Thomas Edison State College

I am currently an enrolled student who completed 10 courses in the BSBA program at TESU. TESU is exactly what you make of it; meaning that if you put in the effort to complete assignments on time, study, and are self-driven, you will do well. TESU utilizes Malcolm Knowles' andragogy theory of learning in administering its courses. Hence, individuals enrolled in TESU should understand what this teaching style means before enrolling. In traditional brick-and-mortar schools, generally, the teacher assumes more responsibility of what the students are expected to learn, and the knowledge the students take from the class (given the students are ambitious towards their education). At TESU, the student must assume full responsibility for acquiring the necessary knowledge to perform well. Mentors are available to answer any questions; however, they do tend to be somewhat vague and do not simply "give" you the answer you are looking for. The mentors do provide sufficient constructive criticism regarding each of your assignments. Some mentors are better than others at providing support, but overall, it is fairly consistent. I believe the grading system used is fair, perhaps lenient as well regarding late assignments. If you become overwhelmed with work/life/school responsibilities and can not keep up with your assignments, reach out to your professor, briefly explain the situation, provide a reasonable estimated time frame in which you will be able to submit your late assignments, and follow through with your promise. Even the toughest mentor I had (business law) granted me reasonable accommodations for finishing late work and did not penalize me for submitting work late. Some mentors take 5-10 points off on late assignments which is fair and acceptable. Truthfully, taking more than 2 classes in a term is extremely demanding. The amount of assignments per class ranges from approximately 12-20+ assignments, depending on the course. You will have many written assignments. For those that enjoy writing papers, this type of learning environment will be a breeze. Exams range from 1-3 proctored exams depending on the course. Personally, the exams have been the most challenging factor thus far. It is moderately difficult to effectively prepare for an exam. The study guides are vague, and require you to fully understand all material in the given chapters relative to the exam. It is not an easy task to understand what will be expected on the exam. The mentors do not know what questions are on the exams either. Unlike traditional schools where the professor tells you face-to-face what to study and what to know for the exam, at TESU, it seems to be more of a gamble which for me has constantly been a losing hand. I currently have a 3.3 GPA, and it is quite discouraging to see my perfect grades drop after an exam. For me, the proctored exams have been my kryptonite. Some classes are much easier than others using an online format. For instance, Ethics and the Business Professional was a fairly simple course to study for and complete. Quite the opposite situation for Macroeconomics. Macro would be better fit in a traditional style classroom environment where the teacher administers the lecture and thoroughly and carefully explains the content. At TESU, you must teach yourself the required content which can be a daunting challenging task for learning course content in technical classes whose textbooks are information dense and apply theories you are not currently familiar with. In this case, youtube will be your best friend. Overall, TESU is what you make of it. If you put in the effort to proficiently complete all of your assignments by the end of term date you will succeed. If you are a good test-taker, you will do even better. I am valuing the educational opportunity that TESU currently provides for me. I work 50+ hour weeks and TESU has enabled me to continue my education. Although the exams are tough, the written assignments allow you to think critically, and analytically about the course content. I have also significantly increased my ability to effectively prepare word documents, powerpoint, and excel spreadsheets by attending TESU because of the applicable usage in each course. Microsoft Office competency is considered valuable by many employers. To conclude, I would recommend TESU if you are an individual capable of being self-taught, self-disciplined, ambitious, and dedicated to continue your educational success. These individuals will be able to take something extra out of each course. However, as another commenter stated below me, don't expect an academic nirvana, but I will restate, take what you can get and make of it what you will. If you are good at what you do, 5 years from now nobody will care about your degree.

I heard of TESU (TESC) back in 2007 on a degree forum. Several people were talking about it because they were able to transfer a lot of credits from different sources. This got me curious as I was a senior at my university at the time. After making a quick phone call, I found out that I only needed to take two more classes to graduate. I was elated to hear the news! I quickly processed an application and sent in my transcripts. The counselor that I had spoke with was very helpful. I took the following courses: Managerial Communications and Business Policy. The classes were fast paced, moderately difficult, interesting, and a bit time consuming. We had to write a ton of papers! If I remember correctly, it was a 4 page paper each week. There is a lot to do as well. We have classroom discussions to participate in and give feedback to our peers. I never had to do that before but it was okay. Overall, I am happy that I graduated from TESU (TESC) because it made me a better student. I was more prepared going into my MBA program as opposed to what I was doing at my former university which was more test based.

I feel like for the price you can't beat TESC. I am one semester away from a degree in BSBS-CIS. I think they have decent support and the classes are surprisingly difficult. Another nice thing is that the degree earned online is more valuable because they do remote proctoring. This ensures that students cannot cheat because a proctor is watching them on their webcam. This adds value to the learning experience in my opinion and moves it away from being a "degree mill". My one complaint is that SOME of the teachers instead of actually teaching just say read chapter ## in the book on pages ##-## for how to do this. Obviously I have the book as a tool and I can refer to that. It would be helpful, especially for math classes, if the teachers posted lectures on youtube and made them available to students. It is easier to learn how to do a math problem by seeing someone do it than it is to read it in a book.

I had a great experience with TESC. I had completed about 80 credits at a Community College and traditional 4 year school. Life issues made me stop college, but TESC gave me the opportunity to complete my degree.

I am in my third term with TESC. The first two I was a part time student and really chocked my frustrations up to working full time and having limited focus even though the testing was ridiculous - more on that later. I have read the reviews about bad customer support and I completely agree to that, I would say beyond bad but not as bad as Financial Aid. I use my MGIB and there has not been an instance where I received valuable or accurate information from the "VA specialist" in this office. EVERY term I have had to call them and REMIND them to process my paperwork... this should be automatic, right? Or at least after 6 weeks of a term has past and I have emailed 3 trouble tickets, left 2 voicemails and spent close to an hour on hold, you think it could be done without my help. It can't! Testing here is insane. Online courses are for professionals with full time jobs right? How am I suppose to remember 7 weeks worth of stuff in each class and prepare for 40 random questions on each test? There is no narrowing down of information either. My first two terms, I thought it was just me but anytime a mentor is asked whta to study the answer straight out of the syllabus is listed. My Biology class midterm was 8 chapters worth of information.. that's several hundred pages of stuff! WTF I do not know what my options are which is why I even registered this term. If I remain fulltime - and that seems impossible- I can be completed in3 more terms... I don't know what to do. The "Mentors" are nonexsistent. I have only had one class where the mentor was really into the class and it was Photography 101... not really a critical course for knowledge. My accounting teacher half ass answers questions and does not further explain any theories needed for exam purposes. I would not recommend TESC to anyone unless you just need 1 or 2 classes to finish off your degree. As for a full time program - forget it if you have any sort of life.

The financial aid department at this school is awful. They consistently gave me wrong information. Now I am left with one class to graduate and I am not eligible for any type of financial aid, not even a loan. I put a complaint in with the Better Business Bureau. A representative front the school called me and asked me to remove my complaint. I refused. I want to let others know how this school operates. They take your money and give you nothing in return.

I have to give TESC an overall 8 to 9 score. As an adult student that manages a full-time accounting job, I found the on-line program the best for me. Students must be self directed and self motivated. Those that are not will have issues. Stay on schedule, live by your appointment book, and please do not forget to block out time for reading. Since there is not professor in front of the class providing information, every student must cover the reading material on their own. I had only on issue with a professor. I did contact my advisor and to my satisfaction the professor was spoken to about the lack of communication to the class. I have to state that I had an overall great experience at TESC. This is a great institution for type "A" adult students. Younger, hand holding, needy students should stay away until they are ready to take themselves in a new direction.