Need 21 upper level units for Excelsior College

I just had an unofficial credit evaluation for the BS in Liberal Arts, Liberal Studies option and I have been told I am 21 units away from meeting degree requirements.

All 21 units need to be upper division credit, plus I assume I also need to complete the mathematics requirement which would add another 3 units since I don't think there is any upper level math class I could take since the highest level of math I've completed is intermediate algebra.

I also need 12 units of breadth requirements within the 21 units.

Any suggestions on online courses or exam to take to complete the mathematics requirement and the other requirements listed above?

Sounds like I need 7 three-unit upper level courses, plus a math course.

 

For the Math requirement: Math for Business and Finance or College Math from Penn Foster should work. The courses run about $165. You'll have to call the business office to order.

For the 21 upper division credits: BYU and LSU will be your least expensive options. If you like psychology, BYU has a bunch of upper division psych classes. My wife has taken two so far. They aren't a cake walk but they aren't back breakers either.

Pug

 

I'll check out BYU and LSU. I'll probably take a math course rather than an examination and maybe 3 or 4 other upper level DL courses.
Are there any recommendations for examinations such as CLEP that might fulfill 9-12 upper level credits and maybe also fulfill the breadth requirement or am I better off taking courses for the entire remaining 21 units plus math?

 

All CLEP exams are lower level. You could take some ECE exams for upper or maybe DANTES.

 

So, are DANTES and ECE exams and exam preparation faster than taking a course if you are starting with no knowledge of the subject or are they only suitable for those who already know the covered material?

 

That depends entirely on how well and quickly you can learn things on your own. The upper level ECE's I have taken have been keyed to specific textbooks and I have studied for them by reading the textbook. Some ECE's and DANTES are reputedly easier than others. BAin4weeks.com has a difficulty rating for many of the exams, although some of the newer ECE's aren't there.

If you genuinely have no knowledge, I think a course would be easier, although studying on your own could still be faster if you are a good studier.

 

These are relatively inexpensive, give you 21 credits and the psych courses fulfill the breadth requirement. There are no duplication of credits there and all are doable.

Excelsior College Exams - All upper level credit

Ethics: Theory and Practice
3 credits
$185

BioEthics: Philosophical Issues
3 credits
$185 - ???

Foundations of Gerontology
3 credits
$185

Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
3 credits
$185

Social Psychology
3 credits
$185 - ???

Abnormal Psychology
3 credits
$185

(probably the hardest, because of statistics)
Research Methods in Psychology
3 credits
$185

World Conflicts since 1900
3 credits
$185

World Population
3 credits
$185

Literacy Instruction in Elementary School
6 credits
$295

Cultural Diversity
3 credits
$185 - ???

Juvenile Delinquency
3 credits
$185 - ???

here are some learning resources I used for Psychology

http://www.sdlearn.com/product_p/001010617.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-EZ-101-Study-Keys-Baucum/dp/0812095804/sr=1-2/qid=1165352795/ref=sr_1_2/103-3744884-1847066?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Psychology-Test-Graduate-Prep/dp/0375764925/sr=1-4/qid=1165352834/ref=sr_1_4/103-3744884-1847066?ie=UTF8&s=books

this goes on sale often for $99
http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=197&id=197&d=Theories+of+Human+Development&pc=Social%20Sciences

then
any college textbook for Intro to Psychology
I used the book from this course, although I didn't take this course
http://www.ohiou.edu/independent/online/2psy101/introduction.pdf

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Psychology-Gateways-Behavior-Technology/dp/053461227X

for gerontology
http://www.roxbury.net/images/pdfs/ESG_Student_Study_Guide.pdf

for ethics
http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-Ethics-Mel-Thompson/dp/0071419608/sr=1-2/qid=1165352960/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-3744884-1847066?ie=UTF8&s=books

 

I should have an official evaluation in a few weeks, so I will have a better idea of exactly what I need then.

That certainly is a lot of psychology-related exams.
Is psychology the most abundant subject available by exam? I have no particularly strong interest in psychology, but will do that if they are the best choice.

So, you have to still buy random subject-related books to prepare for these exams? They do not give you a study guide with instruction on what specific books to read before attempting the exams?

 

EC exam guides

There are free exam guides available from Excelsior. You need a MyEC login, then go to Exclesior publications request to find the pdf's.

The EC exams that I have taken have been geared to specific textbooks which are recommended in the study guide. The newer tests seem more specifically geared to specific texts than some of the older exams.

 

Elizabeth is correct. If you go to their website, get an id and log on, then you can download the free pdf that will tell you the recommended books and will give you an outline to study.

You can even pay for the entire study package from Excelsior's bookstore. This includes the books and I believe a more detailed study guide (week 1 study this, week two study this)
This is useful for people who have trouble sticking to a schedule.

I prefer the much cheaper route of generic books. Why spend $70 for a Social Psych book, another $70 for an Abnormal Psych book, another $70 ... and so on

You can do just fine with the $9 Barons ez 101, the $19 GRE and the $70 Intro to Psych. Those are enough to pass most all of Excelsior's Psych exams.

Also, I thought the requirement is 2 breadth/depths. Two different subjects. Each 12 credits. Minimum of 3 upper level for each breadth.

If you aren't into Psych, how do you like history? There are plenty of history exams at Excelsir and Ohi University.

Or education? Excelsior has the 6 upper level credit Literacy exam I posted above.

What do you like?

 

I got my official evaluation and it matches the unofficial one. It also turns out my math requirement was already met.

Here is what they say I need:

"Listed below are the requirements you still need to complete:

General Education (Arts & Sciences Requirement)

21.00 semester hours at the upper level

Depth Requirements

A depth in the Arts & Sciences

Each depth consists of at least 12 semester hours in one specific
discipline, including 3 hours at the upper level."







So, I need seven 3-unit upper level Arts and Sciences courses or exams and I also need to complete a depth requirements within that.

So, would taking 7 Excelsior examinations after using their study guides to prepare for the exams be the quickest way to knock this out?

 

Yes 2 are required, but I found out one of the depth requirements was already met by courses I transferred in to Excelsior.

 

These are the choices I'm considering to complete the 21 upper level units and the remaining depth requirement:


World Population
Organizational Behavior
Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
Foundations Of Gerontology
Cultural Diversity or Religions of the World
Juvenile Delinquency
World Conflicts Since 1900


I had a course in a community college several years ago called "Minorities in America" so I'm not sure if they would consider Cultural Diversity duplicate credit even though the exam is upper level.

How does that plan sound?
They are all under "Social Science/History" grouping (as opposed to Humanities or Natural Sciences/Mathematics), so should that take care of the depth requirement or is it so specific that I would have to take 4 psychology or 4 sociology department exams to get meet the 12 unit depth requirement?

Any advice on test preparation?
Is it better to register at Excelsior for only one exam at a time?

 

The depth requirement is specific and must be 4 courses in a single subject not the broad heading social sciences/history.

 

If Cultural Diversity is different enough from my lower level Minorities in America course credit to be allowed, it looks like even that definition of the depth requirement would be met since it would be 4 Sociology department exams.

If not, they don't have enough sociology exams for me to meet the depth requirement with sociology exams.
I would then have to remove two of the other exams and substitute 2 more psychology exams.

Abnormal Psychology and Social Psychology?

 

DANTES exams
http://www.getcollegecredit.com/04learners_a.html

CLEP exams
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/exams.html

Ohio University Course Credit By Examination
http://www.ohiou.edu/independent/ccecourse.htm

Thomas Edison State college Examinations
http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/pdf/catalog.pdf
page 101

Possible Depths: My guess only. I have not tried any of these with Excelsior, but I think they should all work.

History
Any of the below totaling 12 credits as long as 3 are upper

American Government-CLEP-3-Lower
U.S. History I: Early Colonizations to 1877-CLEP-3-Lower
U.S. History II: 1865 to the Present-CLEP-3-Lower
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648-CLEP-3-Lower
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present-CLEP-3-Lower
A History of the Vietnam War-DANTES-3-Lower
Western Europe since 1945-DANTES-3-Lower
An Introduction to the Modern Middle East-DANTES-3-Lower
Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union-DANTES-3-Upper
The Civil War and Reconstruction-DANTES-3-Upper
World Conflicts since 1900-Excelsior-3-Upper


Education
??????-?????-3-Lower
Foundations of Education-DANTES-3-Lower
Literacy Instruction in Elementary School-Excelsior-6-Upper

Criminal Justice
??????-?????-3-Lower
Introduction to Law Enforcement-DANTES-3-Lower
Criminal Justice-DANTES-3-Lower
Juvenile Delinquency-Excelsior-3-Upper

Business
Principles of Accounting-CLEP-6-Lower
Introductory Business Law-CLEP-3-Lower
Business Law II-DANTES-3-Upper

Psychology
Any of the below totaling 12 credits as long as 3 are upper

Introductory Psychology-CLEP-3-Lower
Human Growth and Development-CLEP-3-Lower
Introduction to Educational Psychology-CLEP-3-Lower
Foundations of Gerontology-Excelsior-3-Upper
Psychology of Adulthood and Aging-Excelsior-3-Upper
Social Psychology-Excelsior-3-Upper
Abnormal Psychology-Excelsior-3-Upper

Sociology
??????-?????-3-Lower
Introductory Sociology-CLEP-3-Lower
Introduction to World Religions-DANTES-3-Lower
Cultural Diversity-Excelsior-3-Upper

 

I can only use upper level courses. I'm already more than maxed out on lower level credit.

These are the examinations I plan to take from Excelsior:

world population
psychology of adulthood and aging
foundations of gerontology
juvenile delinquency
social psychology
organizational behavior
religions of the world


Is this a good order to take them?

Should I substitute a different exam for organizational behavior (such as abnormal psychology or world conflicts) if I don't have a business management background?

Any recommendations of preparations for these examinations other than the book list Excelsior College sells?

 

Are GRE exams still an option?

I completed my Excelsior BA in 2004, so my memory may be faulty, but I recall earning a significant number of credit hours by the result of my History GRE exam. I'm certain a number of those hours were upper-division.

I don't believe the history GRE is still being offered, but several other subject tests are still available. You may be able to earn a chunk of the hours you need at one exam sitting.

Regardless, you're close to the finish line. Good luck!


Tony

 

Re: Are GRE exams still an option?

Sadly enough, you are correct; it isn't.

 

Books and Study Materials

I'm planning on these exams to complete the 21 upper level units I need for my degree.

world population
psychology of adulthood and aging
foundations of gerontology
juvenile delinquency
social psychology
organizational behavior
religions of the world


Is the Excelsior bookstore the best or only place to get the test preparation materials needed?