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+--- Forum: TESU - Thomas Edison State University Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-TESU-Thomas-Edison-State-University-Discussion)
+--- Thread: N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers (/Thread-N-J-Governor-Wants-to-Merge-Thomas-Edison-Into-Rutgers)
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - taylor - 03-17-2010
I wonder if TESC alumni will be grandfathered in somehow. I wouldn't mind shelling out another $250 for a Rutgers degree. Not that I'm not proud of my TESC degree but the name change would be a huge upgrade.
But if this happens TESC/Rutgers may no longer be part of the Big 3. I'm pretty sure they will have residency requirements, probably similar to UMassOnline which will not bode well with some students but I'm sure there will be others who would enroll for the brand name.
Thanks TMW2010 for posting this.
I can't wait to tell my sister this, she's going to feel jipped:ack: .
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - cookderosa - 03-17-2010
Humm. Interesting. Though-provoking too. At this point, there is no way to know if this is good or bad.
If I were a betting man, I'd say this might lead into a standard 30 credit residency requirement, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - nj593 - 03-17-2010
cookderosa Wrote:Humm. Interesting. Though-provoking too. At this point, there is no way to know if this is good or bad.
If I were a betting man, I'd say this might lead into a standard 30 credit residency requirement, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
DAMN IM AT WORK AND YOU ALL BEAT ME TO IT !!!
I hope some good grad programs come through :hurray:
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - Rhashad - 03-17-2010
As you may have heard, Gov. Christie's FY 2011 budget, unveiled on March 16, contains a proposal to merge Thomas Edison State College into Rutgers.
The College first learned about the proposal yesterday. We have expressed our concern about its potential impact on our students to the governor and the legislature and expect to continue these discussions over the coming weeks.
Our primary goal is to ensure our students have access to high-quality, flexible, and affordable programs and services designed exclusively for adult learners. We believe this goal is best achieved with Thomas Edison State College remaining an independent, autonomous institution.
As we learn more about the governor's proposal, we will keep you informed about how it may affect your status as a student as well as our efforts to preserve the flexible, academic programs the College currently offers.
Thank you,
Dr. George A. Pruitt
President
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - Lindagerr - 03-17-2010
I am not sure how I feel about this. Yes Rutgers has a good brand name in the rest of the country, but I don't want to have to pay Rutgers prices. In NJ TESC is very affordable, Rutgers is expensive. I hope to be finished with my degree requirements by the end of May I will not delay this for the Rutgers name. I only have 9 credits in residence at TESC I would be very upset if Rutgers came along and said I needed more credits in residence to get my degree.
On the other hand nothing happens fast in NJ. I would be really surprised if this gets done in less than a year.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - Lindagerr - 03-17-2010
I just copied this from the TESC board
Link: Rutgers: Office of the President - Letters to the University Community
Full Text:State Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2010â2011
(March 17, 2010)
Members of the Rutgers Community:
Yesterday Governor Christie presented his budget proposal for fiscal year 2010â11. The governorâs plan addresses a multibillion-dollar structural deficit in the state budget through funding cuts in many areas, including state executive departments and aid to public schools, towns, and colleges. For example, the governorâs proposed budget reduces school aid by $819 million, municipal aid by $445 million, and aid to higher education by $173 million.
Under this proposal, Rutgersâ direct state operating aid in 2010â11 would be cut 15.1 percent and therefore would be $46.6 million lower than the universityâs original appropriation for the current fiscal year. In actual dollars, Rutgersâ operating aid would be the lowest the university has received since 1994. The governorâs proposed budget also does not provide funding for the salary increases that were negotiated between Rutgers and its bargaining units last year.
In addition, the proposed state budget reduces funding for Tuition Aid Grants and the Educational Opportunity Fund and does not provide funding for incoming freshmen in the NJ STARS scholarship program.
Given the depth of the stateâs fiscal crisis, these budget cuts are not a surprise. Indeed, Governor Christie made clear when he visited the New Brunswick Campus last fall that the stateâs fiscal problems would make a cut in higher education funding unavoidable. It will, nonetheless, be very difficult for Rutgers to absorb these proposed reductions, following so many years of state budget cuts, including the $18.5 million midyear rescission the governor announced last month.
Managing the proposed reductions will require greater efficiencies, hard choices, and shared sacrifice. We are firmly committed to preserving the academic core of the institution and to the delivery of outstanding instruction to our students, recognizing that this is made possible by the hard work of all our faculty and staff. We also know that we cannot solve the problem by transferring the burden of these cuts primarily to our students and their families. In the weeks ahead, as the state budget is deliberated and finalized in Trenton, we will formulate our responses inclusively, and with a primary focus on protecting Rutgersâ core missions and values. Beginning tomorrow, I will convene the universityâs senior leadership to lay out plans to meet this challenge.
As we make difficult decisions on our campuses, Rutgers will also continue to make its case assertively in Trenton. We will inform policymakers that while public universities across America face cuts in the midst of a global recession, New Jersey is among the three states that have seen the greatest losses in state higher education appropriations per full-time equivalent student over the past five years. We will point out that funding higher education is an investment that drives economic expansion and opportunity; indeed, we are an essential part of the process of stimulating needed job growth that the governor and legislature must develop.
The governor has also proposed to merge Rutgers with Thomas Edison State College, stating that âthe combination will allow new classroom-based services for students in Trenton, while leveraging the two institutionsâ distance learning programming.â Under this unsolicited proposal, Rutgers also would take over the operations of the State Library and State Museum. Rutgers appreciates the confidence expressed in us by the governorâs proposal, and we will explore how these excellent institutions could be aligned with Rutgers to strengthen and enhance the missions of all. However, the task of vetting this proposal and performing due diligence will require consultation within and beyond the university community and would ultimately require approval by our boards of governors and trustees.
Rutgersâ enormous budget challenges will call on all of us to work even harder to sustain the high-quality education and cutting-edge research that our faculty provides and the supportive environment for learning and scholarship that our staff ensures. As our record numbers of applications and enrollments attest, the public has recognized Rutgersâ success in preparing students to contribute significantly to our state and the world. The extraordinary record we have achieved in winning grants to support our research attests to our competitiveness on a global scale. In the months ahead we will all be challenged to sustain what Rutgers has becomeâand that can only be achieved by our working together. I ask, and I know I can count on, your help.
Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - bricabrac - 03-17-2010
Lindagerr Wrote:I am not sure how I feel about this. Yes Rutgers has a good brand name in the rest of the country, but I don't want to have to pay Rutgers prices. In NJ TESC is very affordable, Rutgers is expensive. I hope to be finished with my degree requirements by the end of May I will not delay this for the Rutgers name. I only have 9 credits in residence at TESC I would be very upset if Rutgers came along and said I needed more credits in residence to get my degree.
On the other hand nothing happens fast in NJ. I would be really surprised if this gets done in less than a year.
Lindagerr,
:iagree: I feel the same. I think this would be a huge change for current enrolled students. Those of us with FEMA, Aleks, Straighterline (other creative) credits would probably not fair well. Also I'm sure if they allow CLEP/Dantes credits there is a minimum. Rutgers is about money more than anything else. I have two elder brothers who are Rutgers grads/my sister graduated from Douglass. I am now more determined to bang out the remaining dantes/clep exams. So hopefully if all goes as planned my last class with TESC will be the May semester with graduation in September.
I also agree this will take at the very minimum to the end of year. Maybe go into effect (if at all) by January 2011.Also if most credits were earned through testing Im not sure how rutgers will view entering their graduate program. Might fare better at Kean. I was actually on the fence on entering TESC's grad program...well that decision has been squashed.
Happy Wednesday!
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - barcotta - 03-17-2010
This is very interesting. As someone who spent a long time considering where to finally complete their degree (as in 15+ years), I was very focused on name recognition. Of the Big Three, Regents College had the best name IMO and, while I like the name to which they ultimately converted-- "Excelsior"--I didn't like it as well as Regents College--but still more than the other two--given that NONE of them provided the benefit of name recognition.
However, this could change everything. Rutgers is very well known--and respected. If there was a chance that the Big Three method could be used to graduate from Rutgers, I would at least go back and get a quick Liberal Arts degree--just so I could have a Rutgers degree.
Also, despite the fact that the first post in this thread describes Rutgers as a potentially "discordant overseer" (great phrase--I'm going to have to use that one somewhere), it turns out that they already have a somewhat chummy relationship. Even more interesting, the Rutgers website indicates that some students qualify to take the CLEP General Examination which can be worth up to 24 credits! Here's what I found under "Credit for Prior Learning:"
Newark Undergraduate Catalog 2008-2010
Liberal Arts Colleges
Admission to the Liberal Arts Colleges
Academic Credit
Credit for Prior Learning
University College-Newark [which appears to be part of the Rutgers network of colleges] accepts up to 45 credits for prior learning. To earn such credit, a student must demonstrate college-level knowledge comparable to that required in a Rutgers course.
There are three methods whereby the student may obtain credit for prior learning.
1. College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). Credit may be granted for the two types of CLEP tests: the CLEP General Examination and the CLEP Subject Examinations.
2. Thomas Edison State College Examination Program (TECEP) standardized tests.
3. Portfolio assessment, which is administered through Thomas Edison State College.
For more specific information about credit for prior learning and for information on fees, eligibility, and the level of achievement required, students should consult the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, 312 Hill Hall.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - Rhashad - 03-17-2010
I'm really looking forward to this conversation:
"Thomas Edison College? . . . . never heard of it."
"Oh, yea, you probably know it by Rutgers now" . . . .
Might be a huge problem for newer students as far as testing and alternative credits, but great news to those graduating soon.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - taylor - 03-17-2010
:iagree: for current students who can graduate in 2010 I think this will be good news. And for those who can't I hope TESC can grandfather in their current policies for them.
I can't wait to wear some of my sister's t shirts and sweatshirts, even though they are 2 sizes too small. I can always blame it on the "Freshman 15".