TESU SOS-110 Update

[AwardTour]

This is what TESU told me via email.

"Any student who applies for admission after January 1, 2019, is required to complete SOS-110, Living in the Information Age. Since you applied on January 25, 2019, you are bound to the catalog requirements in place at the time of the application.

In your case, you must take SOS-110 as it is required by your catalog.
Patricia C. Certo, MBA
Senior Academic Program Advisor
Thomas Edison State University"

Their website clearly states it differently. 
https://www2.tesu.edu/course.php?CourseCode=TES-100&sem=

So, based on this email response I am required to take this because my catalog requires it AND I applied after January 1st? Or I am required to take it because the catalog requires it for that reason alone? Based on this response if someone applied in December 2018 would they get an exemption even if it is on their catalog? I can picture this same person saying basically "if it is on your catalog you have to take it". So why mention the date January 1st, 2019.

This boils down to a couple of possibilities: 

1) TESU is not good at updating their own website as conditions and requirements change. This poor messaging and communication of requirements can leave students disappointed and confused. If the requirements are so cut and dry then why not update your customer facing website properly? The lost productivity in having to answer student emails would have more than paid for the 1 minute it would have taken to update the plain text HTML on their site.

2) TESU lacks integrity. They know their website says one thing and they are saying another. Advising has decided to just start enforcing this now and moved the time line forward. It feels not only like a money grab but for new students like me of TESU it creates feeling of distrust or at the very least a sense of disorganization. I can't trust what your website says so now I must double and triple check everything going forward.

3) All of the above.    


This throws a monkey wrench in my plans. I know it is not a difficult class but it is still more time consuming and expensive than TES-100. This frikin sucks. Thanks TESU.

[davewill]

Here's the 2018/19 catalog pdf: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog. It should be the controlling document as they apparently haven't published one to supercede it. It only mentions TES-100 as a required cornerstone course. In fact, it doesn't even say that SOS-110 may be taken instead.

[dfrecore]

They have done things like this before.
1) I distinctly remember when they said they would no longer accept Strategic Management being transferred in for the Business Capstone course.  There was a cutoff date, and I think they told everyone in advance, rather than after the fact (so you had a couple of days/weeks to sign up for the Penn Foster course).  
2) They decided not to accept Shmoop after the fact, and just announced it via email at some point.

I would push back on this.  The website is very clear on this:

https://www.tesu.edu/tuition/per-credit

Residency Requirement

Students who select the Per Credit Tuition Plan (excluding those who enroll under a military plan) with the intention of earning an associates or bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State University must complete 16 credits via Thomas Edison State University Online (OL), Guided Study (GS) or e-Pack (EP) courses. This requirement may be waived by paying the Residency Waiver fee.

TES-100 Cornerstone: Lifelong Learning Strategies course: As of May 25, 2016, new students are required to complete TES-100, a one-credit online course designed to assess their readiness in areas relevant to student success.

Newly enrolled students will be automatically registered for this course, which will appear in new students’ registration results. One-time tuition for the course is $300 (not included in the Per Credit Tuition Plan).

---

Here's the 2018/19 catalog pdf: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog. It should be the controlling document as they apparently haven't published one to supercede it. It only mentions TES-100 as a required cornerstone course. In fact, it doesn't even say that SOS-110 may be taken instead.

Page 17 of the catalog is where you'd want to direct her to.

[darthweezy]

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spot.... Today I received an email about an eval update and when I went to the site to check it out I no longer see anything about cornerstone. This is for the BACS. I still see the Capstone clear as day but nothing about the corner stone unless I'm missing something?

[davewill]

Here's the 2018/19 catalog pdf: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog. It should be the controlling document as they apparently haven't published one to supercede it. It only mentions TES-100 as a required cornerstone course. In fact, it doesn't even say that SOS-110 may be taken instead.

Page 17 of the catalog is where you'd want to direct her to.

Not really, that page just indicates that TES-100 is an example of a self-directed course. The page she would want would be the one for her degree that shows the requirements, including the TES-100 cornerstone. For Bachelor of Arts degrees, that's page 99, for Bachelor of Science degrees, pages 110-112, for BSBA it's page 129, etc...

[dfrecore]

Here's the 2018/19 catalog pdf: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog. It should be the controlling document as they apparently haven't published one to supercede it. It only mentions TES-100 as a required cornerstone course. In fact, it doesn't even say that SOS-110 may be taken instead.

Page 17 of the catalog is where you'd want to direct her to.

Not really, that page just indicates that TES-100 is an example of a self-directed course. The page she would want would be the one for her degree that shows the requirements, including the TES-100 cornerstone. For Bachelor of Arts degrees, that's page 99, for Bachelor of Science degrees, pages 110-112, for BSBA it's page 129, etc...

You're right.  I just went with the first thing I saw about the cornerstone without reading it all through.

The good news is, every degree lists TES-100 as a required course, and none of them list SOS-110.  So I'm going to guess that they aren't going to apply that to people until the new catalog on July 1.

[AwardTour]

Here's the 2018/19 catalog pdf: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog. It should be the controlling document as they apparently haven't published one to supercede it. It only mentions TES-100 as a required cornerstone course. In fact, it doesn't even say that SOS-110 may be taken instead.

Page 17 of the catalog is where you'd want to direct her to.

Not really, that page just indicates that TES-100 is an example of a self-directed course. The page she would want would be the one for her degree that shows the requirements, including the TES-100 cornerstone. For Bachelor of Arts degrees, that's page 99, for Bachelor of Science degrees, pages 110-112, for BSBA it's page 129, etc...

You're right.  I just went with the first thing I saw about the cornerstone without reading it all through.

The good news is, every degree lists TES-100 as a required course, and none of them list SOS-110.  So I'm going to guess that they aren't going to apply that to people until the new catalog on July 1.

There is no good news, TESU put SOS-110 on my Academic Evaluation as a requirement. I could try to use their own 2018/2019 Catalog as evidence like I did using their website but I doubt that will do anything either. Other people have sent me Private Messages saying it is listed as a requirement on their Academic Eval also. 

There is no need to guess, they are applying it right now to new students like myself and not waiting for July 1st. What they print in their academic catalog is meaningless since they won't adhere to the very timelines and standards they write about.

[Supermind]

So, TESU has enforced this policy from Jan. 2019 itself, instead of July 2019, as they had originally stated? I guess they sensed a massive surge in the Cornerstone enrollments and decided to act fast. As for me, I think I have had a very narrow escape. I completed the Cornerstone on December 20th, 2018, and it has been applied to my evaluation.

[dfrecore]

Here's the 2018/19 catalog pdf: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog. It should be the controlling document as they apparently haven't published one to supercede it. It only mentions TES-100 as a required cornerstone course. In fact, it doesn't even say that SOS-110 may be taken instead.

Page 17 of the catalog is where you'd want to direct her to.

Not really, that page just indicates that TES-100 is an example of a self-directed course. The page she would want would be the one for her degree that shows the requirements, including the TES-100 cornerstone. For Bachelor of Arts degrees, that's page 99, for Bachelor of Science degrees, pages 110-112, for BSBA it's page 129, etc...

You're right.  I just went with the first thing I saw about the cornerstone without reading it all through.

The good news is, every degree lists TES-100 as a required course, and none of them list SOS-110.  So I'm going to guess that they aren't going to apply that to people until the new catalog on July 1.

There is no good news, TESU put SOS-110 on my Academic Evaluation as a requirement. I could try to use their own 2018/2019 Catalog as evidence like I did using their website but I doubt that will do anything either. Other people have sent me Private Messages saying it is listed as a requirement on their Academic Eval also. 

There is no need to guess, they are applying it right now to new students like myself and not waiting for July 1st. What they print in their academic catalog is meaningless since they won't adhere to the very timelines and standards they write about.

Seriously, I would fight this.  The catalog is what you're agreeing to when you enroll.  The catalog specifically says that TES-100 is required for your degree (for all degrees), and it is right there in writing.  Fight it.  With all that you have.  While they are allowed to make decisions like not accepting outside capstones in, or changing what they bring a CLEP exam in for instance (those aren't in the catalog), they are NOT allowed to change policies in the catalog once you're enrolled.  They can't change things on a whim.  That is what the catalog is for!!  To outline for you what you must do for your degree.  As long as you stay enrolled, the catalog is like the contract you have with them.

[mysonx3]

Ask them for a copy of the catalog. Then they can't claim "there's a new one that isn't published". Make them provide the material for your argument, because then you're pitting them not against you but against their own policies. That's my advice.