+- Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb)
+-- Forum: Main Category (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-Main-Category)
+--- Forum: General Education-Related Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-General-Education-Related-Discussion)
+--- Thread: Review - Torah College - HIS-301 Eastern European Jewish Immigration... (/Thread-Review-Torah-College-HIS-301-Eastern-European-Jewish-Immigration)
Review - Torah College - HIS-301 Eastern European Jewish Immigration... - SuZQ2 - 09-27-2015
Hi All,
As I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to "become the guinea pig" and be the first here (I think??) to try a 3 credit UL history course from Torah College. I desperately needed to complete my 2nd depth at EC, and a UL history course would accomplish this goal. After endlessly vacillating between DSSTs "Civil War" and Torah's Pass/Fail HIS-301 “Eastern European Jewish Immigration and Settlement in the United States”, I ultimately decided on, and successfully passed the Torah course. Here's my review:
First, a few points to consider:
Torah has a fantastic support service - they answer every email question promptly. I asked numerous questions before signing up for the course, and received answers usually within a few hours.
You can access basic information about the various "Torah" courses here: General Ed courses - Tor College Credits
You can access all course info – syllabus, required text info, reading assignments, course lecture etc. by signing up for a free Tor(ah) account. No other information regarding this course will be provided - you are essentially on your own.
I purchased the required text - "World of our Fathers" by Irving Howe through Amazon (used) for about $5.00.
The only payment is $195 to Torah when you take the final exam + ProctorU fee.
A passing grade is 70%
It took 23 days from the time I took the final until my credits were approved by Excelsior
HIS-301 appears on my transcript as “Coopersmith Career Consulting LLC – Eastern European Jewish Immigration…. - Judaic Studies”, but was applied as a history course.
Course Format:
The course consists of 13 lessons, each with a corresponding reading assignment, topics to know, and a "Video Crash Course". The "Crash Course" consists of 96 short points of information that coordinate with the reading assignments/topics. A professor reads/discusses the “Crash Course”, but I needed a portable option so I typed out the “points” and created a study book. I found this helpful, but many may feel it unnecessary.
I had no previous knowledge of this subject, but found it fairly straightforward – the history of Eastern European (Russian, Polish, etc.) Jews - focusing on their mass emigration to the U.S. after the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, assimilation into New York City’s immigrant neighborhoods, Jewish/Yiddish culture, language, heritage, important people etc. There are Yiddish terms to learn, but nothing too daunting.
My study time was disrupted by a family crisis, but I would estimate I studied for about 2 months (my average study time). I was intimidated by not having any feedback to rely on (hence, my love for IC’s Specific Exam Feedback!), so I put off testing until I literally could not stand to study the material any longer! :willynilly:
Unlike all my previous multiple-choice exams, HIS-301 combined multiple choice questions (40%), open-ended (1-3 sentences) questions (42%), and 2 essays (18%) for the final exam. I am not comfortable writing extemporaneously, so I was happy to know you could pass the course without even attempting the 2 essays – this was a good thing as I used up most of the 2 hour test time allotment before I even reached the essay portion. I found the test quite difficult – lots of material, lots of writing…:willynilly: I would not have attempted a graded-course, and was relieved to receive a pass at 81%.
All in all, it was a positive experience...
Hope this info is of help.
eeya:
Review - Torah College - HIS-301 Eastern European Jewish Immigration... - rebel100 - 09-27-2015
Thanks for the review, and for volunteering to go first!
Review - Torah College - HIS-301 Eastern European Jewish Immigration... - cookderosa - 11-15-2015
thank you for the great review!
Review - Torah College - HIS-301 Eastern European Jewish Immigration... - Toastmaster - 11-16-2015
Awesome review!
Review - Torah College - HIS-301 Eastern European Jewish Immigration... - jsd - 03-25-2016
Anyone else taken any TCCs lately?
I'm working on History and Systems of Psych. I'm curious as to how closely the actual final test matches the practice quizzes, because it seems like the practice quizzes likely come from the textbook publisher and aren't built by TCC (whereas I imagine the final was built by TCC).
The textbook TCC uses is the same for the TESU course this exam replaces... It's not the most exciting stuff. It's fairly interesting to read but not interesting enough that I feel like I'm retaining as much as I should be, if that makes sense.
I've just been reading so far, I plan to go back to the powerpoint/audio content as a review after I finish the reading. Were these review items pretty tailored to the exam, in anyone else's experience?