Does anyone know about or have practical experience of the process and practicality of obtaining a CLEP-based degree from AUSTRALIA? I appreciate the CLEP is not a locally recognised concept, so it would have to be done through a US institution. But is it practical at that distance? I am assuming there are proctors and such involved in the process? I am comparing an 8-year standard distance education degree (part time) with a 3-year CLEP-based degree from the USA, but am not sure how practical it really is to pursue it.
Can you be more specific? What do regard in this case as the CLEP based degree in Australia? Peter French Melbourne, Australia
What I am asking is: does anyone know how I can go about arranging CLEP testing while still in Australia, or alternatively, has anyone in Australia managed to obtain CLEP degree credits without leaving Australia? I know that CLEP seems to be widely accepted in the USA as an alternative way to get course credits, but there do not seem to be any institutions in Australia who offer CLEP testing. I don't want to have to go to the USA to sit my CLEP tests. Tony Gilbert
OK - I'll try it another way ... are you wanting an Australian degree or an American degree? If you are wanting an Australian degree, what discipline and what level? We don't have CLEP but we do have 'recognition' formerly RPL/RCC. Under the AQF that MUST be offered as an alternative assessment method at all levels even including PhD degrees! Peter French
I'm looking for a degree, the country is not so important, but the college/university might be. The reason I asked about CLEP is because there is lots of information about it online. RPL/RCC I have never heard of before. At my age, spending 8 years getting a degree part time distance ed would have to be a hobby project, not career development. And as I have a family to support, going full time is not an option. So I am looking at the fastest track to a *legitimate*, achievable bachelors degree. I have heaps of life experience, including grading as a senior journalist, extensive management experience and a lot of professional training, plus some independent certifications. So I am looking to convert as much of this as possible into course credits, or sitting exams to achieve same. Does that make more sense? Tony
Generally, the US degree programs are more flexible and can be completed in shorter time. Unlike Australian and the UK degree programs, credits can be earned by independent examinations, e.g. CLEP, and credits transfer are possible for the US programs. Most discussed programs in this forum are from Excelsior College, Charter Oak State College and Thomas Edison State College. You may find the following link useful for selecting degree programs: http://distancelearn.about.com/cs/bachelordegrees
You can get further information about the CLEP examinations at http://www.collegeboard.org I don't know whether the CLEP is offered in Australia, but there are 'Overseas Educational Advising Centers' in Canberra/Deakin ACT, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney (per information from the Collegeboard's website). You may contact the College Board direct about the CLEP examination in Australia.
Hi Yan, thanks for joining the post. I had already read the archives on this board before I made my post, so I know about these things. My question is not about how to get into CLEP or who accepts it, just about how to get TESTED here in Australia. I know that Excelsior CLEP tests, for example, are administered by Sylvan Prometric, who have many test centre partners in Australia, but none appear to offer CLEP tests. I don't know if perhaps any other US college has a different method of being tested for overseas applications, like proctored tests? What I am trying to find out is whether or not anyone has attempted to go down this path from Australia, and can it be done successfully? Or am I just buying into months of frustration and expense? Thanks
OK - I can't answer your CLEp question. However, if you are a local (Australian), and contact me directly and detail what you currently have in qualifications and certifications, I can tell you what is available with recognition that will get you advanced standing, at an Australian university in a bachelors degree. This happens all of the time, but not for everyone. Peter French [email protected] Melbourne, Australia
Furthermore, if you are in Australia and looking at a US undergraduate degree, unless you are thinking of relocating from here, you are seriously wasting your time - get an Australian UG degree. Peter
Just out of curiosity, are US degrees looked down upon by Australian employers? If I lived down there I'd definitely go for an Australian degree, due to the relatively low cost. I live in the US, and I'm thinking of possibly going with an Australian Masters, anyway. The biggest problem that I can see is that it would make it immediately apparent in an interview (and most likely even before then) that the degree was done via DL. BTW Peter, you are a bit insane to post your mobile number on a public message board.
Oh, I forgot to post something that is actually on topic. The Thomes Edison State College exams (TECEP) can be admistered by any qualified local proctor/invigilator. I know that I can use one of several librarians at the local public library. Also, don't confuse the Excelsior exams with the CLEP exams. Both give college credit, but they are different things. I've seen a few schools that specifically won't accept credit from the Regents/Excelsior exams.
Tony, I doubt you'll be able to take the Excelsior College examinations through the Prometric(Sylvan) centers in Australia. Prometric no longer administers ECE internationally. Though, maybe you will be able to take it through some other organization. In Europe, for example, the only place you can take Excelsior college exams is at the Fullbright Commission in London. With CLEP you may have more luck. I'd suggest you ask them directly; http://www.collegeboard.org/clep/clepstud/html/stud005.html Dennis
We qualify for professional entry at the undergraduate level, not masters. this is because we complete high school at high school, and our first degree therefore is 75% applied core and 25% applied electives, with no carryover K-12 topic areas. With a US first degree there would hardly any adequate recognition or entry to any professional arena. In professional course what we do in UG you do in Masters level courses. Coem witjh a US Masters, and there will be quite a bit open for you. Peter
In many cases a coursework/dissertation masters here is not a lot diofferent from a US coursework doctorate. The corusework in a non-conversion masters develops the learning at undegraduate level. In my fields - accounting and engineering - our undergraduate units very closely match your masters units - both content and assessment. Now, no one is to quote me as saying that a UD doctorate is less than an Oz doctorate - they are simply different. Peter
Is this why international employers (Asia particularly) seem to favour FOUR YEAR degrees from US applicants?
I did a little calculation and (if my calculations are correct) the difference between the US bachelor subject core study and the Australian bachelor subject core study can (though doesn't have to) be not that big at all. Take, for example, the Excelsior bachelor in business which is based on a 4-years(120 credit hours) program: -The minimum requirement in liberal arts is 60 semester hours. -The minimum requirement in business is 45 semester hours. -The rest 15 credit hours are additional credit that can be either from liberal arts and sciences or business or some other elective. Now, if you really wanted, you could earn up to 60 credit hours in the business component( using the required 15 additional credits for business). That's the half of the traditional US bachelor study time of four years or 24 months. An Australian studies 3 years for his bachelor and if, as you state, 75% of this time(program) must be applied to the core subject that would be 27 months of core study. Computing how many percent 24 months would make in a 3 year(36 months) bachelor program I got around 67%. Of course, you are not required to earn so many percent in the core subject of your bachelor in an US program but you could do so voluntarily, e.g., if you have the intention to apply to a British or Australian master program. It seems to me also important to note that the calculation above is based only on study-time and so it doesn't say anything about, e.g., the intensity. So if, for example, Australian students do more stuff in a semester than the American ones, it would certainly have to be considered in the computation. Dennis
nnis You shouldn't put to much emphasis on the length of the US-bachelor program. To my knowledge, American bachelor programs always took you 4 years to complete while the British, Australian and newly German bachelor degrees take you only 3 years to complete. That's because Americans in the first and partially in the second year or so of their study time do things that the British, Australians, and Germans already went through in high school. Dennis
