Tips to Help You Prepare for Credit-by-Exam Programs

April 03, 2013

Emily Carone, Assistant Director, Center for the Assessment of Learning at Thomas Edison State College

Emily's Posts
by Emily Carone, Assistant Director,
Center for the Assessment of Learning at Thomas Edison State College

I work with TECEP®, the Thomas Edison State College Exam Program, which is the College's own credit-by-exam program, which I wrote about previously in this blog.

While I can't help you study, I can give you some practical advice to help you take tests. If you already have some prior knowledge in any of the subjects we offer, you might be interested in the study tips below. Naturally, these tips apply to all tests and credit-by-exam programs, including common ones like the College-Level Exam Program (CLEP) and our own TECEP®.

Best of all, you don't need to learn any complicated techniques, because most test-taking tips are not rocket science--they're plain old common sense.

So, here are four test-taking tips I hope you find helpful in preparing for your next exam.

1. Cramming for a test is not as effective as following a consistent study schedule leading up to the test. You will retain more information for a longer period of time if you schedule several shorter study sessions during the days before the test. Of course you should cram if you haven't studied and your test is tomorrow.
2. Don't study your material in sequence from the beginning to the end. Jump around. If you study "out of order" you are more likely to remember the information. Many tests randomize the order of the questions so if you learn the material in sequence it will be harder for you to recall it during the test.
3. While you are studying, try to ignore all things digital, like your phone, unless you are using a device to study. Digital distractions—even very brief ones—diminish information retention and recall.
4. Review difficult material before bedtime (not if you're tired!), then get a good night's sleep. Your brain will process the information overnight.

Hope this is helpful and I'll be back again.

Until then, contact us at [email protected] or add your comment below if you would like to share your own tips with us.

Tags: credit-by-exam , TECEP

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Why MOOCs Are Good News for TESC Students

January 29, 2013

Susan Gilbert, dean of the School of Business and Technology at Thomas Edison State College

By Susan Gilbert
Dean, School of Business and Technology
 

Last month, The Chronicle of Higher Education contained a story about British universities offering massive open online courses (MOOCs). Just like at institutions such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Penn, Dartmouth, UC-Berkeley and many others, the best and brightest faculty of the UK will be offering academic courses with open access in an online format. I think this is very good news for Thomas Edison State College students.

It is not necessarily good news for all students, as it could eventually make the most popular faculty less available for ordinary classroom courses that accommodate 60 students rather than 60,000. It could also dissuade some individuals from attending college and achieving their goals of earning a degree. But for Thomas Edison State College students, it is a good thing. In fact, it is with great conviction and confidence that I state that MOOCs will be a widely used resource for Thomas Edison State College students over the next few years.

Unlike most other regionally accredited institutions, Thomas Edison State College serves adults exclusively. Our students are not seeking the typical “coming of age” life experience of going to college because they have already come of age. Our students are highly discerning regarding their classes, mentors and how they spend their time. Their standards are high, the bar they set for themselves is high and they will not tolerate us (or anyone) wasting their time. This is where MOOCs come in. As dean of the School of Business and Technology, I view the growth of MOOCs with great excitement because of the potential opportunities they bring to our students.

Last month, it was widely reported that Coursera, perhaps the best known provider of MOOCs, had surpassed 2 million students with over 200 online courses offered through partnerships with 33 institutions. I found this growth incredible. Here is a source of learning and academic content taught by some of the world’s best and most sought out instructors. Courses include foundations of business as well as highly unusual electives. Since I am an economist, I did a search for microeconomics courses at well-known MOOC sites and three offered courses in Microeconomics this fall. Here are three that I found:

• Introduction to Microeconomics (Saylor.org)
• Managerial Economics (Coursera.org)
• Principles of Microeconomics (MIT)

These courses range from basic to advanced, are 10 weeks in length and are (currently) free. If you take any one of these courses and are able to pass, you should be able to pass an approved credit-by-exam program in microeconomics, which would award you 3 credits in undergraduate economics. Those credits could be applied to a degree or used to satisfy the economics prerequisite of our MBA program. This model offers an excellent way to earn the credits you need in the most efficient and economical ways possible.

We are taking this concept further. The Thomas Edison State College Foundation has recently awarded a grant to fund the development of a competency-based program that leverages MOOCs and other open resources and the College’s expertise in assessing prior learning to create new pathways for degree completion. Under the direction of the College’s Center for the Assessment of Learning, we plan to develop assessments for open courses and resources that appropriately map to our degree programs, so our students who complete these open courses can earn credit toward their degrees.

However, not everyone can learn working so independently. It takes discipline and motivation to keep up and proceed through the modules. These characteristics are exactly the factors that differentiate successful Thomas Edison State College students.

And this is why I think that MOOCs are great news for our students.

Tags: credit-by-exam , massive online open course , MBA , MOOC , Susan Gilbert , Thomas Edison State College

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Testing, Testing: Is Credit-by-Exam for You?

November 29, 2012

Emily Carone, assistant director, Center for the Assessment of Learning at Thomas Edison State College

Emily's Posts
by Emily Carone, Assistant Director,
Center for the Assessment of Learning at Thomas Edison State College

TECEP® exams and other credit-by-exam programs are the most efficient way for Thomas Edison State College students to earn credit. If you have some prior knowledge or experience in a subject area and think you are an independent learner, you might be a good candidate for this credit-by-exam method of course completion. And you can feel confident that TECEP® exams will fulfill your degree requirements, just like the College’s online courses.

The best thing about earning credit this way is the ease and flexibility of the process. You do not need to follow a rigid course schedule, prepare assignments by due dates or participate in online discussions. All you need to do is show up on a test date, which you select, and (of course) be prepared to take a comprehensive final exam.

Another appealing feature of testing is the grading system. Credit-by-exam grades are pass/fail only and do not affect your grade point average. Because of this, you only need to demonstrate that you know the subject matter to earn the credit.

So why don't all students decide to earn credit through testing?

There's one big reason: not everyone can successfully work in an unstructured environment. Deciding to earn college credit by preparing for an exam that covers a semester's worth of content means you have to be self-motivated and disciplined. There are no deadlines and there is no mentor to answer your questions or provide feedback. This approach is exactly what appeals to many busy adult students who have competing demands on their time and who prefer to work independently without any interactions with a mentor or other students.

Does this sound like you? If you think you can establish and follow your own study preparation schedule, you should consider "testing out" and try the credit-by-exam method of earning college credit.

TECEP® is the College’s own testing program. The exams are developed by the College’s mentors in order to help our students fulfill their degree requirements.

Students can earn credit using several other credit-by-exam programs available, such as the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DSST exams. Learn more about TECEP® and other credit-by-exam programs accepted at Thomas Edison State College.

In my next post, we’ll discuss how to prepare for and take TECEP® exams.

Tags: CLEP , credit-by-exam , DSST , TECEP , testing

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