What's my best choice for RA BS/BA?

26 years old
23 community college credits
Want to complete BA/BS in timely manner. (Business/IT)


My lack of sixty credits rules out lots of the big name institutions who offer the final two years, and it also kind of rules out schools like Excelsior where everything is test driven.

I've sent my transcript to UMASS - Lowell three times, but I'm still not accepted because they say they have not received it. I do know this is common for them, but I think I'd rather go for a more accelerated program at this point. (not full semester classes).


Given my situation of lack of credits, wanting to get it done soon, and somewhat caring about the name of the school and degree title, I have kind of a DL dilemma.

Any suggestions?

There has to be others in the same situation, and a school that's perfect for me.

 

Why?

 

You'll have to be more specific. In what area do you wish to pursue a degree? How do you want to study? (Classroom, online, correspondence, etc.) Have you ruled out doing an eclectic approach, combining several methods while pursuing an Excelsior degree? (Mike's "why?", I presume.) What about costs?

The answers to these will lead you in specific directions. Providing them will help us to help you.

 

Overall goal: Earn BA/BS quickly from a decent school online, while avoiding general or liberal studies majors. (Business will work, IT will work, just no generalized).

Need the degree for further job opportunities where I work. That's why I'm looking for speed, as I think I'm almost towards my maximum potential at this company since they are sticklers for a degree at a certain level. I'd like to stick to RA for legitimacy and maybe a masters later. Also, even though I make decent money now, I need a degree to fall back on.


I see that many universities require 56-60 credits or an AA/AS degree. I do not want to complete those through B&M. I suppose you're right I could mix it up and do the 60 at one institution for an associates, and then complete my BA/BS somewhere else.


Cost: Within reason, which to me is less than ~$300-400 per credit.


I'd like to do Excelsior, but I don't know if it's a good idea to test for 80+ credits, plus I'd rather do Title IV or whatever type of loans (What is this about University of Albany on bain4weeks, a joke? If they make that the name I'm sold). COSC sounds great until I read the degrees are concentrations and no letters for tests. UMASS is what I'm leaning towards, but that'll take me three years.

 

I don't think there'll be a name change anytime soon, as Excelsior College itself is a fairly new name. However, it is RA, cheap, and very flexible with its business programs. If you weigh out the total cost of the degree (probably somewhere from $5-$8K depending on # of credits, tests taken, etc.) then you may be able to finance this without Title IV - you're looking at a max of around $80/credit if you do it right.

A couple of thoughts:

- as Rich points out, you can combine different approaches. Only the BS General Business degree can be completed solely via testing. If you were interested in one of the other Excelsior options you will have to take classes (DL or B&M).

- in the 3 years you mention for a UMASS degree you could complete an Excelsior BS and a masters from another university (or at least be well underway). My guess is that an MBA or MIS degree + Excelsior BS would beat a UMASS BS in many circumstances, especially if your masters comes from a local or known school.

- if you're worried about the Excelsior name then the masters (should you pursue one) would supercede it in any conversation. Many people hate the name, but the fact remains that the school is RA. Unless and until there are "levels" of RA there's no difference between Excelsior's degree utility and any other non-Ivy League school in the Northeast.

- if you're worried about the number of tests you're taking to complete the degree I've yet to hear about anyone being denied entrance into post-grad programs because they CLEP'd too much

- with the examination route you have the chance to quickly and efficiently tweak your GPA - so far I've done over 60 credits since mid-Dec (a reasonable but not breakneck pace) and have a 4.0, which I'm striving to keep. A 4.0 GPA plus a good GMAT will gain you entrance just about anywhere.

Obviously I'm biased towards this approach, because it works for me and allows me to juggle a full-time, very demanding career and family life while completing a degree in 12 months from scratch.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Good points, thanks for the help.

I was considering the fact that I could possibly get a BA/BS and masters in the same amount of time as a UMASS degree.

Hhmm. I think my only real concern with Excelsior besides the name, which I can get over for speed, are my qualifications for the tests, the process, and the loan.

Qualifications, in your opinion can you study/learn for these tests or do you need to have some previous experience with the subject matter? I have never attempted a match class beyond Algebra, so I may have trouble with the math. I guess I can solve this with tutoring or taking a class elsewhere.

The process, I'm a bit apprehensive too about the treament I'll receive with Excelsior and the fact I have to pay money just to get reviewed. Also, the yearly fee makes me a little apprehensive too. (What if I need more time for just one test or something, $975!).

Loan can be private.


One last thing I'm a little afraid of is what if Excelsior goes out of business or loses their RA? Could be bad news for me...

Anyway, I'm still weighing these options. I have read through bain4weeks.com, but was unaware you couldn't test for all the credits. I guess I need to search for the list of what needs to be done for each degree.

 

COSC does give letters for exams but not every test. I took many exams (19 I think) and the only tests I did not get a grade for, I think, was the General CLEP exams.

I earned a 3.55 GPA from COSC.

 

I'll tackle these in order...

1) If you have prior knowledge it definitely helps. However, I took CLEP macroeconomics, microeconomics and accounting with little to no knowledge - and did very well on each exam with perhaps 10-20 hours of concentrated study time each. For some exams where I had extensive knowledge maybe only 1-2 hours were used as a refresher.

2) For the BS in General Business CLEP College Algebra will meet the requirement, so there's no need for Calculus or advanced math. For Computer Science obviously you'll need more.

3) My experience with Excelsior has been good, but I put together my own degree plan and my only "counseling" requirement was to have them approve it, via e-mail. Otherwise, I do things myself. If you require extensive handholding COSC may be a better option as their customer service seems to be better. However, in my case I wanted the major, so I communicate in a way with Excelsior that is asynchronous and documented.

4) $975 is the enrollment fee, the annual fee (payable after the first year) is lower (currently $455). If you finish the degree in one year you only pay the $975 + graduation fee of $490. Obviously, exam fees, etc. are extra.

5) It is incredibly unlikely that Excelsior would go out of business - it's been around for something like 30 years. If it did, your degree would still be perfectly valid.

6) Excelsior is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (i.e. "RA"). It was first accredited in 1977 and reaccredited in 2002 - the next review is slated for 2007. If you receive a degree while it's accredited, even in the highly unlikely case that Excelsior would lose accreditation, your degree would remain accredited.

7) bain4weeks is a good site - it was my primary motivator for getting started and gave me a feel of how I wanted to put together my own degree program. Yes, you can test 100% out of the degree...I'm doing it as have others. Actually, this is slightly incorrect as Excelsior now has a 1-credit Information Literacy requirement that you can take online...so it's 120 credits of CLEP/DANTES/ECE/TECEP and one online 1-credit course.

8) Review the Excelsior catalogs - they will have all of the information you need. Also look at the "A Student Guide to Credit via Examination...". Between this guide and the catalog you can map out which CLEP, DANTES and other exams you need to complete your degree. Excelsior will also probably accept your existing college credits (if you wish to use them).

Again, all this assumes you want a major. If you do, then I highly recommend you investigate Excelsior if you're motivated to complete your degree in less than a year via testing. If this method doesn't suit you then UMASS is still a great choice.

Don't spend the $60 for the unofficial evaluation - either take the plunge or go elsewhere. From a lot of feedback this fee doesn't give you anything that you couldn't do yourself for free with a little research, and it's not "locked in" until you enroll.

Hope this helps and good luck in your search!

Cheers,
Mark

 

You might want to consider a hybrid of the two types of choices you have outlined. How about testing out of a good portion (50 to 75%) of the chosen degree and finish it out by taking upper level courses in your major. There seem to be quite a few schools that are quite liberal in accepting credits through testing, have the degree programs you are interested in, and charge a reasonable tuition. For instance, you may want to check out Regis University, Upper Iowa University, City University, or, if you do reconsider and decide an unnamed degree would be okay, Indiana University's SCS program (which accepts up to 90 credits through testing.)

Good luck,
Tony

 

Good ideas, thanks for helping me out. I guess I'll just have to weigh the benefits of my choices.

After speaking to my benefits coordinator, I don't think I'll be able to get reimbursed for the tests with the Excelsior route.

My employer will pay up to $1250 per semester as long as I get an A or B. Since I cannot enroll in "classes" at Excelsior, I guess that really sways my decision in favor of a traditional route unless I can find some way to be compensated. (Has anyone with a non-military employer tried this before? Tuition assistance with Excelsior).

The only problem with UMASS is semester long classes, I'd rather just take short 8 week type classes....

All of you're input has been very helpful, my letter of acceptance is now on the way from UMASS, when I get it I guess I'll make my final decision.

This info helped me and should help anyone searching, thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Not for tuition assistance, but I got approval to have the exam fees reimbursed, which when taken together end up to cost more than the tuition anyway. What I proved is that in essence the Excelsior College Exams ARE the "courses" and yield the same result.

For example, for one of the ECE's description:

"Corresponds to a one-semester upper-level survey course in human resource management; comparable to an end-of-course test required of management majors. "

Therefore by my logic ECE = 3 credit course = reimbursement

I submitted the following to our tuition reimbursement department and received approval by the SVP of Human Resources. Our policy is VERY strict but the argument was sufficiently compelling.

The trick is to show the same benefit with reduced cost and quicker ROI (you benefiting from the education)...and also know the in's and out's of your tuition reimbursement policy.

Hope it helps!

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The link to Excelsior College is as follows:



http://www.excelsior.edu





The link showing their accreditation is as follows:



http://www.excelsior.edu/ec_accrd.htm





I am currently enrolled in the school of business, working towards a Bachelor of Science in General Business. Here is the Business College catalog link which shows the core course requirements:



http://www.excelsior.edu/pdf/Business_Catalog.pdf





As discussed, the courses I am interested in represent less expense to XYZ if I can take Excelsior College Exams rather than taking the actual course elsewhere and transferring the credit.



Also, due to my workload and travel schedule it is often difficult to attend specific courses at night. The courses I would like XYZ to consider reimbursing me for are core business courses which would be relevant to my role at XYZ. The following would apply prior to me seeking reimbursement assuming it is acceptable:



1) Manager / Senior Manager approval (AAA, BBB) on a properly completed Tuition Reimbursement Form

2) B- or higher grade on exam



The following link shows you the general listing of the exams:



http://www.excelsior.edu/exams/xms_list.htm





The five exams (no more than 2 at a time as per the policy) that I would potentially be submitting a Tuition Reimbursement Form for are as follows:



http://www.excelsior.edu/exams/xms_x486.htm

http://www.excelsior.edu/exams/xms_x435.htm

http://www.excelsior.edu/exams/xms_x484.htm

http://www.excelsior.edu/exams/xms_x538.htm

http://www.excelsior.edu/exams/xms_x579.htm



Any guided learning materials, books, etc. would obviously not be reimbursed as per the XYZ policy.



I realize that this approach falls outside of the typical reimbursement policy for XYZ (and is non-traditional in general), but it benefits XYZ in the following way:



1) credits (and ultimately degree) are granted by a regionally accredited institution, providing me with additional credibility when working with XYZ customers

2) it increases my knowledge while not hampering my work schedule

3) it significantly reduces the cost to XYZ by studying independently being granted credit via examination

4) it decreases the time until I expect to obtain my business degree



Originally I had looked at the University of Phoenix online program – which is extremely expensive and time-consuming as opposed to Excelsior College’s approach.



Others in XYZ may be able to benefit from this method if XYZ were to extend tuition benefits to credit via examination; other exams such as CLEP and DANTES can cost under $20/credit hour and are accepted by thousands of colleges nationwide for credit towards their degree – this may reduce their (and XYZ’s) cost if they felt comfortable taking competency-based exams rather than traditional courses and could meet the other established standards such as a minimum grade of B-.



Excelsior College is an exception, but most colleges will grant at least 20-30 credits via competency exams (Excelsior allows a complete degree to be granted via examination if desired).



If you are able to get approval for me in this instance I will then proceed through the regular approval channel with my manager (and his manager). Thanks for any help you can provide. In my over 6 years at XYZ I have yet to use the tuition benefit so any consideration would be great, even if it is just for myself for this limited scope and not a general policy change.

==========================

Cheers,
Mark