Updated information concerning testing out

[dfrecore]

Sanantone-
You just answered so many questions I had- thanks. Why does Excelsior have an enrollment fee and TESU does not? Also, why is a BA in social sciences more flexible then Psych? I'll take a look at your wiki outlines for each of those degrees. When you say that grad schools will pull grades from every college attended, does that mean that they will see the scores from tests such as CLEP, straighterline, Uexcels, etc (I understand that most don't provide a letter grade but I assume they provide a score...).

It kind of works this way: A degree in Liberal Arts is about as broad as you can get, and you need credits from each of the 3 major categories - Humanities, SocSci, NatSci/Math.

If you want a less broad degree, then you can get one in Humanities or SocSci or NatSci/Math. Those are still broad, but you're more concentrated, and less flexible as to where your credits can come from.

Then, within each of those categories is a much narrower degree path. For Humanities (which consists of Religion, Philosophy, Music, Foreign Language, English/Literature, Journalism, Art, etc.), there may be some degrees offered. A SocSci degree consists of courses in Psych, History, Sociology, Econ, PoliSci, Anthropology, etc. Again, there may be a degree for it or not. NatSci/Math has their own courses and degrees offered.

Here are the differences between SocSci and Psych from TESU (you need to look at TESU's pages rather than Sanantone's, which, while fantastic for showing you options for each requirement, doesn't show the requirements as a whole for each degree):
Thomas Edison State University: Social Sciences
Thomas Edison State University: Psychology

The BSBA works similarly. Your core courses are in a variety of subjects (management, marketing, accounting, finance, econ, law, computers, international business, etc.). And then if you choose General Management you need courses in 3 out of the 4 major areas (ACC, MAN, MAR, FIN). If you choose to narrow down your degree into one of the 4 main areas, plus some others (HR, CIS), you then have more specific requirements to the degree.

Every school is different as to what they offer, and how flexible a degree may be. I think TESU is pretty flexible in most areas, but you aren't going to be able to completely test out in most degrees, just because you will not be able to find a test for every requirement, especially as you narrow down the area of study.

As for why Excelsior (and COSC) have enrollment fees and TESU doesn't, that's fairly new - TESU used to have them. But they changed their policy, and now they don't. No idea why they chose to go in a different direction, but you will see that each of the schools changes things without a lot of explanation, and it may be good or bad for you depending on your circumstances. The good news with TESU is that they publish the new requirements each year on July 1, so if you are happy with the current catalog you are working under, you know that you need to apply and enroll before July 1 of each year.