Need help Selecting which School is Best for Me for distance Learning TESC or Excelsi

Hello everyone,

I've been studying this site for a couple of months now. I've gotten to the place where I have completed applications and FA for two schools TESC and Excelsior. I like the fact that Excelsior get's back to you quickly to answer any questions or concerns about financial aid or any of the courses. TESC is actually economically the better choice for me because my FA will cover the entire yr for up to 36 credits based on 2 courses per term (I just happen to be 30 min. away from this school - instate fees), however they seem a little slow and disorganized when I call to ask questions about the program and how everything works. That scares me a little! Does anyone have experience with either of these schools? I'm working on a BS in Healthcare Management and I have a full time job as a clinical administrator along with a pt consulting job and 2 kids! I need whichever school I enroll with to be on point and not too complicated to deal with when there are issues. Also, can anyone tell me if there is any truth to an unreasonable amount of writing for courses taken with Thomas Edison. I read a couple comments concerning the amount of writing involved and it was viewed as being more writing then a harvard degree! I cannot spend 3-4 hrs a day writing papers but I do expect a fair amount of work which I'm willing to put it.

I'm starting basically at ground zero because I was foolish enough to complete a degree (actual coursework) with a school that was SEEKING Regional Accreditation and never got approved. Therefore my Business Degree is worthless after 2 yrs of FT working towards this bachelor degree. At the time back in 1993 taking courses outside of the traditional classroom was very common so I did'nt know enough about accreditation to pass on that particular school. Anyway, I move on with my career now I'm at a stand still and I need the degree to move up in my department. As quickly as possibly. I need any and all advise on getted to my goal. I have only 16 transferable credits to start with.

Thanks for your comments

JW

 

Hi JnWalla18. welcome to Degree Info! New user info: http://www.degreeinfo.com/distance-learning-discussions/35100-new-users-ask-where-did-my-posts-go.html

From what I have heard, the writing requirements are roughly the same at TESC and Excelsior. Not having attended either, I cant say for certain, but most good online schools require a large amount of writing. If you develop a good system for paper writing, it's not really that hard or time consuming. I have an excellent system that I'm willing to share via PM if you are interested. I rather enjoy writing papers and I rarely get lower than an "A".

I'm interested to know if the school you attended was nationally accredited. What sort of accreditation did it have? What is the name of the school? If it was at least nationally accredited, you may can still use some of the credits. I am told that Liberty University does accept some transfer of NA credits. Depending on the accreditation, you may be able to use some of your old credits.

 

As SurfDoctor said, If the school has national accreditation your credits might still transfer. I know for a fact Excelsior College will take DETC credits in general but I am not sure about other Nationally Accredited School credits. Further If your old credits were reviewed by ACE they will transfer to both colleges no problem. As far as the colleges both have the same writing requirements and there is no big difference in how hard a class might be. I know of 2 instructors that teach at both colleges. Excelsior College's service is a bit faster than TESC but I have never had big problems with communications with either college. I think both colleges will be the same as far as workload. So the biggest thing is:

1. TESC will probably not accept NA credits (if your school was NA) unless the courses were ACE reviewed.
2. Excelsior College will accept DETC credits and I am assuming they take NA credits as well.
3. Excelsior is a bit quicker in response to questions via Email. (There was a time when I was on phone hold with TESC for almost 25 minutes before I got a rep to help me. But that was only one time.)
4. If you are concerned about funding then you need to go with TESC as you said it works out alot better for you. Do not worry about the workload because the workload is going to be mostly the same for both colleges.

Hope that helps!!!!!

 

I earned my BS through Excelsior some years ago - I found them very responsive and had no trouble getting into two graduate programs.

With both EC and TESC you can take courses from any RA university or through challenge exams such as CLEP and DSST. This might reduce the amount of writing you would have to do. Going this route will also save you money.

I suggest you also check out COSC - again not far from NJ. I've only read positive comments about them all the years since I joind degreeinfo.com.

 

Does anyone know of other MA programs besides Excelsior which will accept old transfer units?
Excelsior doesn't seem to have a limit on the age of the work. Do any other MA programs do this?

Also, I was wondering if anyone out there had done two Excelsior grad classes in an 8 week period. If so, what was that experience like? Thanks for any info.

 

Liberty just started offering a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Healthcare Management.

Bachelor of Science

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm looking for a regionally accredited MA - Liberty is not, is it?

 

Liberty is regionally accredited by the Southern Association.