TESU Still Not Accepting Shmoop/FEMA

[syzygylym]

Thought I'd post an email I received from TESU regarding Shmoop and FEMA ACE credits. Still no go to both. I'm currently using Shmoop to complete my Associate's. The transcripts from 2012 are from when I previously attended TESU and did not complete the program. 

Unfortunately we do not accept credits from Shmoop or FEMA. We do however generally accept credits from various other ACE accredited sources. We will review any transfer credits that you have previously previously attended regionally accredited schools. We have already received your transcripts from Juniata College and Camden County College, both received in 2012. If you have earned any additional college credits since then, please have updated official transcripts sent to us. 


Please let me know if you have any additional questions!

Lyrisa Copson | Admissions Counselor 

[sanantone]

The Shmoop thing will probably never change. Don't expect TESU to ever accept FEMA IS courses again. Do you have ACE-approved credits from FEMA, or do you have FEMA IS credits? I don't think FEMA has any online or correspondence courses that are ACE-recommended.

By the way, admissions counselors know very little.

[syzygylym]

I have tons of in-person FEMA classes to go with IS but I took them at my state agency not at EMI. Working on getting NJ OEM to update their system and enter classes into ACE for credit. The last class they have eligible for ACE is from 2008. I'll be sure to let everyone know if/when it goes through!

[jsh1138]

I talked with my adviser a couple of weeks ago and it didn't seem like TESU was ever going to take Shmoop again. Seems like that ship has sailed

[dfrecore]

FEMA courses aren't ACE approved, so those won't be accepted for that reason. It was an old policy and went away a long time ago.

Shmoop is another issue entirely, and TESU has some sort of issue with that provider that we aren't privy to (I would say it's because they don't proctor, but neither does ALEKS and they take those, so who knows).

[nosey561]

FEMA courses aren't ACE approved, so those won't be accepted for that reason.  It was an old policy and went away a long time ago.

Shmoop is another issue entirely, and TESU has some sort of issue with that provider that we aren't privy to (I would say it's because they don't proctor, but neither does ALEKS and they take those, so who knows).

BTW Shmoop has had proctoring since last year, but TESU will not accept it.

[jsd]

the proctoring is optional.

and if i recall correctly, they don't even list if it was proctored or unproctored on the transcript, the school needs to contact them to verify or something. I can't imagine that being worth TESU's time.

I think that it was unproctored is only part of the problem. Someone transferred in an unusually high amount of credit all completed in a day or so was the original story from Shmoop, and I suspect that TESU felt Shmoop is not adequately preventing cheating. I'm sure we didn't help here on the form, where it was regularly suggested to skip the courses, open the content in multiple tabs, and just CTRL-F you way through exams to knock them out.

[nosey561]

the proctoring is optional.

and if i recall correctly, they don't even list if it was proctored or unproctored on the transcript, the school needs to contact them to verify or something. I can't imagine that being worth TESU's time.

I think that it was unproctored is only part of the problem. Someone transferred in an unusually high amount of credit all completed in a day or so was the original story from Shmoop, and I suspect that TESU felt Shmoop is not adequately preventing cheating. I'm sure we didn't help here on the form, where it was regularly suggested to skip the courses, open the content in multiple tabs, and just CTRL-F you way through exams to knock them out.

The proctoring was mandatory for many months,but TESU continued to refuse to accept it.Once this became clear, Shmoop made it optional.

Perhaps I am mistaken,but your assertion that  anyone can just "... skip the courses, open the content in multiple tabs, and just CTRL-F you way through exams to knock them out" is not consistent with my experience or other posts on this forum.

Even if you are correct,the same can be said for Straighterline,which has many open book exams and searchable textbooks.What about Sophia,where the final exam is not actually proctored and you only need 50% to pass? 
In summary,even on other sites such as study.com, since only the final is proctored,cheating is always possible,since the final exam is only 20 or 30 percent of the entire grade.

[syzygylym]

FEMA courses aren't ACE approved, so those won't be accepted for that reason.  It was an old policy and went away a long time ago.

Shmoop is another issue entirely, and TESU has some sort of issue with that provider that we aren't privy to (I would say it's because they don't proctor, but neither does ALEKS and they take those, so who knows).

Many of the in-person classes are ACE approved, but the agency where they were taken has to participate in ACE. For example L0101 Foundations of Emergency Management is ACE approved if taken at EMI in Maryland for 6 credits in public administration. I took it from my state EMA and it is not on there. I'm thinking it might work if I send the ACE approval for the EMI course, a description from my local EMA, and a certificate of completion should qualify for credit. I'll report back with results.

[jsd]

Even if you are correct,the same can be said for Straighterline,which has many open book exams and searchable textbooks.What about Sophia,where the final exam is not actually proctored and you only need 50% to pass? 
In summary,even on other sites such as study.com, since only the final is proctored,cheating is always possible,since the final exam is only 20 or 30 percent of the entire grade.

There haven't been dozens of posts advocating manipulating those systems, so the point is moot. When Shmoop first came around, there was a large contingency of people here advocating just that, and we know by what Shmoop has publicly said that a person with an unusual amount of credits within a day or so made TESU take a second look.

I personally don't care what you or anyone is doing with Sophia or Study.com or where ever. I'm just telling you the series of events that happened around when TESU first announced they'd be rejecting Shmoop.