Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies from Excelsior - Help me help my dad

hows it going for him?

 

Slowly, hence the silence in this thread. Shortly after his near-miss with the American Government CLEP, my dad was called back to work, and was working in another state until a few weeks ago when things dried up and he was laid off again. Right after being laid off, his computer quit on him (dead hard drive), so he's not been in a situation where working on the degree has been a top priority.

On the other hand, things are going fairly well with the other students in my family. My "step-nephew" is finishing his second semester at the local community college and is looking to graduate with an associate's degree next spring instead of just earning 15 credits to be eligible for the military. My younger brother has two classes and three CLEP exams between him and his associate's in Pre-Business, and is planning to finish up in the fall semester.

I'll chat with my dad and see if I can help him get motivated - he knows about this thread, and I think it would do him some good to know there are people out there rooting for him. Thanks!

--Fortunato

 

I did a quick analysis for the Excelsior AS and came up that your dad would need 12 units (I could be wrong here).
3 of the humanities units must be in a specific area (see catalog page 16) such as music, art, or religion.

Good for your dad that he wants to earn a degree - I was in my 50s when I earned my BS from Excelsior.

 

Hi Ian!

I saw your message and grabbed the catalog to see what the breakdown would look like. Given that he's completed the Social Sciences and History CLEP since I first posted, it looks like he's actually only 7 credits shy of the AS, as opposed to being 10 credits from the AA. Do you (or does anyone else) know if passing the Humanities CLEP covers the requirement that you refer to above?

Thanks,
Fortunato

 

My guess would be no, but the DSST test in World Religion looks like it might meet the requirement.
You need to check with Excelsior to be sure.

 

Revised Degree Plan for ASLS

Okay, so after Ian pointed out that the AS may be a quicker route than the AA, I respun the degree plan with the AS as the target and taking into account the additional credit Dad has earned through testing.

Here's what I came up with:

Arts and Sciences Electives
3 Credits Required
Have:
CH 205 for 3 credits

Written English
3 Credits Required
Have:
ENG 111 for 3 credits

Humanities
9 Credits Required
Have:
ENG 112 for 3 credits
Proposed:
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature for 6 credits

Social Sciences / History
9 Credits Required
Have:
HI 205 for 3 credits
CLEP Social Sciences and History for 6 credits

Natural Science / Mathematics
6 Credits Required
Have:
CH 497 for 3 credits
MA 301 for 3 credits

Applied Professional Electives
29 Credits Required
Have:
CH 101 for 4 credits
CH 107 for 4 credits
CH 221 for 4 credits
PY 205 for 4 credits
CSC 111 for 2 credits
MA 102 for 4 credits
MA 201 for 4 credits
MA 202 for 4 credits

Information Literacy
1 Credit Required
Have: None
Proposed:
Penn Foster ENG 103 for 1 credit

Chemistry Area of Focus
15 Credits Required
Have: 18 Chemistry credits

So by changing from an AA to and AS, we end up losing one three credit exam from the degree program, and I replaced the 6 credit Humanities exam with the 6 credit Analyzing and Interpreting Exam that has been indicated on the testing board to meet the Humanities requirement.

Here's the remaining costs to be paid out:

$75 Application Fee
$895 Enrollment Fee
$95 Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
$90 Penn Foster ENG 103
$495 Graduation Fee

Total $1650 to graduate with an AS in Liberal Studies, Area of Focus in Chemistry. Excelsior Gurus, what say ye?

 

I am a Charter Oak Man myself but I have taken a lot of CLEPs. The American Gov one was tough and I only got a 43 on it. As far as Social Studies, these were easy but do not know if they will meet your needs:
DANTES Envir and Humanity (no study)
CLEP Sociology (REA book - 1 week of study)
CLEP History I (REA book - 1 week or so of study but would probably duplicate the general exam)
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature (REA book - 1 week of study)

I heard the Intro to Pysc was easy also. Hope that helps as I am jumping in late.

 

I would think that there would be a more viable option and that would be to transfer in all of his credits that your father has earned to Clovis Community College (Your College Search Solution: Clovis Community College, Clovis, New Mexico). Clovis Community Colleges offers an Associates of General Studies and an Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies.

Most people don't realize that some community colleges only require 15 credits (5 courses) to meet a residency requirement. So your Dad could transfer in all of his courses and would most likely be able to earn his Associate's degree with just taking 5 courses (15 credits).

The nice part about Clovis Community College is that it's inexpensive. You can register for two courses (6 credits) a semester as a non-resident student and it costs around $225.00 for both courses, plus the cost of books. But, this would be far less expensive and another option to consider.

I'm not steering you away from any of the Big Three, but he could get his Associates from Clovis Community College and then make a transfer to one of the Big Three. The only thing is whether or not your father could handle taking online courses. That would be something you would need to determine.

 

Cost is a factor, but it's not the only factor. One of the appeals of "testing out" at one of the "Big 3" is that Dad can prep for CLEP tests just about anywhere and proceed at his leisure. At 61 years old, he is not earning a degree for career advancement, he's simply going back and finishing something he started over 40 years ago. Clovis is a good school, and I've recommended it to people myself in the past, but right now, the way I look at is that assuming my degree plan is good to go as-is, my dad is 120 multiple-choice questions from his degree at Excelsior, while it would take him at least an extra year with Clovis, assuming he could get his course sequence exactly right. Being able to put school behind him and hang the degree on the wall now is worth the extra money to me.

 

Before you commit to the penn Foster course make sure it complies with Excelsior's requirements or obtain advance approval from Excelsior.
https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/My_Excelsior_College/Publications/Information_Literacy_FAQ.pdf

 

PFC's ENG 103 has been accepted to fulfill the Excelsior Information Literacy requirement for many posters in the degreeforum.net thread referenced above by Alissa, most recently in January 2010. I think that one is safe, but right now I'm leaning towards going ahead and paying the $75 to Excelsior to get Dad's initial evaluation done, then verifying the plan I've laid out.