TESC Guided Study Courses vs. Online Course

[kcollins]

Is there anyone out there that can explain in more about Guided Study courses vs the Online courses? Anyone have experience in both?

I already know that there are no online discussions required in the Guided Study courses and that they are supposed to be more independent than Online courses so apparently you don't get a lot of help from the mentors. I would just like to know more about the required assignments and exams. Are there more required assignments and exams in the Guided Study courses than the Online courses? Are the Guided Study courses more difficult than the Online courses? I am interested in taking a Guided Study course because I do like the more independent study, but I don't want to end up failing a course either.

This is my first semester going to school online and am going for a BSBA in Accounting at TESC.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[mrs.b]

I only took one Guided Study course versus multiple Online courses, so others will need to confirm this holds true for all GS templates. In mine, though, the full paper requirements appeared to be the same as the online versions. Where an Online course would have a discussion assignment, the Guided Study version had a smaller paper requirement to replace the discussion. In other words, the paper requirements were doubled; though the length requirements were not as intensive as the paper assignments that overlapped both GS and OL versions, it was still double the number of papers.

Also, I've heard others mention that their mentors were far more responsive in GS courses. Mine was definitely not the case - I practically had to light myself on fire to get an answer for the most basic things - but I did want to throw it out there that not all mentors are created equal. TESC has some real gems (not sarcastic) and then they also have some real winners (that one is sarcastic). In other words, if you take a GS course, do your homework on the mentor for the course before enrolling. You may set yourself up for a very positive experience.

[Arthiel]

I'm finishing an Online history class. I think I would have personally preferred the Guided Study instead. The only difference, so I've heard, is the OL has forum posts and GS doesn't, but GS has more and longer writing assignments.

The forum posts sometimes feel like busy work. You have to reply to at least two other student's posts and add thoughts, ask questions, and keep a discussion going. It's not that much, but with my schedule I'd rather just write a paper and not have to mess with extra deadlines and stuff. If you post a lot on the forum it is an easy way to keep your grade up so that's nice.

I would be completely fine with little teacher or classmate interaction. Just being assigned to write a paper on a topic and turn one in each week (or however often) would suite me. But I think some people would prefer or enjoy that interaction with others. I guess it depends on your personality and time commitment.

[kcollins]

Thank you mrs.b and Arthiel for your input. I personally would also rather not have to participate in the online discussions, but I am concerned about how much more work and exams there would be and available support from the mentor if needed.

[dmar001]

Personally I prefer Guided study over Online. The same mentor I had for 2 different classes was a huge pain on the discussion board. In certain IT classes they're were plenty of people with years of experience adding there insight on a topic and when everyone else would post he would comment that it sounds to much like a textbook to give examples from your experience. I made sure this term to enroll in all guided study classes.

[kcollins]

Thank you for that information. if you have already started your guided study courses, how do you like them so far. How are the assignments and exams compared to the online courses? Are you already familiar with the content in the guided study courses?

Personally I prefer Guided study over Online. The same mentor I had for 2 different classes was a huge pain on the discussion board. In certain IT classes they're were plenty of people with years of experience adding there insight on a topic and when everyone else would post he would comment that it sounds to much like a textbook to give examples from your experience. I made sure this term to enroll in all guided study classes.

[dmar001]

I compared the syllabus to an online class to a guided study its more assignments for the online classes due to the discussions boards. Know this main difference from taking online and guided is with the online discussions boards reminds you that there are other people in the class. While guided study makes you feel like you are the only one in the class.