Help...A military guy..Please

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by vinyve, Jun 27, 2003.

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  1. vinyve

    vinyve New Member

    Hi,

    I'm currently in Kuwait on the Iraqi border...You guys are experts; so I ask respectfully for help. I have 183 total credits(derived from SUNY Albany,NYPD Police Academy,AMU & some & some exams)and no degree to show for it, I'm so ashamed of my self;I failed the ECE English exam with a "D". All I need is the written english requirement to be conferred for my degree.
    One of my Navy service schools awarded me 3 credits in Eng. Comp. I was so disappointed when Excelsior awarded me 3 credits in Humanities instead of English.
    I decided to give up on Excelsior & try TESC...they gave me the 3 credits for Eng. Comp & it is reflected on my transcript as ENG Comp. 101.
    Just one question; if I send my TESC transcript to Excelsior...Do you guys think they will award me the Eng Comp credit?

    Thank you,
    V/r
    Vinny PS Excelsior fights harder then the Iraqi's
     
  2. borisdarling

    borisdarling member

    Vinny,

    1. Do 20 pushups from the front leaning rest position :)

    2. I obviously can't guaratee it, but if it were me, and the TESC transcript says "English" - I'd think they'd take it.

    3. I'd also throw in a letter apologizing (or something) that mentioned where you were and that you were serving. John Bear's book talks about "blurring the lines" in academia. :)

    4. If they don't give it to you - appeal it to the College Pres. Point out that you are in Kuwait - which does not have a lot of english classes :D

     
  3. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

    Vinny,

    They may unless they consider the award duplicative of the credit you already have. Look at it this way, Excesior is upholding its standards which is a good thing. Why don't you take the English exam again or sign up for an inexpensive Engligh Comp. course?

    I would think you coud take the course online or by independent study. I had a US student from Afghanistan in one of my online courses and the student was able to progress OK through the course.

    John
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2003
  4. c.novick

    c.novick New Member

    Vinny,

    Another option - What about a reverse and transfer to TESC. They aren't bad to work with. They are RA as well.

    Just throwing it out there.

    Please stay safe and God bless you!!!
     
  5. Hille

    Hille Active Member

    TESC

    Good Morning, Why not transfer to TESC? I think you possibly have enough credits for a double BA. Stay safe. Hille
     
  6. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

    Since we don't know the actual distribution of your credits I wouldn't jump in yet and say that you have a dual bachelors. If you have a lot of lower level credits another degree would require more work. If your distribution is good then you may want to consider a second major.

    Obviously your 1st goal is to get that degree. Because you are so close you may want to avoid the hassle of having transcripts resent, additional funds paid, and so forth, if you decide to transfer to TESC. My recommendation is to stay the course and get those English credits done ASAP and graduate.

    Good luck.


    John
     
  7. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    vinyve wrote:

    > All I need is the written english requirement to be conferred
    > for my degree. One of my Navy service schools awarded me 3
    > credits in Eng. Comp. I was so disappointed when Excelsior
    > awarded me 3 credits in Humanities instead of English.


    Did you ask Excelsior why? If so, what did they say?

    Excelsior will consider a simple appeal to re-classify credit, based on the course syllabus. But I think an appeal to pity (because you're in Kuwait), or a TESC transcript, won't help you.

    > I decided to give up on Excelsior & try TESC...

    I'd say when you're 3 credits away from a degree is a bad time to "give up on" the school.

    If they don't allow your appeal, take an English course. It should be easy enough to find a distance-learning English course.
     
  8. vinyve

    vinyve New Member

    Help for a Military guy.

    I would like to thank all of you for help and comments. If possible; which English course via DL do you guys advise is the quickest and easiest?

    Mark in regards to asking anyone; especially a school for pity for a grade...you have to be kidding right?

    Just a quick bio: I'm a NYC Detective (13 yrs) and US Navy Reservist; I responded to the WTC & got a piece of metal in my back from debris, about 2 inchs from my spine...I was activated in Dec 01; since then I spent 7mos in Afghanistan...3mos in Kuwait/Iraq...the only reason I can write, is that I was shot as I was giving rations to a family and I'm recovering in a tent. I started this quest in getting a degree because of a promise I made on the morning of 9/11 to a friend (who was killed) that we would finally get our degrees and get promoted up the ranks together...to become at least Lt.'s before we retired. I never asked a soul for pity...not even during BUDS 18 years ago.The only thing I've ever asked for is respect...not for myself; just for my wife and children. V/r Chief Vinny B (Puff) USNR/NYPD Det.
     
  9. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    vinyve wrote:

    > Mark in regards to asking anyone; especially a school for pity
    > for a grade...you have to be kidding right?


    I said don't ask for pity (because BorisDarling seemed to be suggesting that you should).

    Let me give you my own experience with Excelsior's appeals process. My wife Rosie took a course from Western Illinois University, "University 422: Race to Save the Planet", based on the PBS telecourse. WIU's transcripts suffer from a character limit on course titles, so the course appeared on WIU's transcript as "SAVE THE PLANET UNIV 422". Excelsior initally classified this as lower-level "Applied Professional" credit. There is a DANTES exam "Environment and Humanity: the Race to Save the Planet", for which Excelsior awards 3 lower-level credits in Natural Sciences. Rosie sent a pointer to WIU's Web page with the course description (http://www.wiu.edu/users/miisp/courses/content.html), argued that it was equivalent to the DANTES exam, and asked Excelsior to re-classify it as lower-level Natural Sciences on that basis. The result? Excelsior re-classified it as upper-level Natural Sciences.

    The moral? Excelsior's classifications are not infallible, and it doesn't hurt to appeal.

    Rosie also fulfilled her English requirement with a course from Western Illinois University: "English 180: College Writing I" (same URL as above). 6 assignments, to be completed on the student's own time, and no exams. The downside is you would have to go through the motions of applying to WIU's Board of Trustees BA program (almost free), and you couldn't start the course until August.
     
  10. plcscott

    plcscott New Member

    Re: Help for a Military guy.

    I think you took Mark wrong here.

    I will just say personally that I appreciate you guys. I admire the fact that you are NYPD, and Navy Reserve. My best friend is Army reserve in communications, and in Bagdad. I here from him occasionally, and we are very worried about him. We spend a lot of time with his wife, and our kids play together. Every time I here about a troop getting killed it really makes my heart ache. I also have other friends there. You have my respect, and appreciation!

    I wish you luck in your degree search, and God Bless our troops!

    Scott
     
  11. gmanmikey

    gmanmikey New Member

    If it turns out (God forbid!) that you actually need to tough it out and take an English Composition course to graduate, Louisiana State University offers them inexpensively via independent study. (3 semester hours costs about $210) It might even be doable at your current location.

    http://www.is.lsu.edu/

    There are definitely other school options available at a distance; English Comp. is a core course for a bachelor's degree in the USA. Plenty of dumba*ses pass them. I did, anyway.

    I know all about having boo-koo credits and no bachelor's degree. I graduated a bachelor of science with 206 semester hours credit. You have a long way to go to beat my personal best.

    Anyway, you're one course away from finishing. Congratulations, now do what you got to do to finish it off.

    Best Wishes,
     
  12. I did not read borisdarlings's comment that way. As you yourself say, Excelsior's classifications are not infallible. :D

     

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