Which of the 3 schools is best for testing out of?

[kevinmane]

For my friends who don't yet have their BA, I used to recommend cleps/dssts/straighterline and etc and then transferring the credits to TESU, but now it looks like TESU has undergone some serious changes. It's almost too much to keep track of. Now I don't know what to tell em.

I remember back in 2011 you could completely test out of all the requirements for a BA in Liberal Studies at TESU. I know the BALS has a capstone requirement, but now I'm hearing you gotta take a cornerstone class, info literacy, maybe have to take 16 minimum residency credits, etc. ???

Can someone tell me what they think is the best school of the Big 3 to "mostly test out of" these days?

[alzee]

For my friends who don't yet have their BA, I used to recommend cleps/dssts/straighterline and etc and then transferring the credits to TESU, but now it looks like TESU has undergone some serious changes. It's almost too much to keep track of. Now I don't know what to tell em.

For new students, the changes at TESU have only made things cheaper. There is a 1cr required cornerstone course now as well, but no big whoop.

Edit: Oh, it's easier to test out of TESU *cheaply* now as well. With the waiver, you no longer have to pay for all the expensive TECEPs. I won't be taking a single one, myself.

[jsd]

info literacy can be tested out of, the residency requirement can be waived with a fee (like in the past with the enrolled option), but it is now cheaper to waive the fee (2000 as opposed to 3400 out of state). If you want to do the residency, you can not test out of those credits. If you pay the fee, you can test out of almost everything. You can test out of the BSBA capstone, but not a liberal arts capstone.

TESU is still the slightly cheaper option in most cases. COSC also has a required cornerstone, capstone and info lit (you can test out of their infolit too). Excelsior is still expensive.

Depending on specific degree plan and what credits are coming in, TESU is likely still the better option. But every person is different, your mileage may vary.

[NAP]

Keep an eye on Excelsior. Someone mentioned recently that they are looking at adding tests as options for liberal arts capstones this year. That could make things interesting time-wise and cost-wise.

[dfrecore]

For my friends who don't yet have their BA, I used to recommend cleps/dssts/straighterline and etc and then transferring the credits to TESU, but now it looks like TESU has undergone some serious changes. It's almost too much to keep track of. Now I don't know what to tell em.

I remember back in 2011 you could completely test out of all the requirements for a BA in Liberal Studies at TESU. I know the BALS has a capstone requirement, but now I'm hearing you gotta take a cornerstone class, info literacy, maybe have to take 16 minimum residency credits, etc. ???

Can someone tell me what they think is the best school of the Big 3 to "mostly test out of" these days?

I think TESU is still the cheapest, but it's pretty close to the cost of COSC at this point. They both now require a Cornerstone & Capstone (although the BSBA Capstone at TESU can still be tested out of).

The one thing I think TESU has going for it over COSC is the number of UL credits is much fewer than COSC, which can make a big difference for some people who may be transferring a lot of credits in from a CC or SL or different places like that.

TESU's new residency requirements have an opt-out, where you can pay $2000 instead. So this is what most people will be doing, I'm sure. For anyone new coming to this in the future, they won't even know the difference - it's only people who have been working through their degrees and this change happened that will feel the pain (if there is any). For those who had planned to use TECEP's for residency, but didn't get around to doing them, it's a little more painful. On the other hand, it's only about $1200 more, and they now have the option to take the courses elsewhere if they want, so it's kind of a good thing in that respect.

For me personally, it actually worked out in my favor (I only need 16cr of residency now as opposed to 24). I have 5 TECEP's under my belt, and registered for 3 more in May. But now, I only need to pass one of them instead of all 3. I can have a backup plan for any of them if I don't pass, which is a nice feeling to have.

[sanantone]

For new students, the changes at TESU have only made things cheaper. There is a 1cr required cornerstone course now as well, but no big whoop.

Edit: Oh, it's easier to test out of TESU *cheaply* now as well. With the waiver, you no longer have to pay for all the expensive TECEPs. I won't be taking a single one, myself.

The changes haven't made things cheaper, but TESU is possibly still cheaper than the other two depending on the degree. At $114 per test, it would have cost $798 to take seven tests. Then, you just have to worry about paying around $1,500 for the capstone. Also, those TECEPs take the place of CLEPs, DSSTs, etc. that are usually around $100 each or more with the testing center fees. Now, you have to pay a $2,000 waiver fee, and you won't get any credits out of that. Then, you still have to pay the $1,500 for the capstone. Under the old Per Credit Tuition Plan, you would have paid $2,298 for the capstone and TECEPs. Under the new Per Credit Tuition Plan, you're paying around $3,500 for the waiver fee and capstone plus around $700 more for tests/courses that would have been covered by the TECEPs.

[dfrecore]

The changes haven't made things cheaper, but TESU is possibly still cheaper than the other two depending on the degree. At $114 per test, it would have cost $798 to take seven tests. Then, you just have to worry about paying around $1,500 for the capstone. Also, those TECEPs take the place of CLEPs, DSSTs, etc. that are usually around $100 each or more with the testing center fees. Now, you have to pay a $2,000 waiver fee, and you won't get any credits out of that. Then, you still have to pay the $1,500 for the capstone. Under the old Per Credit Tuition Plan, you would have paid $2,298 for the capstone and TECEPs. Under the new Per Credit Tuition Plan, you're paying around $3,500 for the waiver fee and capstone plus around $700 more for tests/courses that would have been covered by the TECEPs.

I think you may be able to make up for the tests that you have to take, by taking some of the 6cr CLEP tests, or more courses per month through SL, things like that. If I were to make a new plan without any TECEP's, I would try to build that in (like the 6cr English Comp CLEP instead of both English Comp TECEP's). I think people ended up taking TECEP's for things they already passed previously just to get their residency, or opted for the TECEP rather than a less expensive option. I took 3 TECEP's I didn't need at all just to get residency.

That being said, the new plan is more expensive than the old plan, but again, for those who are coming in to this and don't know anything about TECEP's for residency, it won't seem like a huge deal (like the rest of us who kind of had the rug pulled out from under us). The OP was asking about recommendations for friends who won't know a single thing about TESU or the Big 3 or testing out, or any of this stuff. So they'll probably be pleasantly surprised by how cheap it is!

[dfrecore]

Oh, it's easier to test out of TESU *cheaply* now as well. With the waiver, you no longer have to pay for all the expensive TECEPs. I won't be taking a single one, myself.

The TECEP's are only slightly more expensive than most other options - my CLEP/DSST testing center charged a $20 fee per exam, so I only paid $11 more per exam for a TECEP, without the hassle of driving 30 miles RT during inconvenient times. Yes, they're more expensive than Saylor or ALEKS, but not every course is available through those, and you're still going to have to opt for some more expensive exams at some point in time (UExcel, SL, TCC, PF, CSU-G, etc. are all more expensive than a TECEP).

I also thought that some of the ones I took were fairly easy (Tech Writing, English Comp II, Applied Math, Computers), which is worth it to me as well!

[sanantone]

When I lived in San Antonio, I was able to find places that only charged a $20 testing fee. Now that I'm in San Marcos, the only place to take a test charges a $40 testing fee, so it is more expensive than taking a TECEP.

I think you may be able to make up for the tests that you have to take, by taking some of the 6cr CLEP tests, or more courses per month through SL, things like that. If I were to make a new plan without any TECEP's, I would try to build that in (like the 6cr English Comp CLEP instead of both English Comp TECEP's). I think people ended up taking TECEP's for things they already passed previously just to get their residency, or opted for the TECEP rather than a less expensive option. I took 3 TECEP's I didn't need at all just to get residency.

That being said, the new plan is more expensive than the old plan, but again, for those who are coming in to this and don't know anything about TECEP's for residency, it won't seem like a huge deal (like the rest of us who kind of had the rug pulled out from under us). The OP was asking about recommendations for friends who won't know a single thing about TESU or the Big 3 or testing out, or any of this stuff. So they'll probably be pleasantly surprised by how cheap it is!

I was simply refuting alzee's statement, not saying that the cost is no longer a good deal. My first set of undergraduate degrees were completed before there was even a Per Credit Tuition Plan. I have never recommended that people take the English Comp TECEPs over the CLEP even when on the old Per Credit Tuition Plan unless there was no space elsewhere and it made more sense to kill two birds with one stone. Also, a lot of people try to avoid 6-credit CLEPs because they are more difficult, and some of the easier ones have been downgraded to 3 credits recently.

Yes, some people did take TECEPs they didn't need in order to save money over the Enrolled Options Plan. Even though the waiver is cheaper than the enrollment fee under the Enrolled Options Plan, it is a fact that the old Per Credit Tuition Plan was cheaper even if you didn't need the TECEPs.

[managerman]

The changes haven't made things cheaper, but TESU is possibly still cheaper than the other two depending on the degree. At $114 per test, it would have cost $798 to take seven tests. Then, you just have to worry about paying around $1,500 for the capstone. Also, those TECEPs take the place of CLEPs, DSSTs, etc. that are usually around $100 each or more with the testing center fees. Now, you have to pay a $2,000 waiver fee, and you won't get any credits out of that. Then, you still have to pay the $1,500 for the capstone. Under the old Per Credit Tuition Plan, you would have paid $2,298 for the capstone and TECEPs. Under the new Per Credit Tuition Plan, you're paying around $3,500 for the waiver fee and capstone plus around $700 more for tests/courses that would have been covered by the TECEPs.

You took the words right out of my mouth!