Definition of 30 "NEW" credits (2nd Degree)

Hi Everyone,

I am currently doing a BS (Psychology) degree at Excelsior. I am also (somewhat craftily I think) working an AS (General Business) degree into the first half of the exams I am taking towards the Psych degree. ;0)

It is my understanding that, if I ever decide to go on and complete the additional requirements for the full BS (General Business), I will need to complete "30 new credits" beyond those used for my first BS degree.

My question is related to the definition of these "30 new credits":

Do these "NEW" credits have to be earned AFTER THE DATE I complete the first degree, or could I start earning them now (as long as they don't get transcripted as part of the my first BS degree)?

If, for example, I take an exam now (but DO NOT use it towards my AS or my BS (Psych), will I be allowed to apply those credits later towards the "30 new credits" for a second degree, or will they be disallowed because the exam was taken prior to enrolling in the second degree?

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Beholdweb

 

My thought is that if you take an exam but do not use it towards your AS or BS you'll be fine, if it is NOT on your transcript when you graduate.

For example, if you graduate with 140 credits and only need 120, Excelsior will not let you apply those "extra" 20 to another degree. However, it's easy for you to get those removed from your transcript (or not get them put on in the first place - just don't specify Excelsior as the place where scores get sent).

For something like this I'd get an answer in writing from Excelsior to be sure, but they're usually pretty flexible about applying credit without concern about when the credit was earned.

Cheers,
Mark

 

I think guitarmark is right.

Did they say if the 30 new credits need be in your major area? If so then are there additional credit requirements?

 

Hi Decimon,

I think it is standard procedure at most places to have this "30 new credit" requirement for a second degree.

However, I am certain that the 30 new credits DO NOT have to be entirely in your major field. It can be ANY 30 new credits as long as you meet all the requirements for the specific 2nd degree you are attempting.

In the case of someone who first completed a BA (General Business) and then decided to go for a BA (Psychology), it is likely that most of their 30 new credits would need to be in the Psychology major if they did not acquire many psych-related credits in the course of their studies.

In my case though, a lot of my credits for my Psych major will already be in the Business field because I am attempting an AS in General Business as an integral part of the process. So for me, I will only need 24 additional 'business' credits to complete all of the major requirements for a Business degree. The remaining 6 credits will need to be 'filler' credits in the general areas of Humanities/Social Science/Natural Science/or additional business etc.

So, including the info from GuitarMark, the bottom line about earning a second degree seems to be:

1. 30 new credits are required in order to earn a second bachelor's degree.

2. The 30 new credits do not have to be entirely in the new major field, as long as all requirements for the second major are somehow met.

3. Credits earned prior to enrolling in the second degree CAN be applied to your second degree as long as those same credits were not already transcripted on your first degree.

If anyone knows this not to be true, please let us know.

Thanks,
Beholdweb

 

Generally, 30 new credits means that these credits are totally new and not listed on a previous transcript and used as part of a degree. A new degree would require a new concentration. For example, if your first degree was in psychology than your new degree would need to be in a new concentration other than psychology. The school will not award you two degrees in the same concentrated area. As long as the credit that you had wasn't part of the first degree or listed on the transcript than you could use that credit as new credit. If it is listed on the transcript and there is any mention of it regardless if it is extra credit or not -- if it is listed on the first transcript as part of your degree it will count as old credit and can't be used as new credit toward a second degree. I hope that this helps you with your questions.

 

Good planning. My wife will end up with like 60 new credits. Now we're looking at the possibility that her BS transcript will satisfy both Florida CPA major requirements AND the 150-hour rule. Wouldn't that be neat?

 

Keep in mind that "30 new credits" only relates to your existing BA/BS and not to your AA/AS.

That is, if there are hours you used in your AA but didn't use in your BA -- they are new to your second bachelor's.

The "major" requirements of most programs will establish those 30 additional hours for you in many cases.

Make this decision with some deliberation though -- while a 2nd BA/BS is reasonably common, not many schools will allow a 3rd BA/BS without some serious justification.