Capstone requirement change at TESU

[Merlin]

Same with me! I know the business capstone is different but I actually started a regular research paper but got bored the first week in after I basically finished it!! So I decided to do a practical project instead to not be bored!

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@Supermind do the Guided Study, its much easier in my opinion, dont sweat it! You brain is so accustomed to processing a course at lightning speed to move on to the next one, even if something is hard for you it will only take a few days to figure it out!

The big difference between Guided Study and Online versions is the number of group discussions and the weighting of the papers/final project. For GS you do fewer group discussions but your papers/final project are weighted higher. Each discussion topic is like a mini-paper you have to write on a subject related to the chapter readings for each module. They expect at least a couple paragraphs plus reference (if needed) though I usually do a page or more per topic.

But I agree, once you're used to passing your courses faster, the capstone feels like you're going in slow motion. Other than the writing which takes me forever since I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

I would do it ASAP before TESU puts a cap on ACE credits of decides you need an additional course or something!

THIS! Always assume TESU is going to change something. This is why we advise folks to enroll early and lock in their catalog and make sure that courses get evaluated quickly.

In my case, I missed out on some UL credits (and had to take a few alternate courses) because my ACE credits didn't get evaluated until October and in July a bunch of UL courses were downgraded to LL. I knew that going in but it was unfortunate timing. Had I been enrolled earlier, those credits would have been evaluated while they were still UL.

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Alright here is what I received back from TESU.

"The Registrar’s Office will automatically remove the registration hold for a Capstone class once a student has met this criteria. However, in a situation such as the one which you have described, a conversation with an Academic Advisor is needed (regular communication with an advisor is always encouraged anyway). This allows us to remove the registration hold and approve the Capstone based on extenuating circumstances, i.e. a student has completed 100 credits but the transcripts/score reports have not yet been evaluated."

Hmm, that sounds like this new GPA requirement WILL apply to people without graded credits, but can be waived by advising.

[TexasTink]

I have an academic advising appointment tomorrow where I plan to talk about this a little. I'll report back with what I'm told. Let me know if there's specific questions you'd like me to ask regarding this issue. I have other things to discuss with the adviser not related to this, so I can't guarantee anything, but I'll do what I can.

[allvia]

Alright here is what I received back from TESU.

"The Registrar’s Office will automatically remove the registration hold for a Capstone class once a student has met this criteria. However, in a situation such as the one which you have described, a conversation with an Academic Advisor is needed (regular communication with an advisor is always encouraged anyway). This allows us to remove the registration hold and approve the Capstone based on extenuating circumstances, i.e. a student has completed 100 credits but the transcripts/score reports have not yet been evaluated."

Hmm, that sounds like this new GPA requirement WILL apply to people without graded credits, but can be waived by advising.

To me it sounds like what the site says - that you need to have completed 100 credits first  (& have them showing/posted to your evaluation - with a resulting overall GPA 2.0, which you do get with Alt Credits transferred in).  I suspect that the GPA factor isn't going to have an impact overall, just having the 100 credits posted before you can register for the Capstone (which likely starts a month or more after registration) could cause some people here a delay in graduation month/year.

[Muldoon]

I just had a phone appointment with Advising. She said that for the BSBA Capstone, within the 100 unit requirement, they really wanted to see completion of Eng 1 + 2 (for the writing skills) and the Business Core classes (for the foundational knowledge). I have no idea what other degree capstones look for, but it does sound like they are instituting this to make sure students are prepared for the work involved in the capstone. She didn't really say what would happen if you haven't passed all of the core classes, like if you were missing one or two but still had 100 units, but she emphasized that students should focus on completing those classes AND have the transcripts sent to the registrar for processing, before trying to enroll in the Capstone.

She also confirmed that the GPA requirement to enroll in the capstone includes prior coursework from other schools and is not limited to TESU classes only. Since I have graded CC classes transferred in, she told me I met that requirement. Unfortunately I had a lot of other questions to go over so I didn't think to clarify about non-graded work for people transferring in only P/NP units from other sources. Maybe someone else will be able to find that out.

[Merlin]

Alright here is what I received back from TESU.

"The Registrar’s Office will automatically remove the registration hold for a Capstone class once a student has met this criteria. However, in a situation such as the one which you have described, a conversation with an Academic Advisor is needed (regular communication with an advisor is always encouraged anyway). This allows us to remove the registration hold and approve the Capstone based on extenuating circumstances, i.e. a student has completed 100 credits but the transcripts/score reports have not yet been evaluated."

Hmm, that sounds like this new GPA requirement WILL apply to people without graded credits, but can be waived by advising.

To me it sounds like what the site says - that you need to have completed 100 credits first  (& have them showing/posted to your evaluation - with a resulting overall GPA 2.0, which you do get with Alt Credits transferred in).  I suspect that the GPA factor isn't going to have an impact overall, just having the 100 credits posted before you can register for the Capstone (which likely starts a month or more after registration) could cause some people here a delay in graduation month/year.

Technically, you do not get a 2.0 GPA from alt credits. According to TESU's website, those come in as credit without a letter grade and do not count towards or against the GPA. In other words, if you don't bring in any graded credits from prior college work, you don't have a GPA at all until you pass a graded course at TESU or transfer one in from elsewhere.

Since P/F coursework generally needs to be at 70% or better to earn credit (this isn't always the case) you can argue that it should be at least 2.0 GPA in equivalency, but that isn't reflected in the GPA per TESU.

So depending on how strict they interpret the GPA requirement, this could still be something that people will need to speak with their academic advisor about to get the requirement waived. If so, it only affects a small percentage of the community since most of us have at least a few B&M credits on our transcripts.

But yes, I agree that transferring in the 100 credits will be the long-pole for some people. It took me 6 weeks to get my transcripts evaluated after enrolling. Luckily it didn't impact my ability to register for the capstone.

[Supermind]

Oh! This does not sound like good news for me. I do not have any B&M credits, and I am basically only depending on SDC, Saylor etc. thus far. So, what am I expected to do? Will the cornerstone at TESU count?

[Merlin]

Oh! This does not sound like good news for me. I do not have any B&M credits, and I am basically only depending on SDC, Saylor etc. thus far. So, what am I expected to do? Will the cornerstone at TESU count?

The cornerstone is Pass/Fail so it doesn't provide a GPA. Worst case you'll need to chat with academic advising to get the capstone registration hold removed. Best case, they won't enforce this for people without a GPA.

It is hard to depend on what TESU says since they are so often wrong. We may just have to wait and see what happens after Jan 1st.

[vetvso]

Oh! This does not sound like good news for me. I do not have any B&M credits, and I am basically only depending on SDC, Saylor etc. thus far. So, what am I expected to do? Will the cornerstone at TESU count?

As my post said a meeting from the advisor can get the restriction waived. You just need to get your overall plan setup and discuss with the advisors.

[Supermind]

Oh! This does not sound like good news for me. I do not have any B&M credits, and I am basically only depending on SDC, Saylor etc. thus far. So, what am I expected to do? Will the cornerstone at TESU count?

As my post said a meeting from the advisor can get the restriction waived. You just need to get your overall plan setup and discuss with the advisors.

Good to know. Thank you.

[TexasTink]

I spoke to academic advising and they told me that the 2.0 GPA applies to those who are transferring in courses from other schools or who have taken courses from TESU and therefore have a GPA. It will not apply to those of us who are transferring in all our credits because we don't have a GPA to transfer in.

They also restated what others have said about the 100 hour minimum. They want you to have your English courses and most/all of your AOS completed before you register for the capstone. It did sound like that if not all of your transcripts have been evaluated yet to reach the 100 hours, you could email them and they'll remove the block from your account.