Verity Institute Dual Enrollment

[hahtjh]

Has anyone used Verity Institute for Dual Enrollment? They work with TESC. Love to hear thoughts & opinions. Thanks.

[cookderosa]

Has anyone used Verity Institute for Dual Enrollment? They work with TESC. Love to hear thoughts & opinions. Thanks.

I didn't make it beyond their second page. They are not a college, you don't need this. It's like using a travel agent to book your flight through Expedia.

[dcan]

Are you freaking kidding me? ಠ_ಠ

They give you basically CLEP study guides (see here) and 2 weeks to study, then you take the test? AND charge you $25K for the privilege?

What about that is "Biblical"?

Do the exact same thing and get the exact same degree for $5K just by asking questions here. Seriously.

edit I believe $25K is roughly what it would cost to actually take the classes from TESC if you are in-state. So in effect this school is subsidizing you for $3K in tuition for one year, $2K at most maybe in CLEP test fees and study materials, and charging you $25K to do it.

Unbelievable.

[hahtjh]

Thanks. I knew that they were not college classes perse. However, as far as dual enrollment for my highschooler goes - I thought for the $325 it would cost for the study material & their DVD class - which would help prepare him for the CLEP would be worth it, considering we normally pay that for local homeschool co-op classes to prep him for some of his studies before he takes tests. It is my opinion that Verity is there to help students reach their goal, just like College Plus is - both Christian organizations (though I do not endorse either of them...yet). Thanks again for responding to my question. I'm grateful for the help herein.

[dcan]

I sent the following e-mail to Verity last night:

Hello,

I came across your website today and was wondering about your tuition structure. Can you please explain what service you provide that justifies $20-25K in tuition charges for taking CLEP tests? I can achieve the same degree, through Thomas Edison, for $100 per test plus about $3K in tuition fees, total cost around $5K depending on the degree and the path used to get there. I can't see what service you provide that justifies 4x the cost for the same degree, but I could be wrong and I would love to know more about your service.

Thank you for your help.

I got this response today:

Thank you for your e-mail and interest in Verity. Verity was designed to help people secure a bachelor's degree from a Biblical perspective with half the cost and half the time. If all a student wants is to take CLEP tests then you are right-it would be more financially beneficial for them to pursue this on their own without enrolling in Verity. However, students who wish to secure a bachelor's degree receive the following:

• teaching from a Biblical perspective
  
• access to student forum which includes
  
• class sessions on DVDs
  
• flashcards
  
• powerpoints
  
• a proposed schedule to follow during your course of study
  
• practice tests
  
• program advisement
  
• in-state tuition
  
• study guides for each test developed by the Verity curriculum development department created to help students know where to focus their attention due to the timeframe students are given to study.
  

For campus students, you may access all the above mentioned items while also benefiting from live classroom instruction and student group study sessions.

So that I can better serve you, please tell me a little more about yourself? What are you interested in studying? Do you have any previously earned credit? When would you be interested in starting?

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I am here to support you in your academic goals and making sure you receive the best education possible at the lowest cost possible, from the best Christian perspective possible, in the quickest time possible.

I look forward to serving you!

OK so let's break these down...

1. "Teaching from a Biblical perspective" -- If you are providing CLEP study guides, what teaching is there and how is it "Biblical"?
   
2. "Access to student forum which includes" -- unfinished sentence, and you have a student forum right here, for free
   
3. "Class sessions on DVDs" -- class sessions for CLEP tests?
   
4. "flashcards" -- InstantCert.com, $20/month right here
   
5. "powerpoints" -- Oh God...
   
6. "a proposed schedule..." -- you get that right here
   
7. "practice tests" -- tons of links to practice tests here, and I think civilians can pay for Peterson's tests at about $20 or so
   
8. "program advisement" -- again, you get that here from smart and helpful people who have "been there, done that"
   
9. "in-state tuition" -- pshyeah, for 4 years when you could do it for 1/4 the cost even paying out-of-state!
   
10. "study guides for each test..." -- yes, they are called REA, Barron's, Peterson's, etc all available for about $20 or less each
    

So please let me summarize:

We re-package advice you can get for free, study guides you can get dirt cheap, and tests you can take dirt cheap, and charge you four times as much as you need to pay during this horrible recession. Because That's What Jesus Would Do.

As a Christian, this makes me sick, seriously.

Look, tell you what, you want to spend money to make sure the teaching is worth it? Fine, send me $25K and I will ask questions here and make calls to TESC on your behalf all day long.

I'll admit that doing this on your own is daunting and can seem overwhelming. But if you realize that most of the hurdle is learning the ropes about things like accreditation and credit transfer policies and generally how colleges work, it really breaks the elephant down to bite-sized chunks. It does take a lot of effort and self-education, but it does pay off. I understand more about how schools operate than many of my peers who went to the schools. And I still know only a tiny bit.

If there is really something this "institution" provides that is an intangible (lots of hand-holding through the process, a "biblical" approach, etc) that is worth $25K -- and for you there may well be -- then that is a decision you have to make yourself. I just hate to see someone throw that kind of money away if it isn't necessary. But like I said, maybe there are intangibles I'm not addressing, if so then more power to you. And you are always welcome to ask for help with the tests here either way.

[dcan]

BTW a lot of study material is available via AP class study guide videos, or things like The Standard Deviants for math, etc.

There's also Khan Academy and PatrickJMT for math. Khan Academy is making education available for free, worldwide, entire courses broken down into 10 minute videos. He does more than just math too.

[rebel100]

Take a look at these: CLEP LESSON PLANS If you need lesson plans that are more thought out this is a good place. Beyond that ask your questions here and you will get pointed in the right direction. Save the money you would spend on College plus or verity and use it where it might really be of use.....you really do not need those folks to guide you through this.


This is the link to the actual plans: LESSON PLANS

[Gooberman11]

As for the dual enrollment part, our approach has just been to take the highschool class however you normally do (co-op, read text book, lectures, ect..) with an emphasis on CLEP info. Basically as we studied US 1 with Gileskirk and Dr. Grant we also went over IC flashcards for the US1 test. At the end of the lectures we had our highschool course fiinished and were ready to take the CLEP (resulting in dual-enrollment). We have taken this approach on a number of subjects and it works well for us.

[hahtjh]

I truly appreciate all your insight here and for the "wake up call" on the overall cost of Verity. I'll check out all the links shared - thanks so much. I'm new at this, but can't believe all that I've learned so far - still have a LONG ways to go. My son has already began the process as stated below, using our homeschool highschool material and studying the REA books and passing the two CLEP tests he's taken so far. Honestly, I was only looking at Verity for a few of their classes - thought they might prove helpful, However, ya'll have me thinking otherwise. Back to the drawing board. Thanks.

[living4Him]

Yes! I did Verity Dual Enrollment! It was great for me - then - because it opened my eyes up to CLEPing and got me into the swing of things. I would honestly have to say that when it comes to the question of "to do, or not to do Verity" you have to know the needs of the person enrolling. Is he/she an independent learner/person, or does he/she need accountability? I was an independent learner, so once I got into the swing of things I didn't even think about Verity again because I could already pace myself, figure out my own degree etc. But that's me; I know people who need that accountability and other people involved because that's how they learn.

Verity provides a 1-2 week long Biblical Worldview class, which I learned a lot from.

Dual enrollment is not 2 weeks, it's 7-8 weeks

You have an advisor who calls you once a week to check up on you and give advice

They provide you with the CLEPing books you need for whatever class you're taking - REA, Barrons, Comex (I don't trust that book), CLEP College Board, AP books (that one was GREAT for Biology!)

You have a notebook/binder with names of authors/titles and notes etc

A power point, or a few power points are provided on the "blackboard" (I forget what it's called out of online classes), which are basically notes

DVDs are provided for the class. Honestly, the DVDs didn't help me too much until the end of the class as review. The "teacher" would basically read what was on the powerpoint. Although the math teacher was great! I used the DVDs for review, after I read, because then I got a verbal explanation/back up of what I'd read and it made it stick better. There were benefits to those DVDs. I wasn't too familiar with any of the class subjects before I started, so it was all new to me.

I'm not "for" or "against" Verity. Sure they provide you with the books, dvds, powerpoints, a student advisor, but if you can figure all that out on your own, why bother. If not though and you need/want accountability and homework to keep you up to it, why not dual enrollment. Another benefit for me was getting to go to orientation at the beginning where I learned basics of an essay and CLEPing, listened to graduated students advice, tips as they taught, and I roomed with a girl who fast became my best friend.

Verity seems more "behind" with things than College Plus - or rather, CP is a lot better when it comes to business and dealing with people - they also provide more, except the books and dvds. Are you familiar with Speedy Prep? It's similar to Instacert except that there is a progress bar that tells you how far you are into the program, and once it hits 100%, you go take the CLEP exam. Speedy Prep is CP's The Learning Network offered to the public. My brother used only Speedy Prep/The Learning Network for all his CLEPs/DSSTs and he did college in less than a year. How I Earned Over 100 Credits in Seven Months | CollegePlus!

So I think it all depends on where you're coming from and what your needs are. I hope that this helps.

~CLEPer of 42 credits and counting