TESU - starting from (nearly) scratch! (OUCH!)

[alzee]

I thought the CLEPs could be taken online, no? (but I believe I am close to testing centers)

CLEPs and DSSTs are in person at a testing center. TECEPs are online, as are Saylor and StraighterLine proctored finals.

[janehill]

Which 2 courses did you take 20 years ago?

Read through the Beginners Guide to see how you want to get your credits. There are so many ways, it's incredible.

I've created 2 generic spreadsheets - 1 for the BSBA in Marketing and 1 for the BA in Communications. The Marketing degree will be $2200 less. For the BSBA, you can take the Capstone as a TECEP exam for $114, with the BA you have to take the Capstone as a course at TESU and it's $1155. Plus, you can't find all of the COM courses you need as cheaply as the business courses, so you will have to take some at CSU-Global, which are $250 each. Most of the business courses can be found for $100 or less.

Also, the 2 spreadsheets are very similar, because I've done both of them trying to utilize Saylor courses. You may or may not like them (most of us on this forum have used very few just because it's not a great study resource), but the exams are only $25. After that, utilizing SL or CLEP/DSST is most popular. There are also some free resources you may want to knock out right up front to get you started.

You guys are AMAZING! I cannot believe how absolutely helpful and generous with that help and your time you are. THANK YOU so much! I LOVE the spreadsheets because I'm so visual and it really does plan and plot it out easily. THANK YOU AGAIN!

One thing....I'm not supposed to "enroll" into TESU until I'm nearly done, right? So even if I take TECEP's, I should take them as an unmatriculated student, right? And then when I'm nearly done, enroll/matriculate and start the transfer process. ?

[janehill]

Oh...my courses 20 years ago from Rutgers are "Expository Writing" and "Intro to Psychology." 3 credits each. Would that eliminate me having to retake the 2 below for a BA Communications?

ENC-101 WRITTEN COMM - English Composition I
PSY-101 Intro to Psychology

[alzee]

One thing....I'm not supposed to "enroll" into TESU until I'm nearly done, right?

You can enroll whenever you like. If you enroll early, you lock yourself into a course catalog, which will protect you from future course changes. This won't affect the cost of your degree unless you take a long time to complete it.

You can put off transferring until you're ready to graduate. If you don't, you'll have to pay for multiple transfers. Personally the cost is so low that I've already had my ACE transcript sent in 3-4 times; The peace of mind I get from seeing my progress recorded @ TESU is worth the $40 or whatever it costs.

[davewill]

One thing....I'm not supposed to "enroll" into TESU until I'm nearly done, right? So even if I take TECEP's, I should take them as an unmatriculated student, right? And then when I'm nearly done, enroll/matriculate and start the transfer process. ?

Heavens no! You should go right ahead and apply. This is one area where I strongly disagree with the common wisdom around here. There is no downside and some upsides to applying sooner rather than later. Once you apply, you can start sending in your transcripts (those two courses). Also when you take CLEPs and DSSTs, you get to send the score to one school for free immediately, so it's handy to be an actual student there.

Enrolling requires actually registering for a course. You have a year from being accepted to do so, and one of those TECEPs or the cornerstone will do nicely for that.

If you want to wait to send other transcripts until you've taken all the courses there to save transcript fees, that's OK, but I always found it comforting to see my units successfully transferred.

On the flip side, many people have been caught flat-footed by catalog and policy changes because they put off applying.

[dfrecore]

So English Comp I is fulfilled, you only need English Comp II. If you take the CLEP, it will duplicate your course you've already taken but then give you credit for II. If you just want to take II, you can do the TECEP or SL. i did the TECEP, it wasn't too bad.

Psychology will fulfill one of your "Knowledge of Human Cultures" area requirements.

[Mamasaphire]

I'm big on enrolling right away and just taking a TECEP every 6-12 mths to stay enrolled. I felt more motivated watching my credits build in my academic plan, and it gave me a better idea what I still needed. When I let my enrollment lapse lots of changes happened that weren't in my favor and now I know to keep it active until I finish and graduate successfully.

[dfrecore]

Since we don't know if TESU will make any changes to the plans on the normal July 1 Catalog change, if you know for sure that you want to go there, and get your degree there, then you should apply and enroll before June 30.

[Prloko]

degreeforum.wikia.com spells out most of the how. Warning, some stuff my be outdated on there, but for the most part people do a good job of updating the wiki.