Excelsior - Now To Accept Na Transfer Credit To The Ba Programs!!!

This post might be a little lengthy but it's important. The following statement appears on Excelsior's website on the admissions page:

"Excelsior College accepts credit from accredited degree-granting institutions in the United States. These institutions must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education and hold either profesisonal or national accreditation, as verified by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)."

I called Excelsior to get clarification. I was told that the new policy is still "gray" and being refined, but it appears as though July 1st will mark the day Excelsior will begin taking NA transfer credit, at least into the liberal arts school. A student that wants to transfer NA credit will be required to pay a $200 evaluation fee as part of the application process. The admissions department will review the NA transcripts as they would RA transcripts, then forward the file to a review board for a decision. There will be a list of accreditors and schools that are on an "approved" list, thus streamlining the process. The policy may not apply to vocational schools and credits, but rather to degree granting institutions. The policy, at least in its present form, will allow a student to transfer NA credits into the BA program but WILL NOT allow the student to continue taking NA courses once enrolled. The details are still getting worked out. I am expecting a follow up call next week (from Excelsior) with more details. The school intends to publsih the new policy in their literature on July 1st, the effective date.

Apparently, according to Excelsior, the bill that has been floating around for a while, that primarily addresses federal student loan funding but also makes it illegal for a participating school to blanketly reject transfer credits from students strictly based on the accreditor (as long as the accreditor is recognized by the USDE and CHEA), passed. If this is in fact the case, look for TESC and Charter Oak to follow suit.

Long overdue in my opinion. I think this is great news. I will post a follow up on this thread once I receive more detail from Excelsior.

 

This is indeed great news! No school should blanketly reject credits solely on the basis of it's accreditor, so long as the accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and CHEA.

I was one of the student's/graduate from a nationally accredited institution that had challenged Excelsior College on the "RA only" antiquated transfer of credit policy. With the assistance of the DETC, I drafted and articulated my argument and had received the attached below reply from last year (2005).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anne F. Connor
Director of Advisement and Evaluation
School of Business and Technology
Excelsior College
Phone: (518)464-8711
Fax: (518)464-8777
[email protected]
----- Forwarded by Anne Connor/BT/AP/Excelsior College on 07/20/2005 12:11 PM -----


Dear Mr. Gauthier:

I am writing in response to your recent email message to our Admissions Office regarding your interest in our MBA program and your intention to transfer credits that you've earned at Columbia Southern University.

First, let me thank you for considering Excelsior College. We are proud of our over 30-year tradition of providing high-quality and flexible degree program options to adult learners throughout the world.

I would also like to let you know that our academic affairs staff is in the process of developing a policy governing the process of transfer credit review and acceptance from institutions that have national or professional, but not regional accreditation. Columbia Southern University, with DETC accreditation, is one such institution.

I expect that the policy and procedures will be approved within the next few months; once this occurs, we will make the information available to enrolled and prospective students
via our website.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Anne F. Connor
Director of Advisement and Evaluation
School of Business and Technology
Excelsior College
Phone: (518)464-8711
Fax: (518)464-8777
[email protected]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This proves without a doubt that you can articulate your argument and challenge an antiquated university policy and be successful.

 

The bill that Excelsior is referring to, HR609, did in fact pass. It was changed quite a bit from its original form, but as far as I can tell, Section 495(b)8, in the final, passed version, reads as follows:

"...confirms as a part of its review for accreditation or reaccreditation that the institution has transfer policies that are publicly disclosed and specifically state whether the institution denies a transfer of credit based solely on the accreditation of the institution at which the credit was earned;"

The new language falls short of strictly prohibiting the rejection of credit based solely on the accreditor, but it certainly opens a school up for potential problems if they do.

I battled Excelsior on this issue as well. I'm happy to see the change.

Pug

 

I'm Excelsior student I have 2 courses remaing to complete my degree.

AAS in Tech Studies

Natrual Science and a Written English...

I asked back in May if I could use Penn Fosters English Comp course to satisfy my Written English requirement . I was told the school had to be regionally accredit or the course had to be evaluated by ACE. which it isn't

I've already taken course's with Penn Foster and I'm comfortable with there format and price $55 a credit hour. So being able to tranfer non-ace evaluated course would be huge for me ..


I'm very curious as what the limitation will be ... Its it bit mind boggling based on how the school works to think that they'll only accept national credits during the enrollment process but once your student you won't be able to transfer them in...

 

I agree. It seems strange that NA credit would transfer up front but not down the road...very odd. We'll see where the policy ends up.

Pug

 

would this apply in a case where you are going into the Liberal arts major with prior credits from a technical college (which is nationally accredited, pending regional accreditation).

i have a ton of credits at the technical college but they have not been counted for anything towards my General Business degree or Bachelor of Science Liberal Arts.

wondering if moving from the BS liberal arts to BA liberal arts would make any difference?

the tech school is trying to get SACs accreditation but it is dragging out.................

 

With regards to this new policy and the possibility of gathering my last 2 credits (in math) needed to graduate I was wondering and hoping if someone could point me in the direction of an EASY and INEXPENSIVE class from an NA school that may be accepted by Excelsior after July 1st.

THANKS!!

 

Are these lists typically made public? I'd be interested to know what schools are on them so I don't waste $200 and get declined.

 

RA vs NA

I don't think a regionally accredited institution should accept college credit that is not equivalent to regional accreditation!

It downgrades the acceptability and credibility of the regionally accredited institution.

Many U.S. corporations only accept applicants that hold regionally accredited degrees. For example, most airlines won't accept pilot applicants that have nationally accredited degrees. In addition, U.S. Armed forces require RA degrees to become a commissioned officer. Even the government recognizes differences!

If one earns their credits from a nationally accredited institution, then perhaps they should finish what they started and get their degree from that institution.

You see, even those who have attended nationally accredited institutions agree that their degree is not as valuable. Why would they push for their credits to be accepted by a regionally accredited institution so they can get a degree from a RA school???

I think Excelsior should stick with their present policy or lose its RA accreditation!

 

Re: RA vs NA

Shouldn't that be up to the regional accreditors?

I could certainly see the regional accreditors adopting some sort of policy on this. As an example, since Excelsior allows 98% of the credit needed for a degree to be transferred in at enrollment time, will they really grant an RA degree where 98% of the credits come from NA institutions? If so, will their accreditor have a problem with this?

Laundering NA credit and degrees into RA degrees could become a popular activity if allowed on a widespread basis.

For what it's worth, I have no problem with an RA institution allowing selective NA credit to transfer in. Hopefully RA institutions can NA transfer policies that both makes sense and are transparent to students.

 

RA vs. NA

I hope the regional accreditors don't approve such a policy of transfer credit but you are right, they are probably the ones who have oversight in such areas.

Excelsior, COSC and TESC are generally regarded as "4th tier schools". Why would one of them want to press the test button on this issue? My opinion is that it would negatively impact their image and status in the RA circles of academia.

 

Excellent post, good news indeed!


Abner

 

Actually, one significant sector that has kept NA degrees and programs viable and having specific utility is the US Government - and US Armed Forces.

The requirement is only that the degree be accredited by any agency recognized by US DoE -- which includes then the NA degrees and programs.

Further, if the government did indeed recognize the difference, US DoE would only list the six regionals in their lists...

 

OCS

Unless they have recently changed the rules Coach Turner, in order to go to Officer Candidate School (OCS) the degree must be from a RA university. Of course, the military is only one sector of the government.

 

RA vs. NA

Eligibility Requirements
"To apply for OTS, you are required to be either a graduate of a regionally accredited college or university or a college senior who is available to depart for training within 365 days if you are a civilian or member of a non-USAF service branch or 270 days if you are a USAF service member.


http://www.afoats.af.mil/OTS/BOT/botapply.asp

 

Re: RA vs NA

First of all...who says NA isn't equal to RA? If you're suggesting NA isn't as widely accepted, I'll agree. If you're suggesting RA is superior in quality, I'll have to disagree. I've attended RA and NA schools. There are good schools and bad schools no matter who accredits them. The "best" and "toughest" school I've attended is Briercrest, NA.

Also, there are already quite a few RA schools that accept NA credit. Excelsior would just be the first where 98% of your degre can transfer in. Most schools have credit limits of 90 hours in transfer. I'm glad it's happening. Schools should accept transfer credit from other good schools, RA or NA. The fact that Excelsior offers blanket acceptance to all RA credits, period, is ridiculous.

Pug

 

RA vs NA

Delta,

I will not get on a debate over NA vs RA. There are plenty of threads in this site with abundant opinions on the subjet. I, however, disagree with several of your statements because your blanket affirmations regarding NA degrees are flawed:

You write - "It downgrades the acceptability and credibility of the regionally accredited institution."

How so?

You write - "For example, most airlines won't accept pilot applicants that have nationally accredited degrees."

Of the airlines currently hiring pilots, none specify regionally acredited degrees as a requirement for employment:

Continental Airlines:

http://www.continental.com/company/career/pilot.asp

Southwest:

http://www.southwest.com/careers/pilots.htmla

FEDEX:

https://www.pilotcredentials.com/careers/index.php?a=qualifications

You write - "You see, even those who have attended nationally accredited institutions agree that their degree is not as valuable."

Please elaborate and tell us who "those" people are.

This forum is a great tool for information and a great avenue for channeling opinions. However, misleading information should not be part of it.

 

I am going to look at transfering my CCU credits for a BA from Excelsior.

 

Wait a few more days and try it after July 1st. Let us know how it goes.