Greetings! First off I would like to say "Thank you" to all the regular contributors that I have been following over the years. I have gotten a lot of very helpful advise from this forum. Ok, so here is my dilemma. I have a BS in Business Admin. from CCU, a undergrad. certificate in HR from City University and a MBA from American Public University. I would like to get my teachers credentials, here in the State of Washington, but need to have a RA bachelors degree. I am looking at Excelsior and I am wondering how many credits they will allow me to transfer from my prior learning, especially from CCU. Does anyone have any advise on Excelsior or any other means of getting a BS/BA in a hurry? I don't know if it is at all possible, but I would need this degree by the end of this year. Thank you in advance.
Hey Tobe (I have a nephew named Toby, he spells it differently) Which side of the state are you on? Over here, WSU and Whitworth both have MIT's. The WSU one is an intensive 14 month program where at the end you would have your Masters and then an elementary teaching certificate. I assume they have some schools on the other side of the state as well. Are you looking to just get the credential? WGU has a good education program, and they are recognized by NCATE. I was just kidding about your name. My Dad used to tell this joke about how a family from Europe saved up money to immigrate to America. They could only afford one ticket so they sent their son. They wrote on his head that we was going to New York. They wrote To NY, and everyone thought his name was Tony. My Dad was a funnier man than I. Good luck, Cory
Thanks, Cory. But what I am looking for is to use my existing credits and take exams, CLEP or whatever it takes to receive a RA BS along the lines of "BA in four weeks". As I said, I need to have this in place by the end of the year.
When we were researching our book, "Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning," we were very impressed by the programs and outreach of Rio Salado College in Arizona. They were (and are) making a major outreach to offer on-line credentialing (along with student teaching which they can arrange almost anywhere in the world). We've had a lot of positive feedback from readers . . . one just last week from a American in Bangaluru (formerly Bangalore) India, who was very pleased with the process. The school arranged practice teaching at a Canadian-run high school in Bangaluru. New online classes start every week. http://www.riosalado.edu/programs/Pages/default.aspx
Thank you, Dr. Bear. I think I have to re-phrase my questions. How can I turn a NA Bachelor into a RA Bachelor, the fastest most economical way? Can I get undergrad. credit for graduate (RA) work? Thank you for your help.
Not sure about undergrad credit for grad work, but probably the fastest way would be through one of the Big 3, Charter Oak State College www.charteroak.edu, Excelsior College www.excelsior.edu, and Thomas Edison State College www.tesc.edu.
Thank you Ted. Does Excelsior accept NA undergrad. credits, namely from CCU? I have done a search on this board, but have been getting conflicting information. Is anyone familiar with Excelsior and NA credits? Thanks.
Have you discussed this with APU? Perhaps they can help you since you already have a masters from APU (which is both RA and NA accredited).
The issue of Excelsior and NA credits has been discussed before. Not sure, however, where those old threads went to.
Thank you, Ted. I saw some of those posts, but found them confusing. One post stated that NA credits were acceptable and another said they were not. Anyone have the correct answer?
From Excelsior's site: Excelsior College reviews credit from degree-granting non-regionally accredited institutions to determine if those credits will transfer. These institutions must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education and hold either professional or national accreditation, as verified by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/Admissions So the answer seems to be: Probably, but not for sure. Only way to be sure is to contact Excelsior and ask them directly re your school/courses.
Excelsior If you have the degree, RA or not, you probably have the knowledge. I did not have any credits and it took me four months to pass all the necessary assessments to get my bachelor's, I was in a hurry and did not spend much time studying, but still earned a decent 3.56 GPA or so. Like you, my main objective was to get a teaching certificate. In Texas you would still have to go through "Alternative Certification" unless your degree is in teaching, but the way I did it was faster and less expensive.
Gmohdez, How did you go about your "testing schedule"? Did Excelsior give you guidance? Were you able to transfer any credits? Thanks for your advise.
First, to answer Ted's question, I did follow the Miller's advice, but I think the 4 weeks is doable if you do not take into consideration the preparation time. I could probably get the study guides, get ready and eventually start at a convenient time just to prove I could do it in 4 weeks, but that would be from first test to last test, the actual time would be much longer. In my case it actually took me many years, as my knowledge was a consequence of not being very young, coupled with a bibliophiliac disease that I still can’t get rid of. As to the OP’s question, I talked with a couple of people at Excelsior, but mostly to verify that the tests I would take would qualify for a degree. The schedule went according to my strengths, being of Mexican origin, my first 12 credits required all of 80 minutes with no study, I continued with what I knew I would pass without further learning, and at the same time I started studying for what I knew I would need more knowledge. I posted how I earned my bachelor’s here: http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=5271 As to study guides, I still follow what worked for me at the beginning. I take a pre-test without studying, mark my mistakes, and enter the complete question into Google, then select what can help me. Other than a few books for American Dream, I learned what I needed off the internet. I am almost finished with my master’s and for this I have purchased exactly one book, and think it will be the only one. What I would do in your situation is contact Excelsior, find out what they will accept, then what you would need additionally, there will be many options and you can customize it according to your strengths.
Wow, Guillermo, that is inspiring. Congrats! I will certainly give this a try. I just ordered all my transcripts and hope to submit them to Excelsior next week and will keep this forum posted, in hopes to add some additional information for those seeking to get their degree in this manner. Thank you to all that have contributed to my questions.
I was just joking around with you. No need to defend taking four months (rather than four weeks) to complete your degree.
I know your reply was tongue in cheek Ted. I nevertheless responded because I believe it is important that people understand that getting a real degree takes work. When you attend a college you pretty much learn what is needed for the degree in the four or so years you attend, but when you get your degree by testing out, as in the "big three", the actual time is your life experience plus your independent study. I may have tested in four months, but I spent a good 20 or more years after high school learning what I knew before I took my first test, as I was in my 40's. By now I am past the half mark to becoming an antique, so working on my master's at WGU does not require a lot of new learning, but does require a lot of work. I will post my experience when I finish, which will not take too long now. I appreciate very much the time that you dedicate to helping those who want to help themselves. I log in about once per week and almost every week I see your posts, they are very informative and I know that you have to invest your time to come up with all that great information.
