Why Charter Oak State College is better than Thomas Edison State College

[KittenMittens]

Sanantone, I think you make several good points, and your advice in the forums and your degree wikis personally helped me a lot

You do have to study harder for TECEPs, but if it means saving over $2,000 over your COSC plan...... Taking a TECEP is still much easier and faster than taking a college course. Interestingly, your plan uses Uexcels which are probably just as difficult as TECEPs, more expensive, based off of specific textbooks just like TECEPs, and are less convenient to take because you have to travel to a Pearson test center. The upside is that they are awarded grades; the downside is that they are awarded grades. Scoring a "C" or "B" will bring down a high GPA. The extra time you would spend on studying for TECEPs is balanced by not spending two separate semesters completing the capstone and cornerstone. You don't even need the Penn Foster course for Strategic Management; there is a TECEP for that. There is a lot of feedback for this specific TECEP, and there are also Instantcert flashcards. Remember that a few TECEPs are aligned with Saylor courses.

A UExcel and TECEP exam are about the same price. TECEP exams are $37/credit so $37 * 3 = $111/one exam + test admin fee let's say $25.00 = ~$140 – $150.
UExcel exam fees are $95 + $50 test admin fee for Pearson test center = $145.00. Let's say they're about the same.

The most important reason why UExcels are superior, imho, is because there is test taker data: 1) instantcert flash cards 2) degreeforum.net instantcert forums for test advice 3) pass/failure rate info for UExcel exams 4) practice exams you can take.

All of these allowed me to take the UExcel exams without using ANY textbooks. I didn't need a textbook for DSST Substance Abuse, DSST Business Ethics, UExcel Organizational Behavior, UExcel Human Resources Management, UExcel Labor Relations, etc and I never really had a background in any of the subject. It was the combination of the flash cards, forum advice, and practice exams that allowed me to pass and do well on all the exams.

Yes, the other advantage with TECEPs are that they are not given a grade –*but I think that getting a B or A in the UExcels I described above is not that difficult. If a student is in a position where they can't get a B in some of these UExcel exams, then graduate level work may be too much. Of course, they could be a bad test taker, but still.

More importantly, I think the threshold most students will need for graduate level work is a 3.00 –*after looking at most of the types of programs that one of these degrees will open doors to (we're not talking ivy league here), most have indicated a 3.00 would be acceptable (many MBA programs come to mind like West Texas A&B's).

"The extra time you would spend on studying for TECEPs is balanced by not spending two separate semesters completing the capstone and cornerstone. You don't even need the Penn Foster course for Strategic Management; there is a TECEP for that. There is a lot of feedback for this specific TECEP, and there are also Instantcert flashcards."

Yes, this is true, though I've read that the TECEP exam is pretty indepth and difficult even with instantcert. You do get to avoid having to take the pointless cornerstone course (it really is), and the capstone course, though the upsides with COSC is that you'll probably save a few hundred bucks in the end. I think that distinction needs to be made.

Even though Uexcels and TECEPs are more difficult, studying for them is a simpler process. Not much feedback is needed when you know the test is based off of a specific textbook. Many people have failed CLEPs and DSSTs because the feedback is from before exams were refreshed and/or the Instantcert flashcards weren't well-aligned. You kind of have to go by the official guides and put together a study guide from a hodgepodge of sources unless you decide to depend on Saylor's aligned courses. There is not much feedback on using Saylor courses to study for CLEPs and DSSTs, but there is a lot of feedback that supports that studying the textbooks is usually sufficient for passing a Uexcel or TECEP.

I would say that from the data provided for UExcel, that they are more documented, have more student/test taker information, and accurate/relevant flash cards. From here: InstantCert: CLEP Online Study Guides it shows data for, and there is little data available about the TECEPs. Hopefully in the future there are more subjects and more student data/forum advice for these TECEP Exams. But I know that as of now the forum advice (which was extremely helpful for me), the flash cards, and UExcel practice exams were extremely helpful for passing (I received all As and Bs in my UExcels). For myself, and I think for most students, they don't want to be inconvenienced with a textbook, and that is a major advantage with the UExcels imo.

InstantCert Subjects: Excelsior Exams

Arts and Sciences
Abnormal Psychology
Ethics:Theory and Practice
Foundations of Gerontology
Psychology of Adulthood & Aging
Research Methods in Psychology
Social Pscyhology
World Population
Business
Human Resource Management
Labor Relations
Organizational Behavior
Nursing
Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Safety

Thomas Edison Exams

Business
Operations Management
Public Relations Thought & Practice
Strategic Management"

If you're uncomfortable with testing in general, then COSC might be the better option. You can also use portfolio assessments to complete the residency requirement at TESC. The first 12 credits are $363. Every subsequent 6 credits is $206. TESC could use a comprehensive chart, but they do have equivalencies for TECEPs, CLEPs, and DSSTs listed on their website. They also have an equivalency chart on Straighterline's website.

I prefer testing, but I don't like lack of information having to rely on a textbook, because that means I have to scour through it all, and not know what may or may not be tested on it. Having official practice tests/questions is extremely important whether it's the MCAT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, UExcel, DSST, etc. – it allows you to know what the test takers focus in on –*having student feedback, and test company review is even better – that's what UExcel has and why I gravitated towards them. In some cases, I found that the practice exams were all that were needed to at least pass (and I'm not a genius, perhaps slightly above average). If TESC had a comprehensive chart that showed how UExcels would transfer in it would be good.

I never understood the problem with Excelsior's name. They still have way more students than TESC and COSC with their "lame name." Even TESC has way more students than COSC. Excelsior's liberal arts students generally get a good return on their investment. Of course, most of their students are mid-career, but so are TESC and COSC students. "

Not sure why they have more students –*I think it could be because Albany is a metropolitan area where there are far more people, more colleges, and people living in New York versus Connecticut or New Jersey. I'm from the upstate NY region myself, and I know some people who have an Excelsior College degree and it always rubbed me the wrong way like it was an "inferior degree." I mean this is personal discretion in the end, and up to an employer, but name does matter, if not the most – it's not what you learn, it's who you know/where you're from (i.e. Wall Street picks people from ivy league schools only, or going to Berkeley or Stanford is better for engineering). It's the difference between Nike and Wal-Mart brand even if both could possibly have come from the same factory. I know for me, I didn't like the name "Excelsior College" and though it wasn't a primary reason for not going with them, it didn't help either. I personally like Thomas Edison State College better –*it sounds more "legit", Charter Oak State College sounds slightly "iffy" but at least it's a state college in Connecticut. Here's another example, I have a friend who went to "Bowling Green State University" in Ohio, and it comes off like a very low-tier school. The most important thing is how the name makes you feel – does it sound authentic (yes we know they're all authentic), would someone wonder/question if it's like University of Phoenix, Kaplan University, or Devry, which are all garbage?

Excelsior College Ranked Top School for Liberal Arts Majors in Terms of Earnings - Excelsior College Ranked Top School for Liberal Arts Majors in Terms of Earnings

Eh, I wouldn't put too much stock on college supplied income/earnings especially when it's coming from the college themselves. You should see how law schools grossly exaggerate their graduates incomes and employment through manipulation of statistics. I think a person's earnings/income is more based on how hard they work, how much work experience, hands on experience, connections, etc they have – in other words, if it's not an ivy league caliber school, the college degree is more of a nuisance, a "piece of paper" more than anything else. It is something that allows you to get a bump in pay particularly in very bureaucratic and hierarchical institutions (i.e. state and fed jobs). I personally work for the state, and my foreign degree from India is obviously not regionally accredited, so for me, the absence of a bachelor's prevents me from getting paid at a higher grade.