Does the State of New York impose a limit on the age of credits?

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by LegendoftheSeeker, Sep 8, 2012.

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  1. LegendoftheSeeker

    LegendoftheSeeker New Member

    I have had enough credits to graduate with a B.S. from Fordham University since 1973. In fact, I was offered the degree, when I inquired in the late 70s. But my GPA was just over 2.0 (I suffered from manic depression, which interfered with my studies), not high enough for graduate work and I was thinking of starting over somewhere else. Recently, I was injured and had to retire from my blue collar job of 30 years and want to teach H.S., so I got in touch with Fordham and asked them for the degree. My graduate school ambitions are over (I am 63) and I just want to share myself with a new generation.
    My dean at Fordham is concerned that there may be a Regent's Board limitation on the age of my, as yet, unmatriculated credits.
    My thought (and my hope) is, with all the flexible "lifetime" degree programs around, it is probably left at the discretion of the accredited institution.
    Does anybody know the answer to this?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2012
  2. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    I don't know. But I know someone who would. The folks at Excelsior College should know, because:

    - They are one of the top schools in the US for issuing non-traditional degrees by credit transfer
    - They are located in New York, and are therefore subject to the NY Board of Regents
    - In fact, they were originally founded by the NY Board of Regents, and were formerly known as "Regent's College"

    And Excelsior's current rules on credit time limits appear to be as follows:

    - Nursing courses: 5 years
    - IT/computer courses: 10 years
    - Business courses: 20 years
    - Liberal arts courses: no time limit

    That's just a quick general summary, you should check the link for more detailed info. The bottom line is that Excelsior does enforce time limits for credits in professional fields like nursing, computer science, and business. But -- Excelsior is apparently allowed to accept liberal arts credits without any time restriction at all:

    If Excelsior can do this, then presumably other New York schools can do it as well.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2012
  3. LegendoftheSeeker

    LegendoftheSeeker New Member

    Thank you, CalDog. That goes a long way toward answering my question! I will get intouch with Excelcior. I hope their answer won't be influenced by a desire to lure me as potential student. My heart and memories are at Fordham. But, I guess I should try to keep a lid on my paranoia!
    Do you know how to get in touch with the Board of Regents directly? Do they allow direct contact or have an informational service or website, do you happen to know?
     
  4. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    You can try contacting Excelsior or the NY Board of Regents.

    But maybe the first thing to do is to simply go to your dean at Fordham and say "Look, the State of New York obviously does not restrict acceptance of old liberal arts credits, because Excelsior College -- which is in New York -- explicitly accepts liberal arts credits with no time limit".

    I'm assuming here that your old Fordham credits are in liberal arts. If they are in a professional field (like business, nursing, or computer science), then this may not work, because Excelsior apparently does enforce time limits in such cases.

    Another example might be Empire State College of SUNY. The ESC rules on transfer credit include a 7-year limitation for graduate-level credits, but no apparent time limit on undergraduate-level credits.
     
  5. LegendoftheSeeker

    LegendoftheSeeker New Member

    My original field of study was Physics with a math minor, then I switched to philosophy. But undergraduate physics is all nineteenth century stuff: classical mechanics, electro statics and Maxwellian electrodynamics and optics. No cutting edge stuff. Gotta learn the basics first, and it's all the same stuff that's taught today in undergraduate physics. As far as math goes, I reviewed all my math courses in the early 2000s by taking calculus 1, 2, 3 over again, and taking Java, Visual Basic and C++ just for fun, with all As and B+s. But that was at a Community College near my job in N.J., not at Fordham, an additional 36 credits over and above the ones at Fordham. I am hoping that the physics and math will be considered Liberal Arts credits anyway. I was slated for a B.S., but I would happily take a B.A. in Liberal Arts at this point, just to be able to teach H.S., which I honestly feel I am educationally qualified to do, despite
     
  6. LegendoftheSeeker

    LegendoftheSeeker New Member

    You know, CalDog, it would not surprise me if the reason Excelsior and SUNY and, by extension, The Regents and other schools have no time limit on Liberal Arts credits is that the issue has already been settled in the courts or there are suits pending, or they just realize they are on an unwinnable side of the law if they do otherwise. I mean, all things being equal, from a purely economic standpoint, it pays to devalue credits whenever you can, because it means you can sell more, and schools do it when it is "deemed appropriate," such as with nursing, engineering and IT credits where the value of the knowledge declines with time. But to devalue credits which are a preparation for life on the basis of their age is to devalue the person whose life they trained on the basis of age, which is ageism and discrimination against a protected class under Title VI, is it, of Federal Law? Maybe they are just avoiding a thorny legal issue. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's a thought. Credits are not something that you can divest from the person like an ideal, floating out in "Plato-land." They are intimately associated with the person who earned them and the knowledge that was acquired and the part that knowledge played in their life.
     
  7. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    My impression is that most schools will accept liberal arts credit transfer credits without time limits. I could be wrong about this -- there are thousands of colleges and universities out there, and I have not checked every one -- but my impression is that such acceptance is standard operating procedure. So this whole concern may be a non-issue.

    Incidentally, CUNY is another New York school which accepts old credits without time limits:

     
  8. LegendoftheSeeker

    LegendoftheSeeker New Member

    Thanks again, CalDog. Of course it is of particular interest, because it is not only in NYS, but good old NYC, as is Fordham U., although I doubt the city has regulations on this.
    The more the merrier, I say. I am surprised though, it doesn't even mention a prohibition on technical credits/courses, which is of interest. Fordham is giving me grief about my Physics courses: "We might not be able to issue a 2013 BS in Physics with 40 year old Physics credits." I made my argument that undergraduate Physics is all classical stuff, the same stuff being taught now, which is true, but, as with many things that affect academia, it's probably more the appearance than the reality. Fortunately, I have a fallback position of a completed Philosophy major, but it will mean getting a B.A. instead of a B.S. and may affect my ability to teach H.S. science in a decent prep school, but, you can't get everything you want. I'm proud to be a graduate of Fordham in Philosophy, if, indeed, I get it. Many a slip twix the cup and the lip, as my life will attest.
     
  9. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    The speed of change in some professions make some knowledge obsolete quickly.
    So I'm not surprised that IT units or Nursing credits have time limits.
    In some state Psychology and Teaching licensing has to occur within 2 years of graduation or back to school.
    As professionals use new technology, new tools etc.
    Some of the things I studied maybe I can find in museums.
    So its a meter of consumer safety.

    As to liberal arts then if there are new discoveries or couple of new presidents, or no more references to Soviet Union today etc, still a lot of material is relevant to a degree.
     

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