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+--- Thread: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? (/Thread-Is-SOS-1100-exempted-because-of-my-foreign-bachelor-s-degree)
Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - Garyjoston - 03-24-2026
Guys, this is deciding whether I can continue with this BBA program this year.
I have my first bachelor's and master's degrees, and I've already transferred most of my courses through them. I'm currently studying the remaining professional courses and preparing to transfer. I was planning to pay for expedited courses, but I found out I also have to take SOS-1100 and Capstone. However, it seems my SOS-1100 is exempt. I don't know if this is true? If so, I only need to pay the Capstone credit fee, totaling $1800.
If not, I feel I need to pause this program because I can't currently afford this huge expense, and it doesn't seem worth it.
Could you check what "Waived" is shown on my program plan?
See the attachment showed:
Information Literacy (INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT) 3SH To meet this requirement, students MUST take SOS-1100 Fact, Fiction, or Fake? Information Literacy Today (formerly Critical Information Literacy) at Thomas Edison State University. Waived.
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - Jonathan Whatley - 03-24-2026
(03-24-2026, 04:06 PM)Garyjoston Wrote: I have my first bachelor's and master's degrees, and I've already transferred most of my courses through them. I'm currently studying the remaining professional courses and preparing to transfer. I was planning to pay for expedited courses, but I found out I also have to take SOS-1100 and Capstone. However, it seems my SOS-1100 is exempt. I don't know if this is true? If so, I only need to pay the Capstone credit fee, totaling $1800.
If not, I feel I need to pause this program because I can't currently afford this huge expense, and it doesn't seem worth it.
Could you check what "Waived" is shown on my program plan?
See the attachment showed:
Information Literacy (INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT) 3SH To meet this requirement, students MUST take SOS-1100 Fact, Fiction, or Fake? Information Literacy Today (formerly Critical Information Literacy) at Thomas Edison State University. Waived.
Good news! The interpretation most favorable to you is correct. The Information Literacy requirement and therefore SOS-1100 are waived for you because you already have a bachelor’s degree.
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - bjcheung77 - 03-25-2026
Basically, in short, that's what the "Waived" means... Having said that, your degree will not cost you $1,800 in total, there is an error in your calculation as it is missing the application, graduation, and your choice of Edison Accelerate fee or flat rate of 15 credits...
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - Garyjoston - 03-30-2026
(03-24-2026, 06:05 PM)Jonathan Whatley Wrote:(03-24-2026, 04:06 PM)Garyjoston Wrote: I have my first bachelor's and master's degrees, and I've already transferred most of my courses through them. I'm currently studying the remaining professional courses and preparing to transfer. I was planning to pay for expedited courses, but I found out I also have to take SOS-1100 and Capstone. However, it seems my SOS-1100 is exempt. I don't know if this is true? If so, I only need to pay the Capstone credit fee, totaling $1800.
If not, I feel I need to pause this program because I can't currently afford this huge expense, and it doesn't seem worth it.
Could you check what "Waived" is shown on my program plan?
See the attachment showed:
Information Literacy (INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT) 3SH To meet this requirement, students MUST take SOS-1100 Fact, Fiction, or Fake? Information Literacy Today (formerly Critical Information Literacy) at Thomas Edison State University. Waived.
Good news! The interpretation most favorable to you is correct. The Information Literacy requirement and therefore SOS-1100 are waived for you because you already have a bachelor’s degree.
Thanks!!!!!
(03-25-2026, 09:13 PM)bjcheung77 Wrote: Basically, in short, that's what the "Waived" means... Having said that, your degree will not cost you $1,800 in total, there is an error in your calculation as it is missing the application, graduation, and your choice of Edison Accelerate fee or flat rate of 15 credits...
Thanks guy!!!
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - animuscerebri - 05-20-2026
(03-24-2026, 04:06 PM)Garyjoston Wrote: Guys, this is deciding whether I can continue with this BBA program this year.
I have my first bachelor's and master's degrees, and I've already transferred most of my courses through them. I'm currently studying the remaining professional courses and preparing to transfer. I was planning to pay for expedited courses, but I found out I also have to take SOS-1100 and Capstone. However, it seems my SOS-1100 is exempt. I don't know if this is true? If so, I only need to pay the Capstone credit fee, totaling $1800.
If not, I feel I need to pause this program because I can't currently afford this huge expense, and it doesn't seem worth it.
Could you check what "Waived" is shown on my program plan?
See the attachment showed:
Information Literacy (INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT) 3SH To meet this requirement, students MUST take SOS-1100 Fact, Fiction, or Fake? Information Literacy Today (formerly Critical Information Literacy) at Thomas Edison State University. Waived.
Hi @Garyjoston,
You posted a screenshot showing the first general education block, "A. Intel and Pract Skills," marked as completed (15 creds). Did your foreign degree waive the entire block, or only courses 4 (College Algebra) and 5 (Information Literacy) within that block? You didn't include a screenshot of the full block, by the way.
Or did your foreign credits transfer into the remaining three courses of the "A. Intel and Pract Skills" block?
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - Jonathan Whatley - 05-20-2026
(05-20-2026, 10:14 AM)animuscerebri Wrote: Hi @Garyjoston,
You posted a screenshot showing the first general education block, "A. Intel and Pract Skills," marked as completed (15 creds). Did your foreign degree waive the entire block
TESU’s Award of Degrees Policy states: “If a student presents a foreign credential evaluation stating their foreign degree is equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate degree, then the University will consider it an earned degree and apply all applicable Award of Degree policies.”
One of those policies is that general education is not required for a second or successive bachelor’s degree. (There might be course requirements specific to an area of study [major] but nested in the general education requirements that a second or successive bachelor’s student still must fulfill, along the lines of a certain AOS requiring a statistics course.)
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - bjcheung77 - 05-20-2026
Basically, if you have a bachelors degree from the US, the entire general education and electives are transferred in and you're exempt from those requirements (even thought you may not have all the required general education classes). The only exception to this are from institutions that are international, and they have a degree that doesn't have any general education classes at all, an example is a BBA that's all Business related classes and nothing else.
RE: Is SOS-1100 exempted because of my foreign bachelor's degree? - animuscerebri - 05-21-2026
(05-20-2026, 06:44 PM)bjcheung77 Wrote: Basically, if you have a bachelors degree from the US, the entire general education and electives are transferred in and you're exempt from those requirements (even thought you may not have all the required general education classes). The only exception to this are from institutions that are international, and they have a degree that doesn't have any general education classes at all, an example is a BBA that's all Business related classes and nothing else.
Hi bjcheung77,
the last part of your answer is basically what I was interested in, because, in Garyjoston's case, it is not clear cut. Garyjoston said that he transferred in his international degree (based on the thread title), and he got courses from the "A. Intel and Pract Skills" waived. Thus, it would be interesting to know whether his degree already had similar gen ed credits or not. Usually, in many other countries, you don't have gen eds. In addition, most Bachelor's in other countries last 3 years instead of 4 years, and those degrees are major-focused, meaning you almost exclusively study classes related to your major.
That's why it would be - in my opinion - new information (or at least not common knowledge here on DegreeForum) that an international degree without general education requirements could still transfer in with the gen eds waived. I think this may still be possible, because the gen ed classes included in a typical U.S. bachelor’s degree are often covered in high school in many other countries.