TECEP(s) for TESU BSBA?

[Merlin]

Hey folks,

I'd like to supplement my TESU BSBA plan with some TECEP exams (plus lock in my enrollment). I prefer UL credits since LL is easier to get elsewhere, but if it fits into the BSBA GM or CIS AOS I'm at least interested. Though I'm generally avoiding exams with essays for now since I don't have any experience with essays on exams. I figure if I don't need them, then why go through the headache?

I've narrowed my list to those work in my AOS, but I haven't seen any recent posts about these:

• COM-210-TE Public Relations: Thought & Practice
  
• FIN-321-TE Security Analysis & Portfolio Management
  
• FIN-331-TE Financial Institutions & Markets
  
• MAR-323-TE Advertising
  

Several older posts indicate that MAN-373-TE (Managerial Communication) is one of the easiest but I had discounted it because it has an essay and requires 70% to pass instead of 60% or 65% like the others, though I might be willing to deal with just one essay I can still be pretty sure of a pass even if I fail on the exam part.

Older posts (pre-2017) suggest those are some of the easier business-related exams, or at least moderately challenging since none were listed as hard. Though dfrecore recently mentioned that Public Relations was rough, so maybe it's been revised given that was listed as easy before. Obviously, easy and hard has a lot to do with pre-knowledge and/or interest in the subject, but I have a bit of real-world knowledge in all of these areas so as long as I can find good study materials, all of them should be doable.

The two finance exams seem the most reasonable starting places to me as a finance & investment dabbler, but I also have some work-related experience in PR and Advertising. Though I don't know if any of my personal experience will be relevant or useful. I've also been in management for 20-odd years so the Managerial Communications exam seems like it may be pretty straightforward as well, but I haven't looked too closely at that yet.

I'd welcome feedback from others who have taken these exams (ideally in the last year or two) in regards to how tough they are along with study tips & references. I'm also curious as to if you were to do it all over again and were limited to a business-related TECEP, which would you take first and why?

Thanks!

[Ideas]

I took 3 of those, and almost took Advertising. Instead I took different Marketing ones. I also took other TECEPs.

Some of my thoughts are in my TESU thread. The finance exams were part of my last credits so it's easier to find my posts on those.

Personally, I think that UL TECEPs are fairly hard, and in general I would recommend other UL sources unless someone needs to fill their AOS.

In general, I love multiple-choice tests. However, for many of the TECEPs (and Davar exams which have 10 short essays), I feel it's actually helpful to have the essays, and others have posted this too. I didn't understand what they meant very well, but now I do.

[davewill]

I haven't taken those particular ones, but I will tell you that TESU's testing format both for TECEPs and for courses is very annoying. They are broken up into sections. You have to finish a section before you can see any of the rest of the test, and you can't return to a section once you've left it. Multiple choice sections typically had 10-20 questions in them, and all of the essay sections I ever had were all one essay per section. This means that you can't judge how long to spend an essay based on what the other questions are. You also can't review at the end if you have more time. I bombed one midterm simply because I miscounted how many essays I had to do, and spent too long on the first two, causing me to rush the rest of them.

[Ideas]

I felt the MC questions were covering so much material that even if you read an entire recommended textbook, there are questions on areas you did not study at all. That is why being fully MC makes it hard. If you read a second recommended textbook, you could cover some of those. However, of course it is still possible to pass, especially for the ones needing only 60%. I think they are challenging mostly because of the breadth.

[Merlin]

Personally, I think that UL TECEPs are fairly hard, and in general I would recommend other UL sources unless someone needs to fill their AOS.

Well, I need to take a TECEP or a TESU course to properly enroll, so I figure I should take one that I actually need for my course plan. Ideally something I need but isn't easily available elsewhere. I'm not really that interested in accounting, so I plan to focus my AOS across Finance, Management, and Marketing.

In general, I have no problem finding courses that will fill the UL Management area of my AOS, and with the new UL Study.com options, the Marketing area has options too. But outside of Davar, UL Finance is a bit tougher... so I figured I'd look at TECEP's there. But I'm not locked into anything at this point.

If there are quick GenEd exams that are recommended instead, I might consider one of those, but I pretty much have the balance of my GenEd credits planned already. I don't have a problem with tougher exams as long as the exams match the prep material and it's not too dry.

---

I haven't taken those particular ones, but I will tell you that TESU's testing format both for TECEPs and for courses is very annoying. They are broken up into sections. You have to finish a section before you can see any of the rest of the test, and you can't return to a section once you've left it. Multiple choice sections typically had 10-20 questions in them, and all of the essay sections I ever had were all one essay per section. This means that you can't judge how long to spend an essay based on what the other questions are. You also can't review at the end if you have more time. I bombed one midterm simply because I miscounted how many essays I had to do, and spent too long on the first two, causing me to rush the rest of them.

Yeah I've read about the sections/modules thing, and it does sound annoying. When you add essays on top that sounds terrible. Ideally I'd focus on the multiple choice questions first and then come back and divide my remaining time between the essays (in priority order of which earns more points on the test.) But that isn't really an option with TECEPs.

That's one of the main reasons I don't want to deal with essays... I have no idea how long they will take. Plus I really don't know how they should be structured, etc. I assume it's not a 5-paragraph format type of thing.

Traditionally I do well with multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank types of exams anyway.

[Ideas]

Advertising is considered hard. I was scared to take it based on what I had read. I took Marketing Comm and Sales Mgmt but those both have essays. I feel it's much easier to study for those instead of Advertising. And that any Marketing ones would be easier than Finance, but I guess I'm weaker than some people at Finance.

[Merlin]

I felt the MC questions were covering so much material that even if you read an entire recommended textbook, there are questions on areas you did not study at all. That is why being fully MC makes it hard. If you read a second recommended textbook, you could cover some of those. However, of course it is still possible to pass, especially for the ones needing only 60%. I think they are challenging mostly because of the breadth.

I am planning to use Study.com's TECEP prep courses primarily, supplemented by the recommended textbook by focusing on the vocabulary, summaries, and highlighted points. Not sure if that will give me the breadth necessary, but I assume there are practice exams I can take which will tell me how I'm doing before I pull the trigger on the actual proctored exam.

[allvia]

Personally, I think that UL TECEPs are fairly hard, and in general I would recommend other UL sources unless someone needs to fill their AOS.

Well, I need to take a TECEP or a TESU course to properly enroll, so I figure I should take one that I actually need for my course plan. Ideally something I need but isn't easily available elsewhere. I'm not really that interested in accounting, so I plan to focus my AOS across Finance, Management, and Marketing.

In general, I have no problem finding courses that will fill the UL Management area of my AOS, and with the new UL Study.com options, the Marketing area has options too. But outside of Davar, UL Finance is a bit tougher... so I figured I'd look at TECEP's there. But I'm not locked into anything at this point.

If there are quick GenEd exams that are recommended instead, I might consider one of those, but I pretty much have the balance of my GenEd credits planned already. I don't have a problem with tougher exams as long as the exams match the prep material and it's not too dry.

If your Study.com account is still active you may want to look at their TECEP prep courses.  They may be helpful in prep, but more importantly they may also be helpful in determining which is your best choice to take.

Edit: I see you just posted this is your plan!

[Merlin]

Personally, I think that UL TECEPs are fairly hard, and in general I would recommend other UL sources unless someone needs to fill their AOS.

Well, I need to take a TECEP or a TESU course to properly enroll, so I figure I should take one that I actually need for my course plan. Ideally something I need but isn't easily available elsewhere. I'm not really that interested in accounting, so I plan to focus my AOS across Finance, Management, and Marketing.

In general, I have no problem finding courses that will fill the UL Management area of my AOS, and with the new UL Study.com options, the Marketing area has options too. But outside of Davar, UL Finance is a bit tougher... so I figured I'd look at TECEP's there. But I'm not locked into anything at this point.

If there are quick GenEd exams that are recommended instead, I might consider one of those, but I pretty much have the balance of my GenEd credits planned already. I don't have a problem with tougher exams as long as the exams match the prep material and it's not too dry.

If your Study.com account is still active you may want to look at their TECEP prep courses.  They may be helpful in prep, but more importantly they  may also be helpful in determining which is your best choice to take.

That is my plan. In fact I mentioned in an earlier post that I am hoping to use Study.com primarily and supplement with summaries, highlights, and vocabulary from the textbooks. I'd prefer not to spend weeks reading a textbook if I can avoid it.