I need info on TESC. on registering

[geissingert]

I'm a bit confused on when to register my kids with TESC. I want to save the most money. The plan was to have them take the general courses then register. I have noticed that people have been registering with them before they get the general studies completed.

Will it cost more to register now?

Can we still use alternative ways for their credits?

Are there a certain amount of credits that are required per semester from TESC?

I understand there are a few ways to register with TESC, I'm still confused about this.

Sorry, I am so THICK with understanding.
You all have been so amazing with your help and guidance.

[SwaggyP]

From how I understand --- If you're going to do the Per Credit Tuition Plan (Which requires 24 TESC residency credits & can be completed via TECEPs), delaying registration does not make a difference as there is no enrollment fee for the year, you would simply register for a TECEP and would be considered enrolled at the college and begin to receive all the benefits of being an enrolled student through academic advising and registrar's office etc. If doing the Enrolled Options Tuition Plan, there is no TESC residency credits required, however there is an annual enrollment fee (NJ Residents $1,691 and Out of State $3,154). With the latter, it is important to enroll when you are certain that graduation will occur within that initial year of enrolling and paying the fee. The other choice is the Comprehensive Plan at approx $6k for in state and $9k for out of state resident, this is geared towards those who will be completing their degree mainly by taking classes at TESC, and shouldn't be considered if testing out of courses via exams is the plan.

[geissingert]

SWAGGYP- So it sounds like we should wait on registering, since they won't be ready for another 2 years, correct?

[bricabrac]

Not sure how old your children are, or if they are even eligible to enroll at this time? If they are eligible, I would think about registering now under the pay per credit tuition plan to lock in the current catalog requirements. You can always call the bursar and change to enrolled options later.

The children just completed aleks math courses so I would recommend MAT105 as the first TECEP. This course is a combination of general math with intermediate algebra. They will most likely think of it as fun! The initial investment would be the cost of application $75 and the TECEP $111. This qualifies for one year enrollment. To continue enrollment for Year 2 they would register for the computer exam, CIS107 Computer Concepts & Applications. Again the only spend would be the current cost of the TECEP exam. The TECEP is basically the same information as DSST Intro to Computing. FYI, TECEPs are more text specific so they would need to take the test description and use the recommended textbook to build a study guide. They could supplement that with IC study cards for the CLEP COS101 exam. Overall, it's an easy exam.

These two exams will allow the children to enroll under the current catalog before possible changes to the degree plans over the next two academic years: 7/2015-6/2016 and 7/2016-6/2017. At that point, they are both older and can decide if they want to continue testing out of the remaining 15 credits (5 exams) plus the capstone course to meet the 24 credit residency, or switch to enrolled options and transfer in everthing but the capstone course.

Please check my signature for a link on the pay per credit tuition plan as well as a cost comparison spreadsheet.

Anyway, just my rambling thoughts, hopefully they prove helpful.

Good luck!



TECEP Test descriptions:
[URL="http://www2.tesc.edu/tecep_desc/MAT-105.pdf"]MAT-105 Appleid Liberal Arts Math
[/URL][URL="http://www2.tesc.edu/tecep_desc/CIS-107.pdf"]CIS-107 Computer Concepts & Applications

[/URL]Alternate:[URL="http://www2.tesc.edu/tecep_desc/ENC-101.pdf"]
ENC-101-TE English Composition I
[/URL]POS-101 Introduction to Political Science

[SwaggyP]

Picking a degree, reviewing its requirements, and developing a plan to meet those requirements should come first. Once you have that decided, it'll give you a better idea of which tuition plan is better suited for the goal. The main advantage of the Per Credit plan is the cost savings when compared to Enrolled Option, especially for out of state tuition. You can meet the 24 residency requirements for a little under $1k, and furthermore the TECEP's don't necessarily have to align with your degree plan or meet any specific requirement---any TECEP in any subject counts as credit towards the 24 credit requirement; of course ideally you would want to choose TECEP's which do go towards your degree requirements, but sometimes it's not always possible.

Bricabrac is right about changing plans later on. It doesn't hurt to enroll under Pay Per Credit, lock in the current degree requirements, and simply register for 1 TECEP; and if you decide to change to Enrolled Options plan, you'll have the ability to switch over. In hindsight, that is the path I would have chosen if doing it all over again, rather than delaying enrollment until I was positive graduation was within a years time. The benefits of being enrolled and sending in transcripts for evaluation and feedback from academic advising is helpful in the planning and execution involved with obtaining the necessary credits.

[ALRS]

This is great info. If you switch from Per Credit tuition to the enrolled option do you then pay annual enrollment of NJ Residents $1,691 and Out of State $3,154? Is the 24 credits counted from the time you enroll to graduation?

[SwaggyP]

This is great info. If you switch from Per Credit tuition to the enrolled option do you then pay annual enrollment of NJ Residents $1,691 and Out of State $3,154? Is the 24 credits counted from the time you enroll to graduation?

Yes, once you switch to enrolled option you are assessed one of the 2 fees depending on your residency. I'm not sure if you have to pay it right away or are able to carry a balance during that year while you're completing your degree (maybe someone with more insight on that can chime in on that). The 24 TESC credits will have to be complete before they approve your graduation application under the Per Credit Plan, so yes they're all counted up to when you decide to graduate. You can be complete with your degree requirements and be short some credits to fulfill the 24 residency credits, under that scenario you would just take some more TECEP's (any ones you desire, preferably the easy ones) until you get to 24 credits and then be eligible to graduate.