COSC is expicit about what it takes to qualify for honors at graduation. Both discussion boards and The Chronicle of Higher Education have indicated that Excelsior does the same--already (since when? how?) from the former source--and "latin honors" (in the future) according to the latter. What's the story? I have yet to read from Regents/Excelsior literature that honors at graduation is offered. Of course, such a benefit from a degree completion program is its ready recognition from grad school programs. Does anybody here know?
The honors thing at COSC is (was at least)a bit tricky. Although most of the exams I took were assigned a letter grade, They were not elgible for a GPA. So although my GPA would have been a 3.85 (I think). I was not elgible for honors. It seemed at the time that the whole honors process was pretty obscure, perhaps it has changed by now.
I just got my Business Degree Programs catalog from Exceslior and page 43 discusses honors. Latin honors are conferred to undergraduate students and honors to associate degree students. It lists explicit GPA requirements for each but doesn't elaborate on what comprises it. I do know that credits by examination and transferred credits retain letter grades...I'd have to assume that they are both used to calculate the GPA.
The 1999-2000 Regents Technology Catalog discusses Latin honors on page 66. GPA 3.5 and up gets them, and you must have a minimum of 30 letter-graded credit-hours to qualify. Note well that Regents (Excelsior) grants only pass/fail status for certain exams submitted for credit (this seems to vary and I don't have a complete list, but ICCP technology exams are one example).
Mark is correct. Excelsior College awards letter grade credit for CLEP subject exams, DANTES exams, and for Regents College exams (RCE AKA ECE). Other standardized exams are credited on a pass/fail basis. So far as I knew, COSC did not and does not award letter grade credit for standardized proficiency examinations. Roger may know differently. At Excelsior, Latin honors are awarded where enough letter graded credit has been earned and the calculated GPA is greater than or equal to 3.50. Cum laude GPA 3.50 to 3.74 Magna cum laude GPA 3.75 to 3.89 Summa cum laude 3.90 to 4.00 There is a discussion of examinations, letter grading, and the relative merits of enrolling in COSC, Excelsior, or TESC, depending upon one's individual exam performance, in the "BA in 4 weeks" series. Lawrie, Regents/Excelsior BS Business, summa cum laude
From the Charter Oak State College 2000-2002 Catalog (p. 28): HONORS As an incentive for students to excel, and as a means of recognizing outstanding achieve-ment, the Academic Council includes in its recommendation for award of degrees at the baccalaureate level a further recommendation for award of honors as follows: 1. Honors for Overall Outstanding Academic Achievement Based on a minimum of 60 graded credits (including approved grade equivalents for exams) and a QPA of 3.5 or better. 2. Honors for Recent Outstanding Academic Achievement Based on a QPA of 3.5 or better for the last 30 graded credits earned (including approved grade equivalents for exams). Email with their helpful staff informs me that "QPA" means "GPA," and that this will be changed in the catalog's next edition. Regent (Excelsior) College Technology Degree Programs Catalog, 1999-2000 (p.66) reads: ACADEMIC HONORS Regents College awards Latin hons to its baccalaureate-level graduates with GPAs of 3.5 and above who have earned at least 30 graded credits. In addition to being recognized in the annual commencement program, those graduates recieve diplomas with special gold seals and notation of the level of Latin honors they have achieved, as listed below: Cum Laude GPA of 3.5 to 3.74 Magna Cum Laude GPA of 3.75 to 3.89 Summa Cum Laude GPA of 3.9 or above (Honors are also offered for associate-level graduates.) Thank you Mark, et. al. However, COSC does recognize standardized tests for letter-grade equivalency--save CLEP General Exams (same for Excelsior/Regents)--and also excepting Excelsior/Regents exams. Upon some correspondence with COSC, I learned that they say they don't have enough data on which to evaluate Excelsior/Regents exams--nor do they plan to do so in the future (perhaps because there is little demand from their small population of students served). --Orson ------------------
Thank you, Orson. What is the source of your information regarding letter grading of proficiency examinations at COSC (other than the private correspondence about not grading RCE exams)? Does this information appear on the COSC web site or in the printed catalog? I can find only passing score data on the COSC proficiency exam pages on the web site and on the (old) printed catalog I have. No word about letter grading proficiency exams at all. You'd think that is where they'd stick such important information. I want to amend the "BA in 4 Weeks" article information, if I can verify your information. Also, I assume there must be some scale for the standard pass score or the percentile pass score achieved, at which particular letter grades are awarded (A, B, C). I have not been able to find any reference. As said, I've checked the web site page dealing specifically with the issue proficiency exams and required scores, and there is nothing there on letter grading of exams. Letters appear, but these relate to the level of the exam (B=Basic; I=Intermediate; U=Upper division). http://www.cosc.edu/enrolled/testing.htm I also checked the catalog PDF file with the latest (2000-2002) amended information on COSC's proficiency examination policies. No luck here either. Again, if you're going to find any information on letter grading of proficiency exams, you'd think this was where you'd find it. http://www.cosc.edu/forms/Testing%202000.pdf Further, I downloaded the latest catalog PDF file and searched for any reference detailing the award BY COSC of letter grades for proficiency exams, but could find none. There are references to *transfer credit* based on proficiency exams, but that's a different thing. I can think of the special situation where a student of Excelsior has *a transcript* containing letter graded credit for proficiency exams, who then transfers to COSC and has letter grade credit awarded on the basis OF *the transcript*, but that's not what we're talking about. http://www.cosc.edu/cat.pdf Help me out here if you can, Orson, with any or all of the following. Cite the document that states COSC itself awards letter grades for proficiency exams, and that details how COSC awards letter grades for proficiency exams, and the specific proficiency exams types (CLEP, DANTES etc.) for which COSC awards letter grades. I can find no reference at all. In the "BA in 4 Weeks" articles, I say that COSC does not itself award letter grade credit for proficiency exams. I can find nothing to contradict that in this latest search. Help me out with a few quotes and a citation or two, if you can. If you were given the info by a COSC representative, could I have a contact name and telephone number?
On page 25 of the 2000-2001 COSC student handbook "Total hours with Grades: Reflects only hours earned in courses with a letter grade. 'Pass' credits and LETTER grades assigned to standardized exams are not included." This is not specific to either subject or general exams, as a COSC student I would think that CLEP grades would not count. Of course with what I have transfered in I am not real worried about HONOURS any way Dan Snelson COSC class of "some time this summer"
Ah, thank you, Dan. I think what you have quoted is quite specific, and in the absence of any qualifier or caveat, applies to *all* standardized exams. You quoted from the referenced text with page number. You gave the title of the cited text in full, removing any confusion. It seems then, from the little hard evidence available, that COSC does NOT award letter grades (or indeed recognize letter grades awarded elsewhere?) for proficiency / standardized examinations.
I just received a clarification from COSC, which explains that Lawrie and Dan are mistaked due to a recently changed policy: "Dear Mr. Olson, Grade equivalents for exams do count toward Honors for Overall Outstanding Academic Achievement and for Honors for Recent Outstanding Academic Achievement. This is a fairly new policy for Charter Oak and it may be that the two publications went for printing at different times which would account for the discrepancy. Please note that not all exams have grade equivalents. The CLEP English Composition with Essay is an example of one that does not have a grade equivalent. If I have not answered your question adequately, please feel free to contact me and I will be glad to provide further information. Sincerely, Linda Larkin Director of Academics Services"
Reading this reply, I'm still not sure we're on the same page. I still have been unable to find any document confirming COSC directly awards letter grade credit for standardized proficiency exams (CLEP, DANTES, ECE, TECEP). Anyway, I've written the following to the Director of Academics Services - ************************************************************** AWARD OF LETTER GRADE CREDIT FOR STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONS Dear Ms. Larkin, I wonder if you could help clarify COSC practices. Does COSC itself, directly award letter grade credit for standardized proficiency examinations, such as CLEP subject, DANTES, and Excelsior College exams (formally Regents College exams, and ACT/PEP, prior to that)? If so, what is the letter grading system in use (e.g., A, B, C, Fail, or A, B, C, D, E, F)? Is there a COSC document detailing the specific required standard scores or percentile scores for the award of letter grades in each exam? If there is, when will that document be made available on the COSC web site? If there is not, how then can letter grade credit be awarded? If there is such a COSC assessment rubric now in place, will letter grades awarded for suitable scores in the relevant standardized proficiency exams, appear on the final transcript? * Thank you, Lawrie Miller ************************************************************** *[This last bit important, since it will contribute to GPA calculations by graduate school admissions]
Hello Lawrie and Orson. I am just curious as to whether anyone found out the real story on this? I would be extremely interested in knowing if cosc.edu uses CLEP, GRE subject exams, AP, etc. for calculating GPA. I've been checking google and have already combed thru all their materials looking for an answer in writing, but have yet to find it. You would think this sort of thing would be more readily available... Thanks a million, Dave
I couldn't agree with you more over the point made in that last sentence, Dave. Anyway, I'll let COSC speak for themselves by reproducing their reply to my query. I do not think I am breaking any confidences here or abusing anyone's privacy by relaying their comments in full. It's pretty dry, standard stuff. To understand the context, see my post detailing the original inquiry. ********************** Dear Ms. Miller, I will try to answer your questions concerning COSC's award of grade equivalents for standardized exams. 1.) COSC awards a letter grade based on the recommendation of CLEP and DANTES. The grades equivalents are arrived at based on the test company's extensive norming of the exams. 2.) Excelsior College does not provide the norming data that is necessary for COSC's faculty to comfortably support the award of letter grades for the Excelsior College exams. 3.) COSC awards letter grades for CLEP subject exams, except for the language tests, and for DANTES exams. 4.) The letter grade system used is A,B,C, and P. P is awarded for an exam that falls within the SEM. Students may receive credit for one exam that falls within this range. If a student takes an exam and does not pass, no credit is given and it does not appear on the student's record. Therefore, a Fail or grade of D or F will not be awarded for any exam. 5.) Our catalog, Information Bulletin and website do include a list of exams that can be used toward the COSC degree. The minimum score required is listed for each exam. 6.) We do not list the scores required for each of the grade equivalents for each exam because they are different for each exam and are based on norming of the exams. When our faculty reviews exams prior to their acceptance for credit at COSC, they look at both the content and the technical data which supports award of letter grades. 7.) Letter grades for exams do appear on transcripts and they are counted toward the student's GPA which determines eligibility for honors. A GPA does not, however, appear on the transcript. SNIP Sincerely, Linda Larkin Director of Academic Services ******************* Bottom line, yes, they do letter grade some exams, but not RCE/ECE. Yes, the grades will be used in calculating GPA for the purposes of awarding honors, but no GPA will appear on the transcript (we knew that - but it wont stop graduate schools calculating GPA). No, they wont tell you how they arrive at those letter grades. Point 6) states that they don't list required scores for each letter grade (A, B, C) because the scores are different for each exam and because normed score will vary. This is frankly a ridiculous answer. All exams have different pass scores, and averaged performances diet to diet in the same exam do not vary significantly. Additionally, COSC doesn't seem to worry about this and deems it worthwhile to list every required PASS score for every exam on its web site. Why then would it not be worthwhile to detail the scores required for the remaining letter grades (that would be B, and A, if PASS=C for letter graded exams only)? How would any COSC student, looking to score an "A", know where to set his sights? If COSC letter grades exams, the required scores necessary to achieve those grades should and must be listed, if fair play is to be assured, and equal treatment, transparent. Excelsior/Regents has managed to do this without much complaint or dispute since the letter grading system was introduced there in 1996.
Lawrie: I couldn't agree more. Even institutions such as Kansas State University seem to do a better job. Witness: http://www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/forms/credit/index.pdf Gus Sainz
