Sample TESU General Education Requirements Roadmap

= 2019-2021 catalog =

If you are still using the 2019-2021 catalog, you will need to follow those requirements. Do not follow this page unless you have switched to the 2022 catalog.

This page is a work in progress. If you have questions, please ask on the forum

= AOS Requirements =

This page is meant to apply to the General Education requirements for as many TESU degrees as possible. Some modification/additional planning may be needed for certain degrees. Sample degree plans currently available include:

Bachelor of Arts:
 * Biology
 * Computer Science
 * Criminal Justice
 * English
 * Foreign Language (Spanish)
 * History
 * Liberal Studies
 * Mathematics
 * Psychology

Bachelor of Science:
 * Organizational Leadership
 * Professional Studies

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration:

'''Business Core - Every BSBA degree requires these credits. You can think of them as "gen eds" for business.'''
 * Accounting
 * Computer Information Systems
 * Entrepreneurship
 * Finance
 * General Management
 * HR/Org. Management
 * Marketing
 * Operations Management

If you are getting one of the above degrees, you may also want one of the "free" add-on Associate's degrees. Information regarding the additional courses that might be needed can be found on the associate degree plans page.

= Information = As of 2021, TESU is requiring that students have at least 30 RA credits on their degree plan in order to be able to obtain their degree. The least expensive way to do this is by fulfilling General Education requirements via RA sources. The reason for this is that AOS courses from RA sources tend to be costly. The "right" way to fulfill these requirements will be different for every student. For instance, students who are weak in math may wish to avoid taking an intensive RA math class and might, instead, prefer to take an RA English Composition class. Students who are weak at writing but strong in math might prefer the reverse.

As a result, as many RA options are given as possible. This will allow students to choose the options that are best for them and their particular situation. A few things to keep in mind while creating your individual plan:
 * 6 RA credits will come from TESU in the form of the capstone and cornerstone.
 * The remaining 24 RA credits may come from anywhere as long as they are RA or RA-equivalent. They do not need to come from the same source; you are allowed to use a combination of sources to get to 24.
 * The absolute cheapest way to get actual RA credit is by taking LL TECEPs. If you want, you can simply choose 8 TECEPs from this list at TESU and then fill in the remaining slots from ACE/NCCRs sources. But since not everyone is willing or able to take 8 TECEPs, other options are listed where available.
 * If you didn't find this page until after finishing off your general education requirements with ACE/NCCRS sources, don't despair! RA credits will override or "push out" credits from alternative providers. You may wind up spending more on general education credits (and having to redo some courses) but the cost will still be lower than if you were to attempt to seek UL credits for your AOS from RA sources.
 * Courses listed below are ranked roughly in order of cost for a given section. Thus, TEL Learning will always appear first above other options, when available.

Non-American University Credits
For TESU's purposes, credits from any properly accredited/authorized foreign university will count as "RA-credits" as long as those credits have been evaluated by a recognized evaluation company. For students who do not have prior university credit, credits from Finnish universities can be a low-cost way to meet this requirement. Depending on the university and the course(s) chosen, a student may be able to get a few dozen credits for free and only pay the evaluation fee (approximately $200).

New Gen Ed Requirements
Unlike prior catalogs, the general education requirements are slightly different for different degrees. Some differences from previous catalogs and between individual degrees include:
 * If you use any 1 or 2 credit course to satisfy Gen Ed requirements, you will be required to bring in an extra Gen Ed class (or two) in order to ensure that your Gen Ed credits total at least 30 or 45 (depending on degree).
 * Associate degrees no longer have an Oral Communication or American Government/Civic Engagement requirement. Bachelor's degrees still do.
 * History is no longer considered part of Social Sciences but can now satisfy Humanities requirements.
 * Some degrees have a specific Social Sciences requirement. Other degrees only have Social Sciences and/or History and/or Humanities as a combined requirement.
 * Most degrees now have more "free electives" that allow students to take any course they feel like.
 * Some of the Gen Ed elective slots have now moved to additional AOS electives. These additional AOS electives will need to come from specific Gen Ed areas. Check your degree plan for details.

=General Education Requirements= Bachelor's degrees need 45 credits, AA/AS degrees need 30 credits, and AAS degrees need 21 credits in total.

Part A. Intellectual and Practical Skills
Students seeking a BSBA degree should be aware that there are two required math courses in the General Education requirements. TESU generally expects Algebra and Statistics but will also accept CSM Learn for the second math requirement. Students may wish to get RA credits with Algebra and then use ACE credits to take either Sophia Statistics or CSM Learn.

ACE/NCCRS Options
The College Composition CLEP exam fulfills both Written Communications requirements if taken with the essay or just English Composition I if taken without the essay.

RA Options
Written Communication

Oral Communication

Quantitative Literacy

Information Literacy

Part C. Knowledge of Human Cultures
Check your degree plan for the exact number of credits that are needed. For Bachelor's degrees, you can expect the following credit requirements: 1 class (3 credits) in Social Sciences, 1 class (3 credits) in History, 1 class (3 credits) in Humanities, and 2 classes (6 credits) in your choice of Social Sciences/History/Humanities.

Some of these courses are used in the AOS for specific degrees. For instance, US History is an AOS class for History degrees and Macro/Microeconomics are both needed for BSBA degrees. If this applies to you, you will need to choose different options to fulfill this requirement.

Social Sciences includes: anthropology, (some) administration of justice/criminal justice, economics, global issues/social justice, world geography, homeland security, (some) leadership, organizational behavior, politics, psychology, sociology.

Humanities includes: Art, communication, English/writing, journalism, literature, music, philosophy, religion, foreign languages.

These are not exhaustive lists but should give you a good idea of what to choose when trying to fill these slots.

Social Sciences
If you have the old Introduction to Psychology course from Sophia, that will fill this requirement. If you have the new class Introduction to Psychology: Smarter Decisions Through Psychology, that one is only a free elective and does not count for this requirement.

History
Students who are going for a history degree will need to use US History I & II for their AOS. Choose a different course for this requirement.

Humanities
A large number of CLEP exams fulfill this requirement at TESU. Please see their equivalencies page to find out what might or might not work for your degree.

Part D. Scientific Knowledge
Some of these courses may fit into the AOS for your degree; you'd need to choose a different option to fulfill these requirements if that is the case.

Accepted topics include: forensic science, astronomy, biology, chemistry, computers & computer programming, earth science, environmntal science, fitness, geology, gerontology, biomedical ethics, physics, physiological psychology

Electives
For the most part, TESU has done away with GE or General Education electives. Most electives are now AOS electives or just plain electives/free electives. Different degree plans have a different number of electives that are required to make up the credit requirements. Check your degree plan for details.

Free Electives can literally be any course, whether or not it fits into your AOS or into a specific slot in your degree plan. The course Food Styling at Coopersmith would be a good example of a Free Elective because it does not fit into any degree requirements but you can still get credit for this course.

ACE/NCCRS Options
Business options can/will be used in the Business core/AOS when seeking a BSBA degree.