Excelsior

I'm not sure what I paid for a TESC evaluation, or exactly what the tuition was as an out of state student. But, I can say that I would be very surprised if TESC did not accept all of your wife's credits. Here is the BA in Liberal Studies credit distribution: http://www.tesc.edu/3619.php

Essentially, that page means exactly what it says. If there is a class which can be considered non remedial English Composition, it will be accepted. Same with humanities, social sciences, etc. From CLEP, to DSST, to ACE credits from training programs, I never once had TESC say no to credits I was proposing.

I know I was a bit confused at first by what the school meant with their Liberal Studies Area. Don't let their example distributions throw you off - there are only two requirements. One, there must be no more than two 100 level courses. Two, the courses must be liberal arts (non technical). Other than that, you can put any course you would like into the concentration and it will be accepted.

As you can see, the degree is extremely flexible with the only real requirement being a (low) minimum number of credits in certain liberal arts areas.

 

$2,300 for the first year at TESC is correct. It's pricey. But it can be really quick if you're doing CLEPs. Aside from the two lit exams I mentioned, Child Development and Educational Psychology count as upper level. So does the DSST World Religions. They also gave me child development credit for taking part in a college-run parent daycare co-op years ago.

COSC is doesn't require as *many* UL classes, but the concentration rules seemed tough to me. You really have to justify why every class belongs in the concentration. Since I have been taking classes for the hell of it for years, I have a pretty motley assortment of subjects. But they are all liberal arts, which is what TESC requires for the Liberal Studies degree.

Oh, re the Excelsior question--EC considers 200-level classes lower level, so they would not accept those literature CLEPs as UL.

 

>>

Abner, both my husband and I decided to get our degrees at the same time. We sent both TESC and EC the ap fees and our transcripts. (so we paid $150 each) It sounds like a lot, but its not in the grand plan of things. Actually it costs about the same as a text book. I wanted the formal evaluations WRITTEN in black and white to compare and choose the school that was the best fit. From there, we looked at credits granted AND the requirements for the degrees we wanted. There was a difference, and so sometimes credits granted isn't the only factor. Consider how easily you can meet the remaining requirements. For me TESC worked the best, for my husband, he went with an entirely different college- but we had all the facts and that really helped us make solid decisions.

 

Thanks to you, Vincey and everyone for their comments. Your comments about TESC have really made me think. The tuition is higher than Excelsior, however, it would save time and headaches in the long run. Here is what I am thinking. We fill out an application, submit all transcripts of prior credit to TESC, and receive an evaluation. This would then give us a game plan. Kim would not formally enroll until all of her requirements were met (even if it is past the 6 months and we pay another $75.00 eval. fee), then enroll and pay the $2,300.00, plus any other applicable fees. My goal would be for her finish it all off within in the year to avoid another years of enrollment fees. What do you think?

Abner

 

Can someone help me find the BA/BS requirements for Excelsior?

Hi,

Can someone help me find the BA/BS distribution requirements list of courses/coursework required for the Excelsior BA/BS in Liberal Studies? If you find it, please post the link. Although I am leaning heavily towards TESC at this point, I would like to compare the Excelsior requirements to the TESC requirements. I must say Vincey and June have made some good arguments.

Thanks,

Abner

 

Excelsior will not take a 200 level as upper level (nor will most other colleges) and that does add some advantage to TESC in your case. TESC simply addresses what is upper level differently than most.

Transferability of the CC classes isn't as much the issue as is what it the level of the coursework.

This page at Excelsior may answer a lot of your questions and will point you to the publication page that has the gen ed core requirements on it.

 

If you go to Excelsior's publication page you can get all the brochure's for the different programs. You have to register (it's free) to access them. If you don't want to register you can pm your email address and I'll send their liberal arts catalog to you, which has an exact breakdown of the requirements for both the BA and BS degrees. You can also get the guide for testing from them (or me) that shows exactly where each CLEP, DSST, and ECE exam fall under.

When I first started looking into the big 3 I was all but set to go with TESC until I really looked at the requirements for each. With TESC you can only do 27 elective credits (credits other than arts and sciences) of which I had more than that, so Excelsior's BS made much more sense to me since you can do 60 credits of non arts and sciences.

Hope this helps,

Jared

 

Exactly, this is what I think. I will request evaluations from both TESC and EC, to me it is $150.00 well spent. I am getting excited for my wife, you would think I am the one going after this degree!

Thanks everyone for you comments! Keep them coming, even if they seem inconsequential. Any little thing or piece of knowledge is helpful.

Abner

 

Jared - I just sent you a PM

Hi Jared,

The pm notification does not work sometimes, I just sent you a PM.

Thanks so much!

Abner

 

This information is very valuable, if anyone has information to offer, I have created a study (reference thread) for anyone evaluating Liberal Studies for Excelsior vs TESC

Please leave comments and suggestions here
http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=27550