Excelsior Initial Evaluation of Credits

Can anyone comment on their PERSONAL experiences with how long the initial evaluation of credits takes at EC. They say 6 to 8 weeks, but what are folks really seeing...more or less time?

 

Message I received Tuesday from the advising team was that mine was done in less than 4 weeks, but had to be modified since additional transcripts were received, also said I would get the results mailed by the end of this week, making it 6 weeks this coming Monday since they started the eval. process (6 weeks from the day they received the required transcripts).

 

Mine took about 5 weeks after they received all the transcripts.

Tony

 

Does each new entry onto the transcript take that long to show up or is it a matter of days in those instances?

 

Also, to those who have received their evals, did they appear online before you got them in the mail, or do they show up online later on?

 

As I remember, the reports showed up online long before they arrived in the mail.

 

Each time there is a new credit hours added, it can take up to 6 weeks for an updated evaluation. However, it has only taken anywhere from 1-4 weeks for an update.

 

Little over a week after my last post in this thread, still nothing from Excelsior, even though the advising team said I'd have something mailed by the end of that week.

 

I enrolled with Excelsior on 6/14. They recieved the last of the transcripts listed on my application 7/02, and I have yet get my initial evaluation today (9/6). I am not terribly happy about that, but at least I didn't plan to graduate in a hurry anyway.

Elizabeth

 

What I'm reading is very discouraging. Eight weeks is rediculous. Especially considering that each subsequent update is an additional 4 to 6 weeks. This is an indication of the schools student:advisor ratio is extremely high.

I read on another thread that US News & WR ran an article listing EC as having the highest incoming transfer student population in the country at 15,000+. Imagine that! Even if EC employed 100 academic advisors just to service the transfer students, that would mean a case load of 150 students each. I assume that everyone that has even one credit hour at another institution would be considered a transfer student.

 

My experience with Excelsior was that the initial evaluation of credit took about 7 weeks. It could have been six, or eight. . .

However, one of the schools that I'd attended didn't send a full transcript, but I didn't know this until I got the first evaluation. A quick call to the school and nineteen (19) days later I had a new evaluation.

Shortly thereafter, I took Excelsior's English comp. exam (they do not accept the CLEP english comp), and as I recall, it took about 4 weeks for this to be added to the transcript.

I have to say, having attended the big 3 (tesc, cosc and excelsior). . . Excelsior is by far my favorite. Their degree plans are much easier to understand; they deal with you via email as opposed to the tesc model of a phone call scheduled with your advisor. And in my own case, they accepted a lot of credits that cosc wouldn't take (118 vs 45 or so).

Bill
Glutton for punishment and thrower-about of money.
BS, Excelsior, Next Friday

 

I just called Excelsior today since my initial eval has still not appeared on the web well over 8 weeks after they received the last transcript on my application.

THey tell me that they are very behind and many evals on files over 8 weeks old haven't been done. They did promise it for me by wednesday however. I have to admit "summer staffing issues" and "vacations" seem like week excuses to me. If they need more summer staff, then hire it!

Elizabeth

 

Your problem with Excelsior, sadly, seems to be an all to commonly voiced opinion. Like every other business/beaurocracy you will ever deal with, they have specific procedures and guidelines to follow. I suspect that these seemingly 'tedious' experiences, however, are the reason why Excelsior remains an accredited institution.

Don't get me wrong, this is hardly an endorsement of the 'red tape' you have to cut through (I've had my own troubles with the process).

Please keep in mind, that after you've received your initial evaluation, appealed any discrepancies, etc., and actually "see" what you've accomplished all on one transcript, you will be satisfied.

I have been fortunate enough to deal with some very caring individuals, who were genuinely concerned with my 'academic' success. I had to do my footwork, and talk to several people to get some of my credits approved, but it was well worth the effort.
I see you've already called Excelsior about your concerns and got a reasonable response. Keep calling. Chances are, with Excelsior, you will talk to a different person every time. One of those people will be able to help you.

Don't be discouraged, approach your problems with a request rather than a 'demand,' and you'll be surprised at difference in the responses you receive.

 

WOOT!! I came home today after a two week trip. Big letter from Excelsior on my desk, turns out my evaluation is complete and I'm approved for October graduation!! WOOT!!

 

Congratulations… what a great accomplishment!!!

 

How much are they likely to accept?

I'm seriously thinking of enrolling at Excelsior (or COSC or TESC) and I need some advice.
I managed to complete just over 2 years of a B.Psych degree at an Australian university between 1987 and 1993 with about 30 credit hours in Psychology, plus about 13-14 ch in Sociology, 7.5 ch Empirical methods, and 9-10 ch other stuff (Anthroplogy, Education). But it was taking me a long time and I basically just dropped out. I have regretted not finishing some sort of qualification ever since.
I'd really like to consolidate what I managed to do all those years ago and just take an associate's degree with as little fuss or expense as possible.
So I'm wondering just how much of what I've done would I be able to count towards an associate's degree and what extra stuff I'd have to do. I would like to finish any requirements by exam but I don't live in the USA. I'd prefer to do whatever would be required in Australia because Italy is just too chaotic and unreliable.
Any advice or other information would be greatly appreciated. I have found bain4weeks and 123collegedegree dots com to be greatly encouraging at least.

 

Re: How much are they likely to accept?

The challenge is to find CLEP and DANTES centers in Australia or Italy. There doesn't seem to be a single place offering these exams in either country.

The other option you have is to study like mad, book a 3-4 week holiday in a metro area in the US (like NYC or LA where there are multiple testing centers) and test out as much as possible over that period. You could probably even complete a BS over that timeframe, esp. if you incorporate the Psych GRE to take care of needed upper level credit.

Even if you factor in the expense of the travel, this could still be cheaper than taking a host of classes.

However, if you are to take that route I would take care to enroll, plan out your requirements and get them approved in writing by your advisor prior to taking the exams - otherwise you could be facing an expensive return trip!

Best of luck to you!

Cheers,
Mark

 

How much will I have to do?

I managed to complete just over 2 years of a B.Psych degree at an Australian university between 1987 and 1993 with about 30 credit hours in Psychology, plus about 13-14 ch in Sociology, 7.5 ch Empirical methods, and 9-10 ch other stuff (Anthroplogy, Education).

Does anybody have any idea, however rough, as to how much any of the big 3 are likely to accept and how much would be left to do to get some kind of AA or AS?

 

Re: How much will I have to do?

its different with everyone. No one can give an idea on how many would transfer except the actual College. apply with them to see how many would transfer over. If your credits are not from US accredited college then you would have to get evaluation done from ECE. They are not very flexible with it and you will be surprised. I had about 60 credits and out of which they only accepted 9, the rest they just threw away and there was nothing I could do.

 

OUCH!!!!

That's taken the wind right out of my sails.
Any idea of why? I mean, do they typically accept only around 15% of proposed credits from fully accredited international institutions? Do the subjects have to match some catalogue of subjects offered in the United States?

What a downer!