WOW! Excelsior CLEP pass/fail exams

Hi All,

Has anybody else noticed that Excelsior no longer awards letter grades for the following exams:

- Intro to Psychology
- Calculus (new)
- Analyzing & Interpreting Literature
- US History I
- US History II
- Freshman College Composition

This is all according to their new 2005-2006 Assessment Catalog AND their web site.

Analyzing & Interpeting Literature is obviously going to be a BIG loss, in terms of GPA, to those who scored well on it (6 credits).

Can anyone confirm or deny this news?

 

wow, I just downloaded the exam guide and you're right. That's certainly waht it says.

But I think the even bigger news is that

History of Nazi Germany
3 upper level credits

will be DISCONTINUED

on June 30, 2006

I think it's only like $185. That so cheap for 3 U credits.

 

I also noticed that all but 2 CLEP exams are P/F. Is there a way to have grades assigned to test scores?

 

Why does it matter if a course is P/F or leter graded?
Excelsior does not include P/F in overall GPA.

 

You are correct! Excelsior does not calculate P/F results into your GPA. This is good if you didn't score highly on any particular exam. However, if you aced an exam, it is somewhat disappointing to see your high score go to waste.

For example, I scored very highly on the Analyzing & Interpreting Literature exam. This is a six credit exam and, until this latest policy change, the 'A' grade would have helped my overall GPA. Now that it is no longer graded, those six 'A' credits will be ignored in my GPA.

Make sense?

 

how does excelsior give their grades ?

how do you recieve a grade from excelsior ?

i am just curious ..i mean grad schools would probably want to see your letter grade ...

 

In looking into pros and cons of the big 3, Excelsior is usually rated highly due to their assigning letter grades to exams. The advantage is for those looking to go to grad school, many of which base admittance in part on your gpa in the last 30-60 hours of study. It's my understanding that without grading your options may be limited. Keep in mind that I would like to apply to one of the Tx A&M MBA programs due mostly in part to regional name recognition. Has anyone found this to be true/untrue?

Thanks,
Matthew

 

...Follow up.

If Excelsior no longer assigns letter grades to most exams then what is the advantage?

 

In regard to the Intro to Psychology CLEP, my academic advisor explained that a new version of the exam was introduced 2006 and Excelsior hasn't enough statistical data as yet to convert the scores to letter grades; so for the time being it will remain pass/fail.

Dennis

 

Excelsior DOES still assign letter grades to all DANTES exams, all Excelsior exams (obviously), and some CLEP Exams.

My degree plan includes enough DANTES and ECE exams that I will have more than 60 GRADED credits on which to base my GPA.

The main change in policy which will affect a lot of people is that Analyzing & Interpreting Literature and Intro to Psychology are no longer graded...this time last year, those two exams could earn a student nine graded credits to apply towards their GPA. Now, they are simply pass/fail and many who already took both exams and scored highly will lose the benefit of those nine graded credits.

But there ARE still numerous opportunities to take exams for graded credit towards an Excelsior degree.

 

For those who took the test while the old Analyzing and Interpreting Literature was being given and who already have their letter grades, this shouldn't be an issue. I haven't read anything to indicate these grades won't stand.

 

Hi Sisterc,

I know that students must abide by the Excelsior policy that is in effect when they enroll.

So, for example, if their policy last year stated that X, Y, and Z exams are necessary to graduate with a particular degree, and I passed those exams but did not actually enroll until this year, it could be that their new policy also requires that I pass exam W in addition to X, Y, and Z. In that case, I must abide by the policy in effect at the time I officially enroll.

However, I am not sure how they work it with old and new versions of exams. If their latest policy states that A&I Literature is no longer letter graded and I took the exam BEFORE the new policy came into effect but am only now actually enrolling...I wonder which would have precedence: The new policy, or the fact that I took the exam before the change in policy.

Does anybody know the answer?

 

I enrolled in Excelsior last month and according to one of the advisors, the new exam policy took effect in July 2005. Therefore, if you took A&I Literature before July 2005 you will still receive a letter grade.

 

I should sign up to write the exam before it's gone, then. I can't use it in my current degree programme, but with some left overs from other studies that I have taken, it might prove useful toward a BA or BGS somewhere down the line.

Thanks for mentioning this.

 

Good question. If the reason for the change is that the current test is new and there is insufficient data, then it would seem logical that if you took the old test, you'd get a letter grade. But logic doesn't always count for much. I'd like to know the answer to that, too.

 

I believe these changes simply reflect changes enunciated by ACE - the American Council on Education, based in Washington, DC.

Of the Big 3, Excelsior most closely adheres to ACE recommendations.

-Orson

 

Can you elaborate? I know ACE recommends how many credits an exam is worth and whether or not it's good for LL or UL credit. But I didn't realize that ACE made the recommendation on whether or not a CLEP or DANTES exam got 'letter' credit.

 

I enrolled at Excelsior in November and took the A&I Lit in Oct 2004. I didn't receive a letter grade. ??

Brandon

 

My CLEP A&I Lit from September 2004 was awarded a letter grade by Excelsior in November 2005. For 6 credits, it is probably worth appealing.

 

It's been too many years since I looked into it for me to respond with specific knowledge to your request.

But I believe that Excelsior (as Regent College?) used to state that in awarding grades for exams, they were simply following ACE recommendations.

Anybody else recall?

-Orson

PS ACE makes extremely comprehensive evaluations of course equivalency. For example,
"For 31 years, colleges and universities have trusted ACE to provide reliable course equivalency information to facilitate credit award decisions. Corporations, labor unions, professional and volunteer associations, schools, training suppliers, and government agencies, offering courses from Arabic to Waste Management, participate in this added-value service."
http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/CCRS/index.htm

They even offer a transcription service, something rarely mentioned here.