Excelsior: Ok already!!!

Since Excelsior keeps on changing its requirements and getting more and more expensive...

The only reason I wanted to do it with Excelsior is because they have a specific "Associates in Business Degree" as opposed to the plain "Associate in Arts" or "Associate in Science" that COSC has.

But since Excelsior keeps making things more difficult (i.e.,,Change of name from Regents to Excelsior, not accepting CLEP English composition to fulfil the requirement, and now having introduced another money buster fulfilment called Information Literacy Requirement -$240 PLUS textbooks and materials!-). I ask:

Would it be a great deal or unethical if:

1) I finish all my required Business credits according to the Excelsior schedule or another accredited college's schedule.

2) Do any extra requirements to comply with the AS at COSC.

3) Get my AS at COSC

4) In my CV put that I have a "AS with a concentration in Business"? (With an explanation or the schedule of all the business courses I have taken within that AS?).

 

IMO:

1) You can take your courses at any accredited college to be assessed by Excelsior for an Excelsior degree. That is their reason for being.

2) Sure.

3) Sure.

4) Your CV is yours, and your face to the world, so include what is accurate and informative. Listing your courses seems excessive, and likely annoying, unless included or available as ancillary documentation.

 

Have you enrolled with Excelsior? That's the easiest way to ensure you don't get any changes. I enrolled prior to the Info Literacy requirement and therefore didn't have to fulfill it when it became active.

Unfortunately, if you're taking classes/exams with the intent to enroll there's nothing stopping them from changing their requirements. It seems they are slowly replacing exams with courses (such as Business Policy/Strategy), but I'm glad I enrolled (and finished) when I did.

Cheers,
Mark

 

I agree with Decimon, listing your courses on a CV seems excessive. The only logical reasons I can see for listing courses on a CV (since transcripts can always be provided upon request) are the following:


• If your degree major is in a field unrelated to the position sought, and you have taken courses that directly relate to the specific skills required for the job.

• If you have taken additional or specialist courses that will display advanced or specialized knowledge in an area pertinent to a position sought.

• If specific courses, and a designated amount of training in key areas are required for employment in the position sought (Usually a potential employer would request a transcript or other form of proof in such cases, consequently listing classes may not be necessary.)

• If you have taken relevant courses from a “prestige” school or an educational department known in your trade or profession for it’s excellence in a related area to the position sought. (This may, in some cases, justify inclusion. Example: If you are seeking a job in IT and have earned a degree from one of the big 3 schools, yet have taken relevant courses with MIT, Stanford or Carnegie Mellon, listing those classes might carry some weight and justify inclusion in a CV.)

 

Enrolling:
I had to choose at some point whether to use my scarce resources to continue testing out or enrolling. Tests are really expensive for me because I have to travel to a different country to take them.
Also I find it hard to study whilst working so most of my studies are done during non-earning periods without work, like now.

Common sense would have dictated long ago that getting a degree in an American University is just not viable for me, but probably one has to leave common sense aside when embarking it certain important projects in life...

Anyways, the plan I outlined to leave Excelsior out for my AS in Business doesn't look that great after having checked all the different requirements for the AS at COSC...(quite different from Excelsior's, for which I have most requirements by now)..

 

Hmmmm,

I guess I am scratching my head a little while reading your post. It would seem Excelsior has made exactly one change that has you dissuaded from enrolling there. They added the Info Literacy requirement which at $240 plus books is comparable with the cost of one community college class. EC has disallowed the CLEP English requirement as long as I can remember. The name change came about several years ago and didn't effect their degree requirements at all. The one additional class certainly does NOT seem a formidable obstacle.

Without additional info my advice would be to suck it up and take the one class from EC. Then POOF you are finished and a grduate! If you are making the change for other more substantial reasons and understand the cost of additional classes may be much higher than the one EC class, charge on! As to your question I would list the AS with a concentration in business as you suggest without listing the courses. Best of luck!

 

There are no textbooks involved with the INL 102 course and you can knock it out in few hours.

Another option is to take the 1 CR course, LIS 1001, Library Research Methods and Materials, offered by LSU extended studies. Excelsior will accept it and at last check, ran about $83.

 

Re: Re: Excelsior: Ok already!!!

Thanks I'll check that...uuummm add maybe $100 for proctor in Europe...plus postage costs to Europe...

 

Re: Re: Excelsior: Ok already!!!

Yes, I guess I am a bit out of date. You see, I was enrolled at Regents for a year around 1997 or 1998. One of the first CLEPS I did was the English composition.

It's been a long time now, yes, you are right, but the dissapointment/disgust at when

1) They changed their name to Excelsior (which I really dislike)
2) They changed their English composition requirement -therefore invalidating the great effort I had put into my Clep Ec (I had spent several months doing practice essays, etc.) since by then I had not re-enrolled as was busy for several years without being able to continue studying again till about 2 years ago.

still persists...

Anyways I'll probably have to comply with their new requirements. Now what I have to do is hurry and study, exam, enroll, graduate before there are any more changes...which there will be of course (never cheaper in our pockets, I can assure you!)

 

LSU is the way to go

Yeah he is right take this class LIS 1001, Library Research Methods and Materials, offered by LSU; it is cheaper then the excelsior course. I am enrolled in that class right now because I plan to transfer it in to fill that requirement I need for Excelsior BS Business Degree. It is cheaper to pay 83 bucks at LSU vs almost $300 dollars for a 1 credit hr class through Excelsior.

I signed up for this class in Feb 05 through LSU. I should have been done with it but got caught up in other things that kept me from being able to do the work for this course. The class at LSU you only need to turn in 4 Lessons to complete the entire course. (In each Lesson there is about 3 chapters assigned to turn in for that lesson, In my opinion it is a real blow off course; you are just researching stuff from the internet and library on how to lookup stuff then turn in the assignment) Then you have a midterm after lesson 3 and a final after lesson 4. If you stick with it you should be able to finish this course in less than a month because they allow you to send up to 3 lessons every 7 day period.

 

Re: Re: Re: Excelsior: Ok already!!!

Regarding the change from Regents to Excelsior, I too preferred the former name. If memory serves, that change was the product of a reorganization of some kind. I think it was due to a separation from a larger state system.

It seems a common occurrence to have the college one had previously attended change their name. Some change from “…College” to “University”. Others drop the “junior” part of “…Junior College”. While still others change the name to reflect a new structure, offerings or future plans. Perception, politics and even marketing can all factor into such decisions. Two of the schools I’ve attended have had a name change. One, a regionally accredited, Brick and Mortar institution, has changed their name twice (I believe) since the 1980s. Although both names are a variation of the former name, I didn’t see anything wrong with the original.

 

I believe that there may be a bit miscommunication going on here. A CV in Europe and a CV in the USA seems to be different. For example, it is common in Europe for professionals to have a little book with all the classes they ever took, even business seminars and that type of thing. The explanation given to me was that degrees were less common and so it increased the need to keep track of the professional training during one's carreer. In the USA, this is not done and would be considered unusual.

 

Re: Re: Excelsior: Ok already!!!

Are these courses in effect now? Can I enroll right now and still test out without taking any "courses"? "Courses" sounds both expensive and time consuming compared to testing out.

 

Excelsior courses are available, but they are not a requirement. I think it is almost always a better idea to enroll as soon as you have decided to attend Excelsior and then proceed with the help of an advisor. This prevents you from wasting your time with tests that might duplicate past credits or otherwise not count toward your degree while at the same time locking in the rules and requirements of your curriculum. In my case, enrollment also sped up my progress by motivating me to finish before the next fee came due.

 

Re: Re: Re: Excelsior: Ok already!!!

Yes, and it seems as though they are slowly reducing the amount of ECEs available.

For example, in Sept 2003 they stopped offering the Production/Operations exam. In Sept 2004 they stopped offering the Business Policy/Strategy exam.

Others offer replacements - TESC is one - but they are often more expensive and less convenient than taking the ECE version. Excelsior no doubt makes much more on a course than on an exam and they are a for-profit institution.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Does the Information Literacy Requirement apply to all degrees or only the Associates in business?


Thanks

 

As I recall, it applies to every degree if one enrolled after January 1, 2004.

 

They are still a non-profit as they have always been.

 

Re: LSU is the way to go

Yes, I have LSU bookmarked. I was thinking of taking their English composition course instead of taking the Excelsior exam to fulfill that other requirement.
What i have to check though is the cost of proctoring for the all too many exams that their courses have.

 

Hello if your an enrolled student the course is 195.00 and does not require books or extra materials.