A Comparison: EC vs. TESC vs. COSC

[Daithi]

Oh, I get it now! I can't use the "EC Course Option" because it requires 12 courses taken through EC. Duh, I completely missed that.

[NAP]

It's not a problem at all. You are doing a great job understanding this, since each school has their own language.

That reminds me, for EC students, you could substitute another history DSST into the plan and create an Area of Focus (like a minor - 15LL and 6 UL) in History. (It would still count as meeting the arts & sciences depth requirement, too.)

Daithi - I think you've created a degree plan that would really work. Now, EC students can use it as a starting point and make their own adjustments. Thanks again for all of your effort!

[rebel100]

COSC Business Dept. gets pretty particular about the courses that have to be followed...I don't know if your plan will work as described or not. It was recommended to me that I choose Organizational Leadership instead of business to avoid the more onerous requirements. The "individualized studies" degree will let you blend a Business Concentration with a liberal Arts Concentration....that really opens up the possible uses of UL CBE. Remember that the Capstone is 3 UL credits in the major, so you only need 15 more in the master concentration then a plan to utilize any other UL credit for the remaining 12 UL credits. Note by using Business Ethics in Society you satisfy both an UL requirement and the LL ethics requirement, it's a nice twofor. That takes you to 6 UL credits, the major concentration might be filled out with the following:

Business Law 2 (DSST)
Money and Banking (DSST)
Personal Finance (DSST)
Principles of Finance (DSST)
Alternatives include any Business TECEP or EC exam, any transfer credit.

you need 12 more hours at the UL

DSST Substance Abuse is a favorite

I then like the history concentration as follows:
DSST Civil War
DSST Rise/Fall of the Soviet Union
EC World Conflicts since 1900

of course there are myriad ways to work this out, the above just reflects concentrating on test out options.

For the General Eds I put together the following a while back:

General Education requirements.

(6)English Comp 1,2 College Comp CLEP (satisfies both, 6 credits) OR Straighterline English Comp 1 (3 credits) and Technical Writing DSST (3 credits)
(3)Oral Communications Speech, DSST (3 credits)
(3)Literature/Fine Arts Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP (6 credits)
(3)Math ALEKS College Algebra (3) OR CLEP College Math (6) OR CLEP College Algebra (3) OR Straighterline College math (3)
(3)Ethics Saylor Organization Business Ethics (3 credits)
(4-6)Natural Science Biology or Chemistry CLEP (6 each) OR Straighterline Science Course with Lab (4) OR DSST Geology (3) with DSST Astronomy (3)
(3)US History or US Gov. Any US History/Government DSST or CLEP (3)

Behavioral Science
Global Studies
Non-US History All three of these requirements are satisfied by the single exam DSST Human Cultural Geography (3)

The above completed would = 31-34 credits (assuming you took the 6 credit A&I Literature and on which Science route you take) This completes the Gen eds required for Associates and Bachelors Degree’s at Charter Oak.

Note that the Public Speaking requirement is often waived if you can demonstrate any experience (teaching, theater experience, toastmasters).

The information literacy requirement is satisfied by the cornerstone.

using these in lieu of some of those in your plan should bring the cost down by at least a few hundred bucks.

[rebel100]

One more issue, for some at least, is the fact that EC adn TESC both require an annual enrollemnt fee...this has to be paid up front at both schools I believe. COSC has gone to a semester enrollment fee of around $200/semester...it's cheaper and gets spread out over at least two semesters....so it works better for those using F/A and better for those cash flowing their degree.

[Daithi]

COSC Business Dept. gets pretty particular about the courses that have to be followed...I don't know if your plan will work as described or not (I did follow the courses that the catalog laid out). It was recommended to me that I choose Organizational Leadership instead of business to avoid the more onerous requirements. The "individualized studies" degree will let you blend a Business Concentration with a liberal Arts Concentration....that really opens up the possible uses of UL CBE (The reason I didn't go this route was because it also requires more UL courses for each concentration). Remember that the Capstone is 3 UL credits in the major, so you only need 15 more in the master concentration then a plan to utilize any other UL credit for the remaining 12 UL credits (I counted the Capstone as UL and have 12 UL credits for the concentration). Note by using Business Ethics in Society you satisfy both an UL requirement and the LL ethics requirement, it's a nice twofor (I intended to use Business Ethics in Society this way, but it also covers my 30 UL requirement). That takes you to 6 UL credits, the major concentration might be filled out with the following:

Business Law 2 (DSST)
Money and Banking (DSST)
Personal Finance (DSST) (I believe the catalog says you can't use Personal Finance in the Business concentration)
Principles of Finance (DSST)
Alternatives include any Business TECEP or EC exam, any transfer credit.

you need 12 more hours at the UL

DSST Substance Abuse is a favorite

I then like the history concentration as follows: (I did use all of these to meet the UL req. in GE)
DSST Civil War
DSST Rise/Fall of the Soviet Union
EC World Conflicts since 1900

of course there are myriad ways to work this out, the above just reflects concentrating on test out options.

For the General Eds I put together the following a while back:

General Education requirements. (I did make sure all the GE in my plan matched the COSC requirements)

(6)English Comp 1,2 College Comp CLEP (satisfies both, 6 credits) OR Straighterline English Comp 1 (3 credits) and Technical Writing DSST (3 credits)
(3)Oral Communications Speech, DSST (3 credits)
(3)Literature/Fine Arts Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP (6 credits)
(3)Math ALEKS College Algebra (3) OR CLEP College Math (6) OR CLEP College Algebra (3) OR Straighterline College math (3)
(3)Ethics Saylor Organization Business Ethics (3 credits)
(4-6)Natural Science Biology or Chemistry CLEP (6 each) OR Straighterline Science Course with Lab (4) OR DSST Geology (3) with DSST Astronomy (3)
(3)US History or US Gov. Any US History/Government DSST or CLEP (3)

Behavioral Science
Global Studies
Non-US History All three of these requirements are satisfied by the single exam DSST Human Cultural Geography (3)

The above completed would = 31-34 credits (assuming you took the 6 credit A&I Literature and on which Science route you take) This completes the Gen eds required for Associates and Bachelors Degree’s at Charter Oak.

Note that the Public Speaking requirement is often waived if you can demonstrate any experience (teaching, theater experience, toastmasters).

The information literacy requirement is satisfied by the cornerstone.

using these in lieu of some of those in your plan should bring the cost down by at least a few hundred bucks.

Hey Rebel, thanks for your input. I'm pretty sure this plan does satisfy all the degree requirements. When I initially planned it all out I used all the individual verbiage used by COSC that describes their requirements for GE, but I took out this verbiage to make the degree plan a little more condensed and readable. When I get some time, I'll probably go back and add it back to show the plan does meet all the requirements and hopefully avoid some confusion.

[Daithi]

One more issue, for some at least, is the fact that EC adn TESC both require an annual enrollemnt fee...this has to be paid up front at both schools I believe. COSC has gone to a semester enrollment fee of around $200/semester...it's cheaper and gets spread out over at least two semesters....so it works better for those using F/A and better for those cash flowing their degree.

My costs did reflect the Semester enrollment fee at $228. I counted it as two semesters in the pricing because I thought you would need one semester for cornerstone and one for the capstone. Can you take these in the same semester?

[perriquit]

You can't take both cornerstone and capstone on the same semester. However, the cornerstone is offered in 8 week format too, I dont know about the capstone but if it is you could fit both within 16 weeks.

There is a financial consideration for EC. You can enroll as a partnership student. I became a member of POAG, it was only $20 and you receive a discounted tuition, you don't have to pay the yearly fee provided that you take 6 semester hours every year, if you dont then you are charged $250. And if you take 12 hours from EC your graduation fee is reduced as well.

If you have a good GPA since you will be enrolled in a Partnership, you could qualify for a presidential scholarship that is awarded 3 times a year and usually covers 75% of the cost of a class, but you need to have Fafsa on file and request approval for the classes you want to take with EC, at least 6 credits.

[AZDan]

I really appreciate this thread and reading all the work on the comparisons. I thought I had already made my decision for TESC but after reading this I am thinking about COSC again. My primary reasons are for cost, being able to test through a number of classes (if not all), and how my 60 transfer credits would be applied. Since I am in the accounting field I wanted to have my bachelors in that concentration. But if going with a Business degree at COSC is both cheaper and probably faster then perhaps I need to strongly consider it.

I understand the comparison is ab-initio (zero credits). What are your thoughts on comparison for those that have transfer credits?

[sanantone]

You should just apply to all of them if you can afford it. That's what I did and it became real clear which school would be better for me.

[HAYDENTREE77]

BA in Liberal Studies at Thomas Edison State College (TESC)

I. General Education Requirements_______________________________60
__A. English Composition_________________________________________6
_____CLEP ENC101/102 College Composition w/Essay________________-6
__B. Humanities_________________________________________________12
_____CLEP HUM101/102 Humanities_________________________________-6
_____CLEP LIT111/112 American Literature________________________-6
__C. Social Sciences (2 subject areas)__________________________12
_____CLEP SOS101/102 Social Sciences and History________________-6
_____CLEP PSY101 Introductory Psychology________________________-3
_____CLEP SOC101 Introductory Sociology_________________________-3
__D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics___________________________12
_____CLEP MAT101/102 College Mathematics________________________-6
_____ALEK MAT121 College Algebra________________________________-3
_____DSST COS101 Introduction to Computing______________________-3
__E. General Education Electives________________________________18
_____CLEP BIO111/112 Biology____________________________________-6
_____ALEK MAT115 Intermediate Algebra___________________________-3
_____ALEK MAT129 Precalculus____________________________________-3
_____ALEK STA201 Intro to Statistics____________________________-3
_____DSST AOJ102 Introduction to Criminal Justice_______________-3

II. Area of Study: Liberal Studies______________________________33
__A. Lower Lever Courses (100 & 200 level; 2 @ 100 max.)________15
_____DSST ART166 Art of the Western World_______________________-3
_____CLEP LIT291/292 Analyzing and Interpreting Literature______-6
_____CLEP LIT208/209 English Literature_________________________-6
__B. Upper Lever Courses (300 & 400 level)______________________15
_____DSST REL405 Introduction to World Religions________________-3 UL
_____DSST CIS301 Management Information Systems_________________-3 UL
_____DSST SOS305 Drug & Alcohol / Substance Abuse_______________-3 UL
_____DSST PHI384 Ethics and the Business Professional___________-3 UL
_____DSST PSY361 Organizational Behavior________________________-3 UL
__C. Liberal Arts Capstone_______________________________________3
_____LIB495 Liberal Arts Capstone_______________________________-3 UL

III. Free Electives_____________________________________________27
__A. Free Electives_____________________________________________27
_____FEMA courses______________________________________________-27


COST OF TESC BALS DEGREE
Application Fee:______________$75
Annual Enrollment Tuition: $2,958
Technology Services Fee:_____$117
Course Tuition:______________$663 (3 credits @ $221)
Test Fees:_________________$1,800 (18 tests @ $100)
ALEKS Fees:___________________$40 (2 months @ $20)
Graduation fee:______________$280
---------------------------------
Total:_____________________$5,923 ($4,381 for NJ Residents)


Catalog: http://www.tesc.edu/documents/College_Catalog.pdf
Tuition: Thomas Edison State College: Enrolled Options Plan
Fees: Thomas Edison State College: Fees

A newbie here... This is very helpful. Is this still relevant?