the Business capstone, it would have made it much harder if I hadn't already taken so many business courses, although I'm not at all certain that the BALS capstone works in the same way.

Anyway, I have stopped telling people about the June 30th deadline at this point unless they are REALLY close to graduating, and can really benefit from it.  If the fees go up, you can deal with it.  But it would just suck to pay the $1800, and then have life happen, and not take all of the courses you need before your year is up, and then have to pay $2500 (or whatever it will cost then).  You won't have saved a dime, and instead paid for something twice that you didn't need to.  Ouch.

I quite agree that most people should let the discounts go at this point. However, the LS Capstone doesn't depend on your AOS work, although some folks might prefer to choose a topic related to their AOS. As long as your writing and research skills are up to the task of a 25 page research paper, you can do fine. I would say don't do the LS Capstone unless you have a minimum of all the required English and most of the GenEds, or significant other writing practice. If you can wait until close to the end, as the school wants you to, then you should do so.

Bit the bullet and paid the $1800 this morning. I didn't register yet for the Capstone because my job will cover that cost. I figure I still have time to register for the August capstone if I can make significant headway on my credits. I have no idea about the Capstone requirements or whether or not I need guided study so I wanted an opportunity to review the Forum for those details.

I really appreciate the feedback here. If not for this forum I would still be plugging away at Community College.

[davewill]

I recommend the regular online course. The difference between OL course and guided study is that the OL course has blog posts to do that represent 23% of your grade. I considered them easy points.

[Tripletmom]

I recommend the regular online course. The difference between OL course and guided study is that the OL course has blog posts to do that represent 23% of your grade. I considered them easy points.

Good to know.  Thank you!