Certs credit and Master degree

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by wannabeit, Jan 13, 2011.

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  1. dlcurious

    dlcurious Member

    Approaching them as ACE reviewed credits is another excellent idea.
     
  2. GeneralSnus

    GeneralSnus Member

    I should have clarified. Of the certifications that wannabeit holds, only the MCSE is ACE reviewed. Four of his certifications are CompTIA and two are Cisco.
     
  3. wannabeit

    wannabeit New Member

    I've sent a email to Excelsior and this is what they told me.

    Hello, I'm so sorry to hear that, however, we always advise our students to confirm their 'transfer to' school's policies. That is because they will ultimately be governed by that school's policies, not Excelsior's. Unfortunately, however, I don't see any record of your having discussed that with us.

    As far as your Excelsior degree, it will stand because you satisfied all of our requirements for degree completion. I wish I could help you further.

    Marti Harper
    Advising Assistant
    Technology Advising Team
    School of Business and Technology
    ________________________________

    Previous Message:
    Hi,

    I'd tried to enrolled at the University of Illinois for the Master Computer Science program and was denied because of credits issue. I was informed that some of my credits used to earned my degree were not from an accredited school. Therefore, I have not fulfilled my requirements for the 120 credits needed.
    I'm not sure what this mean but they also told me that their faculty were contemplating of dropping this college from their list. Please let me know your thought.
     
  4. wannabeit

    wannabeit New Member

    I've asked if I could test out or even take classes there but they said it wouldn't matter because my degree has already been rendered. I have to tell you this really pissed me off because I've spent hundred of dollar and my fear is that if I try to apply at other tier 1 college, I may go through this again.
     
  5. dlcurious

    dlcurious Member

    I would definitely apply elsewhere but prior to it email their admissions department and ask them what their policy is, i.e., do they require 120 RA credits or a bachelor's degree. As Randell1234 stated, his COSC degree was accepted at the U of Florida without issue. Just having a 4-year RA bachelor's seems to be the stated policy at most schools, it appears there are discrepancies in how that is translated.

    I wonder what the hell they mean by this. An RA bachelor's is an RA bachelor's.
     
  6. adamp

    adamp New Member

    Can't you go back and take 16 additional credits through coursework? Will Excelsior add these to your transcript after you already graduated?
     
  7. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    That's my thinking. As long as one of the CHEA-recognized accrediting bodies has validated Excelsior's operations, their degrees should be accepted nearly universally. Besides, there's nothing in target school's printed documentation to state otherwise. The few schools who would be snarky enough to turn their noses up at Excelsior would usually be snobbish enough to advertise such up front.

    Has anyone at the OP's target school heard of ACE? Most schools, that I'm aware of, respect the ACE recommendations to one degree or another-- or at least are in agreement with ACE's mission(s).

    I think the OP should consider taking the school to small claims court to retrieve the admissions fee. I'm sure there's some sort of failure-to-perform claim that could be made. If one wanted to be really difficult, one could actually contact a local media outlet's consumer advocacy reporter and see if said outlet would be willing to publicize the issue.
     
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Even if s/he gets the money back, how many hours would that take? If it's more than one or two (and how could it not be?) it hardly seems worth it.

    -=Steve=-
     
  9. Not only "almost", but completely - all 120 credits from CLEP, DANTES, TECEP and ECE exams (I did this before their 1 cr information literacy course :) )

    While I had to get a TESC transcript for my TECEP, it was relatively painless. Of course, I also already had my MBA just about completed when I applied, so I suppose if it was good enough for Indiana UIS wasn't about to complain either.

    My personal recommendation is if one is a few credits short, ask if CLEPs can fill the gap (after all it seems to be about the # of credits, not necessarily upper/lower level) and then take a few 6 cr exams like Humanities, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, etc., and ask for conditional admission assuming these are completed within x period. My admission was conditional needing an undergrad programming course (Sauk Valley Community College filled it) and completing my MBA.
     
  10. Without defending UIS I will say that I had to go through the same process at Indiana for admission to their MBA program; I had to submit transcripts from CLEP, DANTES, TESC as well as Excelsior (which thankfully covered the ECE exams). As I dealt with the MIS as opposed to the CS department I can say that the process was in line with what I'd expect for a public B&M university that does online learning - a bit slow for my taste but you get there in the end.
     
  11. wannabeit

    wannabeit New Member

    Today, I've spoken to the adviser at Columbia and Northwestern regarding their policy toward certs credits. Columbia indicated that they couldn't help me but I would have to apply and they will review my application. Northwestern was a bit more informative. The lady was straightforward and advised me that the changes that I'd went through at UIS will be similar to their policy. She went on to say that they do not accept certs credits but it may be possible that I have to take extra classes to make up for the credits (19). She suggested that I do more research before I apply.

    I will call the following schools that I had compiled and check their policy. Penn State, University of Colorado, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, and Boston University. I'm curious are their anyone here that are in the Masters program that have certs credits transferred to their BA degree?
     
  12. BrandeX

    BrandeX New Member

    MCSE is 6 ACE credits which may reduce your needs if their transcript is accepted.
     
  13. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    :: sigh :: Haven't these people heard of ACE?

    Besides, this is all patent nonsense. A regionally accredited degree is just that. I would consider writing the accrediting agency for the first school mentioned, and ask them if the practice of turning away students with ACE accredited coursework is considered acceptable.
     
  14. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    Schools do not have to accept credits just because they are ACE evaluated, just like they do not have to accept CLEP, DANTES, etc.
     
  15. BrandeX

    BrandeX New Member

    Well that is unknown at this point. The OP hasn't submitted nor asked about ACE transcripts at this school yet.
     
  16. wannabeit

    wannabeit New Member

  17. BrandeX

    BrandeX New Member

    The question is, does ACE = RA? If so the MCSE is available on an ACE transcript.
     
  18. mcjon77

    mcjon77 Member

    ACE merely provides credit recommendations. Just because something is ACE approved, does not mean that RA schools are required to foolow those recommendations.

    Here is some info taken directly from ACE's website:
    Colleges pretty much have the right to accept or reject credits as they please. For example, I transferred from a small state school in Illinois to Georgetown University. Georgetown accepted most, but not all of my credits. They refused to accept my ROTC credits and my health credits (a few years later, I got them to change their mind on the health class). I also asked them about taking CLEP test and, back then, they stated explicitly that they do not accept credits for distance learning.

    Their school, their rules.
     
  19. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    This was an emotional, nearly knee-jerk response on my part. I need to separate the two issues I mentioned above, and emphasize them separately:
    1. ACE is considered an acceptable, near-universal US standard for the recommendation of credit assignment for educational activities outside traditional settings, so far as I'm aware (correct me if I'm wrong). If the accreditation agencies validate the activities of most of the schools that honor ACE credits, then what compelling educational value does a school provide in failing to do so other than looking more "selective"?
    2. I repeat-- a regionally accredited degree is a regionally accredited degree, regardless of who issued it and how. If a school's stated policy is to accept applicants from regionally accredited schools, they should do so, and not modify it on a whim. If they need to have additional requirements for entry to a particular program over and above that, again, it should be clearly stated and such requirements should be academically relevant to the objectives of the program. If such requirements are NOT academically relevant to the objectives of the program, the requirements should be questioned in front of the accrediting agency that authorized the institution to grant said degrees.
     
  20. major56

    major56 Active Member

    I, as do others here, hear and sympathize in your frustration. Technically, you’re absolutely correct in that a RA degree is a RA degree; nonetheless, your own personal experience (e.g. UIS & JSU graduate admissions) exhibit that not all RA degrees and how the degree was awarded are in reality, determined equal for admissions purposes by all RA institutions. As already mentioned, each college /university will determine and set their own policies /standards regarding admission, degree acceptance and transfer credit standards; and this policy disclosure is basically recorded in the Official university catalogue. Nevertheless, there are an abundance (assuming the very vast majority) of RA universities that will have no issue whatsoever with your Excelsior degree … just apply with a different university; and there are plenty offering graduate computer science degrees. BTW, one of my brothers received his undergraduate degree from then USNY-Regents College … the predecessor to the separate and independent Excelsior. Moreover to my knowledge, he has never had any educational or corporate (private or public) institution not consider the full validity of his Regents College bachelor degree.
     

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