I would like to know how Excellsior works in terms of being able to get a degree. Does anyone have experience with them and how there program works? I talked with a friend that was in a class with me, and he was considering doing Excellsior and said something to the effect that you take so many tests and once you have acquired the number of credits that are required for the degree than you would be eligible for graduation. In other words, I would like to know how they work the credits as to if you have already completed credits from other colleges and you only needed a few more courses in order to graduate, how do they work this into the program? How are the fees calculated, and so forth. Perhaps, someone has attended this school and could tell me how this all works. In other words, are they good about taking in transfer credit, and is there a residency (or so many credits) that you must take in order to meet the degree requirements, or is it possible to get a degree if you have all the courses that they are looking for, etc? How much does a student have to pay for the program and so forth. Any assistance with this would be greatly appreciated, as this is an option that I might consider. Thanks.
Here's how Excelsior works: You pay an enrollment fee of about $900 and then transfer all legitimate forms of existing academic credit from other colleges or CLEP and DANTES tests to Excelsior. You then earn credits to complete the degree from testing (DANTES, CLEP, TESC, etc.) or from other colleges. In short, Excelsior evaluates and transfers credits from other legitimate sources, but does not offer its own courses. Basically, the student earns credits in the ways they choose and applies them to an Excelsior degree. It is about the most flexible way to earn a regionally accredited degree. You can attend classes at your local school, online or through correspondence. Or, you can complete your degree entirely through exams. Excelsior is designed for speed and flexibility. Check out this website: www.bain4weeks.com
Hey, Thanks for the info Thanks for the info. Congratulations on completing your Masters degree. I really appreciate your help. So if I am interpreting it correctly, if a person has enough credits to graduate with the existing courses that they have taken, and they meet the requirements of Excellsior College, then that means that they would have to pay arounf $900, and then these credits would all be transferred to the degree. I am assuming that there would be a graduation fee of some-sort, is that correct, and perhaps other fees in addition to the $900. How long does it take to get your degree once you have met the graduation requirements, and does your academic transcript just reflect the courses that you have taken, and from what I can gather, the grade that would be by the course would be a grade of "P?" Thanks and any additional info would be good if I didn;t think of it prior. Have a good day!
Basically, it works just like any other school. Big difference is there is very little restriction on HOW you earn the credit (whether the credit is earned from coursework, tests [CLEP, ECE, TESC, etc.], ACE recommended credit, etc.). Quite a few schools allow the same type of credit (they just have residency and other credit transferring restrictions that force the student to take classes at that particular school. This is because the school doesn't give out diplomas for free (they need some of your money right?). Excelsior doesn't need your tuition money (they get your money from the wicked expensive enrollment free... which is perfectly justifiable, considering they do not offer [well they offer one now] courses themselves). Let's look at what I did for an AAS in Technical Studies at Excelsior for example: Prior college coursework at a community college from 93-94 (general ed classes) 18 credits Military coursework, correspondence courses, and occupational specialty evaluated by ACE: 28 credits Two courses I took AFTER enrolled at a local university (history requirement): 6 credits So, I had 52 credits at this time. I needed 8 more credits which had to be one social science course and 6 credits of humanities. So, 2 weeks later I CLEPed Intro to Psych (soc sci 3 credits) and Analyzing and intrepeting literature (humanities 6 credits). Presto, one associates degree w/o doing a single course at Excelsior. That's the idea behind these assessment schools (TESC, COSC, & Excelsior). It is also possible to complete a degree just by using CLEP's, ECE's, DSST's, etc. (a prior post mentioned: BA in 4 Weeks.) I hope this helps clear things up Bill
Yes there is a graduation fee. There is also a "maintenance" fee for when you exceed (a year I think) the enrollment period. I forgot how much the graduation fee was.. (under 900 I know that). There is also a discount for active military and veterans (enrollment fee). Another discount on bachelor's enrollment if you previous graduated w/ an associates from Excelsior. Hope this helps, Bill
I don't remember EXACTLY how long from my last test (CLEP) to when I received the degree (it was fairly quick.. maybe 2 months at the most). All courses that had grades (and some CLEP's) have letter grades and they are factored into a cumulative GPA. Hope this helps, Bill
> How are the fees calculated The fee schedule is here: http://www.excelsior.edu/pdf/fees_prospective_undergrad.pdf > are they good about taking in transfer credit The accept nearly all credits from US Regionally Accredited colleges (with a few exceptions, such as physical education activity courses). Other colleges are much more generous accepting foreign credits, though. > and is there a residency (or so many credits) that you must > take in order to meet the degree requirements No. Excelsior is one of 3 colleges that we call "the Big 3" because they offer degrees with no residency requirement at all. The other 2 are Thomas Edison State College and Charter Oak State College. Please note the spelling of "Excelsior": one L, not two.
Excelsior was the answer to my problem when I lived in a very rural part of the country and wasn't able to attend college classes in person. Being an accredited school, Excelsior will not accept transfer credit from an unaccredited school. You don't have to worry about the legitimacy of the college either; Excelsior graduates have gone on to complete graduate work at some of the nation's top universities. Although I'm a huge Excelsior fan, if money is tight, you can complete a degree in the same fashion via Charter Oak State College for less. Cy
