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+-- Forum: Specific College Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-Specific-College-Discussion)
+--- 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 - bricabrac - 03-17-2010
Rhashad Wrote:I'm really looking forward to this conversation::iagree: Good points! I am also thinking about the huge military student body. They will need to remain atleast somewhat flexible for them. This may be TESC's saving grace of remaining a separate, although inclusive, entity. Unfortunately I am certain the requirements will change for those folks caught in the changeover. It's just the nature of the beast.
"Thomas Edison College? . . . . never heard of it."
"Oh, yea, you probably know it by Rutgers now" . . . .milelol: Too funny!
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 - MISin08 - 03-17-2010
I wonder what will happen to Rutgers' customer service
Phillip
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - jackzack87 - 03-17-2010
Crazy! This might mean I'll graduate with a BS from - Rutgers!? wow. All speculation and only a possibility right now, but I'd be glad for that. Nothing against TESC: love it. Just would be nice to mention my Alma Mater and have some acknowledgment.
I hope it doesn't happen, because TESC is a dream for so many, like myself, who were able to do affordable, real-life competitive college and not pay for it like a rushing nosebleed. Go TESC.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - addision - 03-17-2010
Wondering... if the change happens can you order a duplicate diploma for those of us who have already graduated? And what would it say?
I wonder if they would denote the degrees as just "Rutgers University", "extended learning", or as "Rutgers University, Thomas Edison College"?
Either way would be a huge boost to reputation. How awesome would that be? Now I think my $2000 may pay for itself more than I ever imagined.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - jackzack87 - 03-17-2010
MISin08 Wrote:I wonder what will happen to Rutgers' customer service
Phillip
HAHAHA
I will NOT miss TESC in that area...cheersmate
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - TMW2010 - 03-17-2010
You realize that Rutgers doesn't want this right? They look down their nose at TESC as being little more than a community college.
If push comes to shove, Rutgers will likely win... Which would mean one of two things... The Gears reverse and TESC stays as it has been as its own entity. Or they shut it down.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - Jason800 - 03-17-2010
addision Wrote:Wondering... if the change happens can you order a duplicate diploma for those of us who have already graduated? And what would it say?
I wonder if they would denote the degrees as just "Rutgers University", "extended learning", or as "Rutgers University, Thomas Edison College"?
Either way would be a huge boost to reputation. How awesome would that be? Now I think my $2000 may pay for itself more than I ever imagined.
I have a feeling they would use the phrase "Rutgers University- Virtual Campus" to describe TESC graduates. Apparently TESC will lose all funding under the proposed budget which will make this happen quickly if its going to happen. I would imagine in the future you can put the name Rutgers down for a degree since any employer that requests a transcript will not be receiving a Rutgers transcript even for those who never were part of the RU program. Not sure about a duplicate diploma though.
I feel bad for people, though, who chose TESC due to the lower cost because I doubt that will exist in the future if the merger happens. They should do something to keep the costs low for military students, IMO. They also need to make sure that those currently enrolled at TESC who utilized TECEPs/PLAs/CLEPS, etc... do not get screwed over. If a student has at least junior standing they should not be forced to give up upper level credits earned by alternative means. Those students who may be affected by the change in credit acceptance policies should be presented with information on the other two big online schools so that they may have an alternative presented to them that they may have not known about.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - Rhashad - 03-17-2010
good point, an elimination of funding would result in a sooner-than-later change. Doubt if TESC is completely scrapped because it has a business model that most larger schools are trying to integrate into their system.
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - skyfall123 - 03-18-2010
Thomas Edison president takes dim view of proposed Rutgers merger - NJ.com
TRENTON -- The president of Thomas Edison State College said yesterday the school would fight a budget proposal suggesting the college merge with Rutgers University, a plan president George Pruitt said "was not in the public interest."
For the four-year college, the news coming out of Gov. Chris Christie's budget address Tuesday was disheartening to say the least -- the institution was granted zero state funding, after receiving $5.6 million last year.
But of more serious concern to Pruitt was a proposal buried within the governor's 142-page "Budget in Brief."
"The Governor's Fiscal 2011 Budget replicates Rutgers' central role in the revitalization of downtown New Brunswick by proposing to bring Rutgers to the Capital City through a merger with Thomas Edison State College," it reads, noting further down that Rutgers would also take over the State Library, which Thomas Edison oversees, and the State Museum.
Thomas Edison serves a distinct sector of students -- almost all of the 18,000 currently enrolled are adults looking to continue their education on a flexible basis while working, raising a family or after retiring from the military, for instance.
The average age of a typical Thomas Edison student is 40, Pruitt said, and many utilize online courses and distance learning, as opposed to classroom-based institutions like Rutgers or The College of New Jersey nearby.
Pushing the college under the umbrella of Rutgers would not serve the students who have come to rely on the school's specialized programs and approach, he said.
"This is a very distinctive institution that serves a very special niche within higher education," he said. "We play a special role and that role requires us to be autonomous and separate from other institutions."
Pruitt also took issue with the proposal's suggestion that bringing Rutgers into the picture would ignite economic development in Trenton, saying he didn't see how changing the name from "Thomas Edison" to "Rutgers" would increase economic opportunities in the capital city.
"I fully appreciate it's a new administration faced with one of the biggest fiscal crises in the nation," he said. "But the policy rationale I just don't understand."
While other colleges have come and gone, often leaving for the outlying suburbs of Mercer County, Thomas Edison chose to move to Trenton from Princeton years ago, he said.
"We're the only institution to make a conscious decision to invest in Trenton," he said. "I don't understand why another new institution would have to come into town for economic development. We've already been here and been here for 30 years."
Rutgers faces its own challenges -- under Christie's proposed budget the university would lose $37.8 million in state funding, part of the $175 million in cuts dealt to higher education as part of Christie's plan to close a glaring deficit in the fiscal year 2011 budget.
"It doesn't make sense financially," Pruitt said. "I don't understand how any money is being saved. The president of Rutgers told me this was not his idea, and he did not know about it and it was not something he coveted or wanted."
Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick touched briefly on the proposed merger in a letter sent out yesterday to the Rutgers community, calling it an "unsolicited proposal" that would "require consultation within and beyond the university community and would ultimately require approval by our boards of governors and trustees."
The governor's budget brief noted Thomas Edison's nontraditional education model and Rutgers' utilization of both classroom and online learning and said "the combination will allow new classroom-based services for students in Trenton, while leveraging the two institutions' distance learning programming."
Representatives from the governor's office could not be reached for further comment on the proposal.
The proposal is not iron-clad of course -- the budget as a whole will require approval from the state Legislature.
Pruitt said the college has been reaching out to the governor's office and legislators in the wake of Christie's budget address to make the case for why Thomas Edison should stand apart as a separate institution of higher learning.
"We are very encouraged by the comments we've had from the leadership in the Legislature from both parties that ... don't seem to understand (this proposal) either," he said.
Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Ewing, said she will urge her fellow legislators to reconsider any sort of Rutgers merger or takeover.
"I think that if the mission of Thomas Edison College becomes submerged in the priorities of a large university, then the mission will get lost and disappear," she said, adding that Thomas Edison has always been highly involved in the city of Trenton.
"Even the transition team's report on higher education said New Jersey needs to get more serious about it and invest in it and this certainly isn't an investment."
N.J. Governor Wants to Merge Thomas Edison Into Rutgers - taylor - 03-18-2010
It sounds like it may not happen but it would've been an added bonus to go from an unranked school to a top tier school overnight.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report