Clubs and organizations at TESU

[jch]

Hello everyone, 

I'm new to this whole online distance learning space. I started in April and have been plowing through the Sophia and ASU EA catalogs ever since. I am admitted + enrolled in TESU as of June. Thanks everyone else here for all the helpful threads that I have been reading! All your posts have guided me quite well through the process.  

I expected that, as an institution aimed at non-traditional learners, TESU would not have the traditional "college experience" typically associated with colleges. What I was not expecting was to have essentially no opportunities to interact with other students! It appears that there's only the general discussion boards, which seem to focus largely on textbook sales, and the class-related forums within a course. Am I missing anything, or is this it? Does TESU really have zero clubs and organizations (outside of some honor societies, I'll make another thread about those)?

The main thing that held me back from online classes in the past was the lack of social interaction. I recognize that higher education is often seen to help you develop as a person in addition to the stated curriculum. I was really looking forward to that aspect of my college experience, as I was often an isolated teen. Once the pandemic hit and all of the online course offerings this summer opened up, I jumped on them to finally get my education progressing and take advantage of the discounts. While these digital platforms are really resonating with me academically, they aren't meeting my social needs at all.  


Has there ever been any discussions about starting some student organizations at TESU? Is there a stated reason or policy I'm missing here? Did these kinds of groups simply never form because of the unique context of TESU students and structure?

One organization that I have been really looking forward to participating in during college is PBL - Phi Beta Lambda. In high school, I was very active in Future Business Leaders of America, and was particularly dominant in the competitive events. I'd like to continue into PBL, which is the collegiate arm of the program. Additionally, I want to become more involved in the leadership aspects of the group, which I did not do in high school. If possible, I'd start a PBL chapter at TESU. If that doesn't work out, I'll just join PBL independently of a school. 

I'm planning to start a thread on the TESU student discussion board investigating any potential interest in starting a PBL chapter. Anyone have any feedback or suggestions?

Thanks!
-JCH