The "new" Excelsior College

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Delta, Feb 8, 2011.

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  1. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    It's sad but the Excelsior College of today is not the same Regents College of the USNY of yesterday! Just my opinion but I looked into getting a 2nd degree and found that;
    - Not as user friendly
    - Does not accept GRE for credit
    - dropped some degree programs but added others.
    - more requirements for graduation.
    - online courses (relatively expensive)
    - increased costs to take ECE exams.
    - chaotic toll free number with numerous "passing the buck" connects.

    Is it just me or has anyone else experienced this decline?
     
  2. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I'm not sure I would call it a decline... except for the website change and increasing fees. I liked the old website, and I really don't understand how the fees for any of the Big 3 can be so high when they don't really do too much for the students.
     
  3. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    Is that not how DL is in general? You pay the school for them to tell you what to learn, by yourself; and in some cases, 80% of what you already know, or to learn stuff that is 100% freely available on the internet. All that work is the reason why they charge you a lot of tuition dollars; for example, $70k for a doctoral program. American capitalism suggest that you make a lot of money with very minimal effort, right? Well, DL fits perfectly with that prescription. So, continue to hand-over those tuition dollars and please stop complaining.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 8, 2011
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    lol. You just got fired, didn't you?
     
  5. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    No, I didn't get fired. Instead, I have fired DL from my radar. I want my professor to work for his/her money by getting up; coming to the school campus, and then standing in front of the class for the duration of the class. That is what I want to pay for. I want my professors to be full-time teachers, not part timers who teach not because they want their students to learn; but as a source for additional income. No more grading in pajamas at night, after the things that are most important are taken care of "in the day," including other full-time good paying jobs. In short, aren't you tired of turning double-figure earners into three-figure earners, on the internet, while chemistry teachers in state schools are stuck making $70k per year? Got that? Shhhh don't tell anyone what I just told you hehehe...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 8, 2011
  6. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I have to admit that I have wondered what in the world Excelsior is doing with all that money it's raking in. The last time I checked (it's been awhile), a three credit course through Excelsior was around $700. The school has almost no overhead since it's programs are online and it only uses adjuncts (who are paid a pittance). The school is organized as a non-profit.

    So....what's wrong with this picture? Why the high tuition and fees?
     
  7. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    It sounds like you are more interested in punishing others than to yield the best result for yourself.
     
  8. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    Since when was deciding how to spend my tuition dollars, the way it would help me to pay off my loans from my undergrad days, punishing others? Is everyone not making decisions based on what would serve their specific situations? How would it serve me, if I get an online PhD, for example, and then I can't use it the way PhDs are supposed to be used (without limitations)? Should I rather hand-over my tuition dollars to folks on the internet so that it seems as though I am not interested in punishing others?

    You're looking at it the wrong way. To yield the best result for myself, a "no-internet degree" strategy is the best route to take. The overly passive nature of online programs makes DL program experience seriously deficient (in fact, there is no experience). The problem is that I need that experience, greatly, and I want to see as well as know my professors, in person. I've contributed my fair share (in tuition dollars) to DL with my MS degree.

    Going forward, I want "real professors" who go to work everyday to teach within the walls of a traditional university, to earn my tuition dollars. There is nothing wrong with that decision (something would be wrong with the reverse). When you are ready to pursue your doctorate degree, feel free to hand over that $50k, $60k, or $70k to some internet degree granting operation, gladly.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 8, 2011
  9. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    Good thread. I am LMAO while grading papers in my pajamas.
     
  10. Hokiephile

    Hokiephile New Member

    From what I've experienced so far, asynchronous online education seems to be to be a very expensive way to provide correspondence education with a lot of make work (posting to forums as a form of pretend discussion) to make it seem challenging. I'd rather just take old-fashioned correspondence courses with the convenience of electronic delivery and forget all that other nonsense.

    On the other hand, a friend did his library degree in the synchronous online program at Alabama and it appeared that he was very involved in the class and had a good educational experience.
     
  11. MISin08

    MISin08 New Member

    User friendly: can't speak to that because I enrolled in 2009. It was fine in 2003 when I first started looking and it's fine now.

    GRE: agree this is unfortunate, but it seemed a little too good to be true IMHO

    Degrees: wash.

    Requirements: EC has exhibited a consistent trend away from the BA-in-4-weeks/Bear's Guide/70's experimental non-traditional extended degree that inspired me to look at non-traditional college in the first place. From a Business degree perspective (what I know best) we lost the business policy exam, the operations mgt exam, we "gained" a required capstone and information literacy requirement and IIRC the credit distributions have become more like a "real" college. Reading between the lines of new hire announcements in 2007-2008 convinced me to get started, as I believe credit by exam at EC is like a legacy product they are not proud of and that GRE is part of an overall tightening in this regard.

    Online courses -- expensive, agreed, and quality varies. I was happy to take only 4. I expect from the admittedly small sample I interacted with that many EC students are on TA or partnership and don't pay full price.

    Exam costs -- these are far more expensive than DSST/CLEP and I don't get it unless they don't get the volume of delivery they need to pay for development w/o the high fees. Some ECEs are specialized and yet still less expensive than corresponding courses. Compare their UExcel line which is competitive with CLEP/DSST: unadventurous subjects that will probably be popular enough to generate volume to pay for themselves.

    800 number -- I have never had to call them. It's 2011. If I have to wait in any organization's phone queue they have failed me and I go elsewhere.

    Phillip
     
  12. okydd

    okydd New Member

    Excelsior did me a favor. I was refused entry into the BS-Psychology.
     
  13. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I'm not sure I would make a good online instructor because I don't wear pajamas.
     
  14. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

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