06-03-2008, 04:48 PM
You know, it really creates an interesting dilemma. Based only on the descriptions I've read on this board, the FEMA credits are laughably easy. They are also free. Attend TESC and you can get, depending on your degree and who you believe, up to 30 FREE and EASY credits. That's a quarter of your degree for what is, apparently, an Adobe Acrobat word search exercise. I, like Gary, don't quite know how I feel about this.
Also, at TESC, you can get upper-level credit for several, if not many courses that are considered lower-level for most other institutions. That doesn't quite "feel" right to me either. On one hand, you have folks that look at the "testing out" option with great suspicion--and that's not the minority. Add to that "FEMA" credit and 300 and 400 level credit for "Introduction to..." courses and this isn't looking too good. On the other hand, I completely support obtaining your degree as quickly and cheaply as possible. Both of those TESC policies help attain that--and help A LOT.
The multiple-choice nature of the majority of the exams most of us take can be, and is often used by detractors to diminish the value of our accomplishments. I can easily defend that because there is still a high-enough failure rate to demonstrate that you must at least obtain SOME knowledge to pass (or you're extremely lucky--in which you case you should probably turn your attention to the lottery). However, it appears that you don't have to start or finish with much, if any, demonstrable knowledge to successfully complete these FEMA "courses" (or whatever they are). That concerns me, but maybe it shouldn't. I'm actually about to recommend TESC to a friend who needs quick and cheap because I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't. I also feel like I would have done it myself if it was available when I began, but I'm kinda glad I didn't. What do y'all think?
Also, at TESC, you can get upper-level credit for several, if not many courses that are considered lower-level for most other institutions. That doesn't quite "feel" right to me either. On one hand, you have folks that look at the "testing out" option with great suspicion--and that's not the minority. Add to that "FEMA" credit and 300 and 400 level credit for "Introduction to..." courses and this isn't looking too good. On the other hand, I completely support obtaining your degree as quickly and cheaply as possible. Both of those TESC policies help attain that--and help A LOT.
The multiple-choice nature of the majority of the exams most of us take can be, and is often used by detractors to diminish the value of our accomplishments. I can easily defend that because there is still a high-enough failure rate to demonstrate that you must at least obtain SOME knowledge to pass (or you're extremely lucky--in which you case you should probably turn your attention to the lottery). However, it appears that you don't have to start or finish with much, if any, demonstrable knowledge to successfully complete these FEMA "courses" (or whatever they are). That concerns me, but maybe it shouldn't. I'm actually about to recommend TESC to a friend who needs quick and cheap because I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't. I also feel like I would have done it myself if it was available when I began, but I'm kinda glad I didn't. What do y'all think?
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