Best time to apply to TESU - before July 1? Wanna see my plan?

[CollegeKid]

I remember in the past that TESU makes changes July 1. Does anyone know if there are upcoming changes for this year?

I'm 4 short courses away from an Associates in Liberal Studies. I should be finished by mid August. Should I apply in August, or now before July 1? Does it matter?

My plan is to get my Associates... then maybe my Bachelors in the next 1-2 years. I contacted TESU and they said that if I pay for an Associates (residency waiver, application fee) and then decide to get my bachelors, I won't have to pay the fees again.

Here is my degree plan:

A. Intellectual and Practical Skills (Written Comm, Oral, Quantitative Literacy, Info Literacy) 15
• Written Communication (ENC-101) - STUDY.com ENGLISH COMP I (3)
• Written Communication (ENC-102) STUDY.com ENGLISH COMP II (3)
• Oral Communication –SL Intro to Communications (3)
• Quantitative Literacy – ALEKS College Algebra (MAT-121) (3) (3)
• Information Literacy –STUDY.COM Analyzing and Interpreting Lit (3)

B. Civic and Global Learning (Diversity, Ethics and Civic Engagement) 9
• Diversity – SL INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY (3)
• Ethics– PHIL-384 BUSINESS ETHICS & SOCIETY SL (3)
• Civic Engagement –SL American Government (3)

C. Knowledge of Human Cultures (Humanities or Social Science) 12
• Humanities – SL INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY (3)
• SL MICROECONOMICS (3)
• Social Sciences – HIS-113 UNITED STATES HISTORY I (3)
• HIS-101 WESTERN CIVILIZATION I (3)

D. Understanding the Physical and Natural World 6
• SL INTRODUCTION TO NUTRITION (3)
• INTRO TO COMPUTING DSST (3) (3)

E. General Education Electives
1 - SL MAN-301 Principles of Management (3)
2 – SL US History II (3)
3 – SL Western Civ II (3)
4 – SL MACROECONOMICS (3)
5 - ALEKS Intermediate Algebra (MAT-115) (3)
6 – ALEKS PreCalculus (MAT-129) (3) 18

[bricabrac]

Principles of Management is a business course so will not fit under general education.
I would recommend Organizational Behavior which doubles as both a psychology and business course (PSY-361/MAN-311).

[dfrecore]

Your plan is fine. The one thing to keep in mind is that Management is not a Gen Ed Elective, it's a Free Elective. BUT, the degree section II Electives IS Free Electives, so you should be fine. I wish they would make their requirements a bit clearer on the website for the degrees, it's very hard to differentiate between what type of electives things are.

I personally would apply now. There's just no way to know what changes TESU will make, they don't always announce it ahead of time, meaning that you're gambling.

Except that I never recommend that anyone gets their AA from TESU. It's just way too expensive. Many here have heard otherwise about the residency waiver. Most recently, the bursar has said that the waiver only applies for 1 year, and for 1 degree. If that's the case, then you will be paying $2500 AGAIN when you want your BA. If you add the cost of the 2 degrees PLUS the residency waiver twice, that makes TESU THE most expensive of the Big 3 for both an AA and a BA.

So, if it were me, I would skip the AA from TESU and go straight to the BA.

If you HAVE to have an AA for some reason, I would instead get it from COSC or EC (with the POAG discount). Those are both cheaper than TESU. THEN, you can finish up at TESU for your BA if you still want to.

[davewill]

In order to avoid being in the new catalog year, you have to be enrolled before July 1. That means getting into the June term which you would have had to apply for back in May. In short, it's too late to make the 16/17 catalog year. That said, I would still apply ASAP as it take beau-coup time for TESU to process transcripts, and you might as well get the process started. That said, get that bit about not paying the residency waiver again for the BA in writing...preferably stone tablets signed by the registrar and bursar. We have been told everything and anything about that detail. Since nobody here has been willing to try the AA then a BA, we don't know how they will actually handle it.

[TrailRunr]

The AA before BA is a huge gamble for an end product which is almost completely useless in the real world since it's like getting a second high school diploma. Skip the AA and focus on the prize, which is the BA.

[CollegeKid]

I completely agree and understand what you're all saying, but for now I need the "second high school diploma" sooner than I can get to the BA. If I go the COSC or EC route (not sure what the POAG discount is), will I need other classes? or are their requirements the same?

Here is what I have from an email from TESU from July for last year:
"With regard to your question about the Residency Waiver Fee, students only have to pay the $2,000.00 fee once. For example, if they pay the Residency Waiver fee for an Associate’s degree and then decide to return to the University to pursue a Bachelor’s degree but do not meet the academic residency requirements, they do not have to pay the Residency Waiver fee again."

Are you all saying that it may not be true?? Or that it's changed?

[SolarKat]

Do you really need it to be an AA or AS? If so, your cheapest option might be transfering into your local community college for that. If any associates will do, did you graduate from high school two or more years ago? If so, you can get an AAS from Pierpont Community & Technical College or West Virginia Northern CC for free. (Well, the cost of submitting transcripts.) I wouldn't spend a load of money on *fees* just to get a TESU AA/AS. Ever.

[Ideas]

Are you all saying that it may not be true?? Or that it's changed?

Yes, TESU gives conflicting info a lot, and the residency waiver fee was new when you got that message. They seem to only allow people to pay 1 residency waiver if you graduate with the Assoc and Bachelor's at the same time.

COSC and EC have different requirements, but a lot are similar. One thing which makes people avoid COSC is they needs a science lab.

[davewill]

... Are you all saying that it may not be true?? Or that it's changed?

We're saying that we don't know. We had this report that you can do an AA followed by a BA for one waiver fee. We've also been told it lasts for a year. We've been told it's only good for one degree. It may be that ALL of these are true, as Obi-Wan said, from a certain point of view. What we don't have is a clear cut policy spelled out unambiguously.

[dfrecore]

Here is what I have from an email from TESU from July for last year:
"With regard to your question about the Residency Waiver Fee, students only have to pay the $2,000.00 fee once. For example, if they pay the Residency Waiver fee for an Associate’s degree and then decide to return to the University to pursue a Bachelor’s degree but do not meet the academic residency requirements, they do not have to pay the Residency Waiver fee again."

Are you all saying that it may not be true?? Or that it's changed?

Who was the email from? Not the person, but the job title. That would be helpful to know at this point.