TESU Dual Major | Double AOS (Possible Changes)

[bjcheung77]

There maybe a change that has occurred for TESU in allowing a double AOS for the BSBA and a dual major for the BA.  I have not confirmed it, as the student hasn't sent me a screenshot or a pdf of their latest academic evaluation, but they did mention the number of credits required for the degree has increased if you add an extra AOS to the BSBA or an extra major for the BA.

Here's an example for the BSBA, for instance, if you're interested in an Entrepreneurship and International Business double AOS, you have to complete 120 credits for the first AOS, and add 18 credits to the second AOS; further to that, no overlapping of credits can now be used, so in total - for this example, it will be 138 credits for a BSBA Entrepreneurship & International Business.

An example for a double major, a BA History & BA Psychology, let's pretend each of them only has 30 AOS credits, you will now need a total of 150 credits for both degrees, previously, you can have the double major with just 120 credits!  That was a rude awakening when I read the private message... anyways, we should not jump to any conclusions until this has been confirmed!

Moreover, to note, the school will not allow two of the same degrees in the same graduation cycle, example, a BA Biology and a BA Communications.  The changes in the BSBA is noted here as well in this link: Thomas Edison State University - Award of Degrees Policy (smartcatalogiq.com)

Last but not least, there is a workaround for each of these degrees! And I will not tell you yet... or will I... well, count to ten, calm down and read on!  For the faint of heart, stop yelling at TESU for the changes and just do it, do complete the courses best you can before anything changes or more unfavorable changes occur in the next catalog year...

For the BSBA 2021-2022, you have 15 credits for free electives, use this for 15 of the 18 credits, you will need to graduate with 123 credits at minimum if you transfer everything in exactly.  You can not ask for a second AOS to be added to your degree plan as that will "leave" the 15 credit field required for free electives in addition to the second AOS, you need to go through the declaration link when you are graduating for adding a second AOS.

For the BA 2021-2022, you have plenty of extra free credits to be used.  Fill them all up with your second AOS, if you do exactly the required number of courses, you can graduate with 120 flat for both major without needing to take extra courses, the second AOS takes the spot for the required electives.  Again, do not add the second major into your plan, if you do, it will show you need 150 credits!  Use the Link to request a second AOS when you graduate.

How do you verify you've got the BSBA complete for both AOS or second major for the BA?  Easy, you just do an academic evaluation of each one.  As long as your degree and AOS is showing complete, it will allow you to add the second AOS or second major successfully using that link and after they do the final audits!

Here's the graduation link page: Thomas Edison State University: Graduation Information | Current Students (tesu.edu)
Second Degree Program or Second Area of Study: Second Area of Study/Degree Request Form (tesu.edu)
Hope this helps, if any other questions or something, reply with your inquires...

[speedrunner]

If you were to complete a BA in Computer Science and Psychology, do you have to complete two capstones for it, or is that only required for two different degrees?

[bjcheung77]

If you were to complete a BA in Computer Science and Psychology, do you have to complete two capstones for it, or is that only required for two different degrees?

One capstone if you complete the two majors at the same time. For other degrees, some will have another capstone such as a BSBA or BSOL etc, and one that doesn't have a capstone such as the BS Data Analytics degree.

[rachel83az]

I recently (as in last week or so) added another AOS to my plan. I wasn't told anything except the standard "everything must graduate at the same time" warning. That could be because I already have a huge number of credits and the supposed new policy doesn't apply, but I don't know.

[bjcheung77]

Hello bjcheung77,

I have a question regarding adding a second AOS to a BA degree at TESU. 

I am currently enrolled in two programs (BSOL and BA-History). At the conclusion of the November semester, I will be finished with all prerequisite courses for both the History and BSOL programs. I plan on taking two capstones (LIB-495, LDR-435) and 1 tecep (Operations Management) during the March 2022 Semester to give me a total of 30 Residential Hours. After doing some research, I recently decided to add a second area of Service in Computer Science to the BA-History degree I'm pursuing.

Computer Science is really the field I would like to try to start my career in once I eventually finish my master's degrees and hit the workforce. My thinking was that I could add take the 36 hours via Ace for the Computer Science courses and confer them all once I finished. After the additional area of service was added I saw in my evaluation that I could only use 90 between both BA degrees.

My evaluations are now combined instead of being listed separately and show 156 total hours (instead of 120). Would I now need 66 residential hours instead of 30? If so this would pretty much be a dealbreaker for me. What would be my best options here in your opinion? I don't see the value in spending 9k for 2 extra undergrad semesters to get 36 more residential hours. I still plan on taking all the courses you have suggested in the CS plans you have posted in the forums in the past.  

I could still use them to get undergraduate certs in Computer Science and Computer Information Systems but I would definitely rather have a BA in CS with industry certifications than a degree unrelated to IT with IT certs. Even though I have already completed the history degree should I ditch it for the CS degree and use my ACE credits there? I'm at a standstill right now . I see that you have already walked the path and I really appreciate your insights.

My answer to their question, I did not give them the workaround for this as the evaluations combine the 30 free elective credits instead of overwrite the need for them: 

You should copy/paste this into your original thread and add the evaluation without your personal details. Just to let you know and as an FYI, the evaluation of 156 credits is correct, you can only reuse 90 (gen ed/free electives) credits as the other degree AOS subject contents are different from Computer Science & History. Please add your evaluation to this thread, or create a new one, as you can't send it to me by private message.

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I recently (as in last week or so) added another AOS to my plan. I wasn't told anything except the standard "everything must graduate at the same time" warning. That could be because I already have a huge number of credits and the supposed new policy doesn't apply, but I don't know.

Your catalog year isn't the 2021-2022, you won't be affected. I would like someone who is applying to TESU verify this, I am very curious if they did that change or not...

[sarahmac]

Hello bjcheung77,

I have a question regarding adding a second AOS to a BA degree at TESU. 

I am currently enrolled in two programs (BSOL and BA-History). At the conclusion of the November semester, I will be finished with all prerequisite courses for both the History and BSOL programs. I plan on taking two capstones (LIB-495, LDR-435) and 1 tecep (Operations Management) during the March 2022 Semester to give me a total of 30 Residential Hours. After doing some research, I recently decided to add a second area of Service in Computer Science to the BA-History degree I'm pursuing.

Computer Science is really the field I would like to try to start my career in once I eventually finish my master's degrees and hit the workforce. My thinking was that I could add take the 36 hours via Ace for the Computer Science courses and confer them all once I finished. After the additional area of service was added I saw in my evaluation that I could only use 90 between both BA degrees.

My evaluations are now combined instead of being listed separately and show 156 total hours (instead of 120). Would I now need 66 residential hours instead of 30? If so this would pretty much be a dealbreaker for me. What would be my best options here in your opinion? I don't see the value in spending 9k for 2 extra undergrad semesters to get 36 more residential hours. I still plan on taking all the courses you have suggested in the CS plans you have posted in the forums in the past.  

I could still use them to get undergraduate certs in Computer Science and Computer Information Systems but I would definitely rather have a BA in CS with industry certifications than a degree unrelated to IT with IT certs. Even though I have already completed the history degree should I ditch it for the CS degree and use my ACE credits there? I'm at a standstill right now . I see that you have already walked the path and I really appreciate your insights.

My answer to their question, I did not give them the workaround for this as the evaluations combine the 30 free elective credits instead of overwrite the need for them: 

You should copy/paste this into your original thread and add the evaluation without your personal details. Just to let you know and as an FYI, the evaluation of 156 credits is correct, you can only reuse 90 (gen ed/free electives) credits as the other degree AOS subject contents are different from Computer Science & History. Please add your evaluation to this thread, or create a new one, as you can't send it to me by private message.

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I recently (as in last week or so) added another AOS to my plan. I wasn't told anything except the standard "everything must graduate at the same time" warning. That could be because I already have a huge number of credits and the supposed new policy doesn't apply, but I don't know.

Your catalog year isn't the 2021-2022, you won't be affected.  I would like someone who is applying to TESU verify this, I am very curious if they did that change or not...

I am not sure I actually understand the problem. I thought TESU allows concurrent enrolment in two degrees, and this person is already enrolled in two (BSOL and BA History) and trying to add a third? In which case, naturally I would have thought, they are only allowing them to recyle AOS credits into electives for the other degree once.

I was told this is how it would work by TESU admissions back before Christmas, since I wanted to confirm with them that for (military) residency pursuing two degrees (BA, BAS) simultaneously I would only need 7 TECEPS (plus one cornerstone and two capstones), and wouldn't have to meet residency twice-over. The guy at the time said if I wanted to do any further study beyond these two degrees I would need 30 new credits, which would appear is the rule being applied here?

Or maybe I misunderstood this previously in that case. Has it always been that you could previously simultaneously do e.g. BA History and Psych, and BSBA Project Management and Marketing (just examples, I do not know anything about business at TESU)? If that is the case, I really wish I had hopped on the old catalogue sooner if this is a permanent change

[rachel83az]

I recently (as in last week or so) added another AOS to my plan. I wasn't told anything except the standard "everything must graduate at the same time" warning. That could be because I already have a huge number of credits and the supposed new policy doesn't apply, but I don't know.

Your catalog year isn't the 2021-2022, you won't be affected.  I would like someone who is applying to TESU verify this, I am very curious if they did that change or not...

Actually, it is. I told them to update my degrees to the new catalog and add a new degree while they were at it. Maybe these will be new policy changes for 2022-2023, but I don't think they are yet.

[bjcheung77]

I am not sure I actually understand the problem. I thought TESU allows concurrent enrolment in two degrees, and this person is already enrolled in two (BSOL and BA History) and trying to add a third? In which case, naturally I would have thought, they are only allowing them to recyle AOS credits into electives for the other degree once.

I was told this is how it would work by TESU admissions back before Christmas, since I wanted to confirm with them that for (military) residency pursuing two degrees (BA, BAS) simultaneously I would only need 7 TECEPS (plus one cornerstone and two capstones), and wouldn't have to meet residency twice-over. The guy at the time said if I wanted to do any further study beyond these two degrees I would need 30 new credits, which would appear is the rule being applied here?

Or maybe I misunderstood this previously in that case. Has it always been that you could previously simultaneously do e.g. BA History and Psych, and BSBA Project Management and Marketing (just examples, I do not know anything about business at TESU)? If that is the case, I really wish I had hopped on the old catalogue sooner if this is a permanent change

You can get a BA with two AOS and the BSBA, nothing much should have changed. What do you currently have set right now? Just one AOS for each degree?

Actually, it is. I told them to update my degrees to the new catalog and add a new degree while they were at it. Maybe these will be new policy changes for 2022-2023, but I don't think they are yet.

No, not for a newer catalog, changes shouldn't have occurred for those yet. Adding a degree doesn't cause this issue, it's adding a second AOS to a degree. Do any of you have the extra AOS added to your current degree plan? Does it show with two AOS in your academic evaluation and an extra 30 credits for the degree?

[Lee586]

If one graduates with two degrees such as Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - CIS, how does this look on the transcript exactly?

[carrythenothing]

If one graduates with two degrees such as Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - CIS, how does this look on the transcript exactly?

Probably something like ...

Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts
Area of Study: Computer Science
Date Conferred: 06/2022

Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Area of Study: Computer Information Systems
Date Conferred: 06/2022

Based on a picture of someone's transcript: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid236526