Not thinking about College? Think about this...

Making the decision to attend college is life changing. Some think it’s a waste of time, others think you can’t succeed with out it. What most people don’t recognize is that college really is what you make of it. If you are scared of it, it’ll eat you alive. If you aren’t too worried about it, you may slack off too much. On the other hand, if you acknowledge it, and respect its purpose, you just might find what you are looking for.

Everyone has a fear of the unknown. If you are like me, you are or will be the first person in your family to attend college. That in itself is pretty terrifying. Looking back, I realize that there really wasn’t anything to fear. College wasn’t boring, or a waste of my time, but it was complicated though. All of a sudden you are thrown into this world of deadlines, policies, departments, advisors, deans, tuition, and loans. Deans, Dorms and Loans…Oh my! A completely different experience than what you had during high school.

Before you convince yourself that it sounds too overwhelming, keep in mind that

 1) you are not alone. Hundreds and Thousands of students your age are entering college for the first time too. Don’t sweat it, you’ll meet plenty of new friends to help you along. 

2) Colleges aren’t ignorant to the fact that freshman students are experiencing college for the first time. They already have programs set up to help you out! It used to be a dog-eat-dog world for higher education, but as times change, so do work ethics. In south Texas, especially, you will find an abundance of programs, clubs, societies, and students that are more than happy and willing to help out a fellow student.

Don’t throw the idea of college out the window just yet. Even if you are married, with children and a full time job, you can still attend college. There are evening courses, online courses and weekend courses available to you. Will it take you longer? Sure, but it’s a worth-while sacrifice to accomplish your goal.

If nothing else, at least give it a try. Register for classes in the next semester and go from there.You may just get hooked and become a “professional student”.

Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous

TX Common Course Numbering System highlight

In the Texas Common Course Numbering System each course is identified by a four-character "rubric" (i.e. prefix or department abbreviation) and a four-digit number:

The rubric is always four upper-case alphabetic characters.

The first digit of the course number denotes the academic level of the course; the second digit denotes the credit value of the course in semester hours; and the third and fourth digits establish course sequencing and/or distinguish the course from others of the same level, credit value, and rubric.

"Uncommon" Courses

Texas community colleges have adopted TCCNS rubrics/numbers as their internal course numbering system. However, many courses at two-year institutions are not actually common in content, nor generally transferable to universities, and assignment of a Common Number to such courses is inappropriate.

For this reason the system provides several means by which to indicate courses are not part of the TCCNS :

• "7" as the third digit of the number excludes a course from TCCNS guidelines, even though the rubric and the course number conform to the TCCNS format. Such courses are not presumed transferable under TCCNS guidelines, though receiving institutions are free to recognize them according to their normal transfer practices.
• "0" (zero) as the first digit of the number identifies a course as subfreshman-level and therefore remedial/developmental in content. Such courses are not presumed transferable under TCCNS guidelines, though receiving institutions are free to recognize them according to their normal transfer practices.
• Any course carrying a nonstandard rubric is not part of the TCCNS and is not presumed transferable under TCCNS guidelines, though receiving institutions are free to recognize such courses according to their normal transfer practices. (See the list of approved TCCNS rubrics, below.)

Approved TCCNS Rubrics:

ACCT	Accounting
AGRI	Agriculture
ANTH	Anthropology
ARAB	Arabic Language
ARCH	Architecture
ARTS	Art (including Studio Art, Art Education, & Art History)
BCIS	Business Computer Information Systems
BIOL	Biology (including General Biology, Botany, Microbiology, & Zoology)
BUSI	Business
CHEM	Chemistry
CHIN	Chinese Language
COMM	Communications (including Advertising, Journalism, & Radio/Television/Film)
COSC	Computer Science
CRIJ	Criminal Justice
CZEC	Czechoslovakian Language
DANC	Dance
DRAM	Drama/Theatre
ECON	Economics
EDUC	Education
ENGL	English
ENGR	Engineering
ENGT	Engineering Technology
ENVR	Environmental Science
FORE	Forestry
FREN	French Language
GEOG	Geography
GEOL	Geology
GERM	German Language
GOVT	Government
GREE	Greek Language
HECO	Home Economics
HIST	History
HORT	Horticulture
HUMA	Humanities
ITAL	Italian Language
JAPN	Japanese Language
KINE	Kinesiology (alternative to PHED)
KORE	Korean Language
LATI	Latin Language
MATH	Mathematics
MUAP	Applied Music
MUEN	Music Ensemble
MUSI	Music
PHED	Physical Education (alternative to KINE)
PHIL	Philosophy
PHYS	Physics (including Astronomy & Physical Science)
PORT	Portuguese Language
PSYC	Psychology
REAL	Real Estate
RNSG	Nursing
RUSS	Russian Language
SGNL	American Sign Language
SOCI	Sociology
SOCW	Social Work
SPAN	Spanish Language
SPCH	Speech
TECA	(Texas Early Childhood Articulation)
VIET	pp Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Monday, May 18, 2009 Financial Aid's 72 hour cap If you have taken, are currently taking, or will eventually take your "basics" or academic core at TSTC, then you'll want to keep this in mind.   As most know, the Federal Pell Grant will only cover courses that are in your program of study.  So if you want to take Cooking 101 and it's not in your degree program, Financial Aid will NOT consider it for funding.   So...once upon a time...TSTC created the "EA" (external articulation) program to create an official program of study for students who needed to take their basics.  Aren't we considerate?  The EA program includes ANY academic core course, including KINE.   What you might not know, is that Financial Aid puts a 72 credit hour cap on you basics.  This means, that after you hit your 72nd credit hour, ANY course after that is NOT going to be funded by financial aid.   Don't freak out just yet.  72 hours equates to about 24 courses (assuming they are 3 credits each).  That should be more than enough for your basics, so long as you aren't taking courses just for the heck of it.   Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Future Degrees of TSTC Texas State Technical College is known for it's technical trades and Associates in Applied Science (AAS) degree tracks.  Currently we have over 30 different programs and certificate offerings. Soon, we will be adding a few additions and options for our students.   Introducing: an Associates in Science Degree...(AS) ...??? ...Think of it as a step up from AAS and a pre-cursor to a Bachelor (BA).  We are aiming at offering the AS starting Spring 2010 in the Education and Mathematics fields.   The main difference is that it deals with more theory and less application of that particular field.  Take for example: Computer Networking Technology (Keep in mind this is ONLY an example)    With an AAS (Associates in Applied Science) - you deal with more hands on application and less theory.    With an AS (Associates in Science) - you will deal with more theory and less hands on application.   Hope that's making sense.  This typically means that it will transition more smoothly into a four-year degree, i.e. Bachelors in Education, than the formal AAS.  Just FYI. Are you tired of the acronyms? Haha ;-P I'll elaborate more on the topic once there is more to elaborate on.  Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Friday, May 8, 2009 Rent Textbooks! Save $$ Hey everyone! I had a couple of buddies use this service and it worked out pretty well for them.  They received their books about a week later...so it's more FYI and another option for you. <a href="http://www.chegg.com?referrer=kEAn9mFhsA&link_id=1376&SID={SUBID}" target="_blank">Rent Textbooks & Save 60-80% at Chegg.com!</a> Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Thursday, May 7, 2009 KINE sub for Military Experience If you have served in the Armed Forces (regardless of branch) - you WILL have credit granted at UTB for KINE.  All you have to do is submit your DD-214 to get the credit.  You can also fax it to Admissions - ATTN: Vanessa Maldonado.  Don't forget to include your Student ID # UTB is currently in the process of identifying which other courses may  be substitutable,  so until then, KINE is the only course you can knock out.   I'm currently looking into that information with UTPA as well, so bare with me.   Hope that helped.  Please submit any questions to joshua.hernandez@harlingen.tstc.edu Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous ATTN: Transfer Students! Double Check your UTB Plan via utb.edu If you are boldly taking courses at both UTB and TSTC, please check your plan. DON'T assume that every course will be available every semester! Above is a link that directs you to the available online courses this Summer at UTB. Choose wisely. :-) Posted via web from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Co-Curricular Update 3 We just had our "final" video conference with the other TSTC System Colleges.  There was actually little discussion; everyone was on the same page.  There was a suggestion that we include "internships & Co-ops" as a category, which was unanimously voted for.   Here's a look at what was presented: The image below is a general overview of how the process would work.  It's basically a visual diagram of the Co-Curricular Post BEFORE this post.  Now, this next image is just a VERY BASIC example of how the end would resemble: As you can see...it's still a work in progress.  I'll post up more information as it comes.  Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Test Here's a test email for you... Posted via email from Joshua Hernandez's posterous Monday, May 4, 2009 KINE course update Alright, this past Thursday - I discovered some unfortunate news.  The Good News: PHED 2301/2401 will still transfer over as UTB's 1 credit KINE course The Bad News: The course is currently only available to Dual Enrollment students (students who are still in high school). BUT, it is still a work in progress - and there is much talk about having it available to all students.  Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Subscribe To this BLOG Posts Atom Posts All Comments Atom All Comments Followers Blog Archive ►  2010 (34) ►  September (1) ►  August (2) ►  July (4) ►  June (3) ►  May (5) ►  April (4) ►  March (8) ►  February (7) ▼  2009 (45) ►  December (4) ►  October (4) ►  September (1) ►  August (3) ►  July (14) ▼  May (10) Not thinking about College? Think about this... TX Common Course Numbering System highlight Financial Aid's 72 hour cap Future Degrees of TSTC Rent Textbooks! Save $$ KINE sub for Military Experience ATTN: Transfer Students! Double Check your UTB Plan Co-Curricular Update 3 Test KINE course update ►  April (6) ►  March (2) ►  February (1) ►  2008 (5) ►  December (1) ►  October (3) ►  September (1) About Me Joshua Hernandez View my complete profile