I just received an email from Excelsior today that shared the following program changes for all students. Please be aware that if you want to pick and choose which classes are on your transcript you must do so ASAP or risk keeping the lousy grades on thier. Just an FYI


See below.

Recently, President Ebersole has shared some exciting news with you. As of January 1, 2008, students meeting eligibility requirements can qualify to receive federal financial aid benefits. Some of our academic policies and procedures will be changing as of that date. We would like to highlight some of these important changes because they may impact your academic record.

Policy Changes as of January 1, 2008

Transcripts issued by the College will reflect two Grade Point Averages (GPA): one for credits earned through Excelsior College courses and examinations (ECGPA indicated as "Institutional" GPA) and an overall GPA that will reflect the combination of credits earned through Excelsior College courses and examinations, and any credits accepted in transfer.


“D” grades from other institutions will no longer be accepted in transfer on or after January 1, 2008.


All grades, including “D,” “F” and “W” grades, earned in an Excelsior course or on an Excelsior College Examination will be posted on Excelsior College transcripts after January 1, 2008.


Credits in excess of what is needed to complete your degree requirements will no longer be listed on your Excelsior College status report or transcript as of January 1, 2008. Excess credits that are already listed on your status report or transcript will remain; however, if you are considering removing credits to improve your GPA, you must do so in writing prior to January 1, 2008. Please contact us soon if you are considering this option.

__________________
ImustStudy
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A.S. Liberal Arts- Excelsior College

B.S. Criminal Justice- Excelsior College

M.A. Psychology, Organizational Leadership- University of the Rockies (Jan 2011)

CLEP and DANTES
English Comp (62)
College Spanish (76)
Astronomy (56)
Rise and Fall of Soviet Union (50)
Principles of Supervision (60)
Introduction to Law Enforcement (67)
Criminal Justice (59)
Intro to Business (63)
Intro to Sociology (60)

FEMA: 13 units
Penn Foster: Info Literacy, Criminology

Number of classes remaining:
0

Probably this was already posted, but the College Writing exam will no longer be available after Dec. 31, 2007. I have not taken it but I assume it's easier than the Eng 101. So, if you have not fulfilled the Eng. Comp. requirement, and you were thinking about taking this test, do it before the end of the year.
Mateo.

Are you speaking of the ECE College Writing exam? Where did you see this information? I am not challenging you, just curious. Thanks in advance!

~Rich

__________________
Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.
~Aesop


Pursuing B.S. Nuclear Technologies, Excelsior College

Tests Remaining: 0 (0SH)

Tests Taken: 11 (36SH)

CLEP
U.S. Hist I(57), U.S. Hist II(58), Intro Soc(67), A&I Lit(78), American Gov.(61)
DSST
Intro to IS(73), MIS(65), Ethics In America(68), Intro World Rel.(71), General Anthropology(65), Astronomy(69)
Chopping Block
None and DONE!

Hello Stitches, I'm talking about EC College Writing. I enrolled about two weeks ago and among all the documents they sent me, I received the Credit by Examination 2008 assessment catalog. In there, the College Writing exam for 3 credits shows that will no longer be available after Dec. 31.
I just double checked to make sure I was not mistaken. You can get the new catalog on MY EC, and it shows in small print that, in fact, the College Writing exam will be history as of January 1, 2008.

Another suggestion, for those who are considering the GRE as an option for the degree, I checked on the EC page under 'Ways to Earn Credit' and the GRE option is gone. I don't know if it's just an omission or if they're changing the policy. It is my understanding that if you are enrolled, the policies in place at the time of your enrollment should be applicable, but in any event, if you are interested in this option, it doesn't hurt to ask an advisor.

Mateo

Thanks for the info! I may have to change my plans a bit

__________________
Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.
~Aesop


Pursuing B.S. Nuclear Technologies, Excelsior College

Tests Remaining: 0 (0SH)

Tests Taken: 11 (36SH)

CLEP
U.S. Hist I(57), U.S. Hist II(58), Intro Soc(67), A&I Lit(78), American Gov.(61)
DSST
Intro to IS(73), MIS(65), Ethics In America(68), Intro World Rel.(71), General Anthropology(65), Astronomy(69)
Chopping Block
None and DONE!

Does anyone know if Credit Banking a "D" at this point will allow an un-enrolled person to keep that credit? Enrolling is not an option for me right now, but I really don't want to take precal again...

__________________
-Jason
::::::::::::
MCSE 2003
Network+

What are the advantages/disadvantages of enrolling before these change?

I personally have some WF and the likes

Enrolling before these changes take place will give you some flexibility by being under the old rules.

If you have a D and do not want to re-take the class then enroll now. If you don't care then it doesn't matter. I also believe that there is an additional required EC class in addition to the Info Lit Class after Jan 1, 2008.

Can anyone advise?

__________________
ImustStudy
----------------------------------------
A.S. Liberal Arts- Excelsior College

B.S. Criminal Justice- Excelsior College

M.A. Psychology, Organizational Leadership- University of the Rockies (Jan 2011)

CLEP and DANTES
English Comp (62)
College Spanish (76)
Astronomy (56)
Rise and Fall of Soviet Union (50)
Principles of Supervision (60)
Introduction to Law Enforcement (67)
Criminal Justice (59)
Intro to Business (63)
Intro to Sociology (60)

FEMA: 13 units
Penn Foster: Info Literacy, Criminology

Number of classes remaining:
0

It appears that it may not be necessary to remove low grades prior to January 1, 2008. I have to admit that I'm still not 100% clear, but let me share my circumstance and subsequent exchange with my Excelsior advisor.

I recently realized that I have a shot at a final GPA of 3.75 if I'm able to achieve an "A" on the last four of my graded exams/classes. Achieving an "A" on all of them will raise my GPA to 3.74. If I drop my "C" in Business Law and replace it with a CLEP pass, that'll put me over 3.75 and I can graduate Magna Cum Laude. However, If I get even on "B" on any of my last classes/exams, then nothing (reasonable) will get me over 3.75. So, my best course of action is to complete all my classes/exams and replace Business Law last only if it'll help--which will be next year. Otherwise, I won't bother.

So, here's my exchange with my Excelsior advisor:

Me: ...One thing I've learned along the way is that completing exams with an "A" bumps my GPA by about .01--but removing a "C" bumps my GPA by .07! In looking everything over, I think it is in my best interest to remove one more low grade from my transcript. The best option is my "C" in Business Law from SCCC. I would do this ONLY if it made the difference between a 3.75 or something lower. In other words, if I still couldn't hit 3.75 once I dropped Business Law, I would then leave it alone.

I believe the new Jan 1, 2008 rules may impact my ability to do this--although I'm not sure--despite almost being a college graduate! Assumably, the best course of action is to just drop it prior to January 1. However, for my information, would I have the option to do nothing now and take the CLEP Business Law exam after Jan 1 and then designate that score to replace my SCCC Business Law course? Since classes not pertaining to my degree will not be counted after January 1, I think that will work but I want to be sure. Please let me know. Thanks!

Excelsior: ...Yes, you can take the CLEP Business Law after January 1st to replace the grade for your Business Law course. The CLEP is a pass/fail grade so it will not effect your GPA. Taking off the course and adding your A will bring your current GPA up to 3.74. So if you get A's on your other exams it should bring it up even more.

Me: Wow, that would be really great... Thanks again for your prompt reply. Here's what I plan to do:

1. I will not request to remove any further grades from my transcript this year.

2. I will complete my seven remaining exams/classes and look at my "final" GPA.

3. If I've attained at least a 3.75, I will take no further action and ask you process me for graduation.

4. If I have NOT attained at least a 3.75 AND removing my SCCC Business Law "C" grade (and replacing it with a pass on the Business Law CLEP) will provide me with a 3.75 or better, I will take the Business Law CLEP and then ask you to drop the SCCC Business Law class from my transcript.

Good plan? Please confirm...

Excelsior: ...Your plan looks good...

Me: Great, thanks. Not to beat a dead horse, but I just went back and looked at the email we all recently received re. changes beginning January 1, 2008, which read, in part, as follows:

"Credits in excess of what is needed to complete your degree requirements will no longer be listed on your Excelsior College status report or transcript as of January 1, 2008. Excess credits that are already listed on your status report or transcript will remain; however, if you are considering removing credits to improve your GPA, you must do so in writing prior to January 1, 2008. Please contact us soon if you are considering this option."

Also, an on-line correspondent of mine recently inquired re. removing grades and here's what she was told:

"You need to request to have low grades removed from your file prior to January 1st, but you do not need to request official course or exam approval prior to that date."

So, I just wanted to TRIPLE check to make sure I don't have to remove my SCCC Business Law grade prior to Jan 1, 2008. If I understand everything correctly (unlikely), I think what you may be saying is this:

If you take the Business Law CLEP in 2008 and pass--you will have duplicative credit for that class and can choose which to apply to your degree. That will make your SCCC Business Law class "credit in excess of what is needed to complete your degree requirements" which, after Jan 1, will not show on your transcript.

The only thing that makes me nervous about that interpretation is the bit from the Excelsior email which reads:

"Excess credits that are already listed on your status report or transcript will remain"

So, if you could humor me one last time and confirm that I will be able to replace my SCCC Business Law with CLEP Business Law (both in 2008) and that my SCCC grade will NOT remain on my transcript to impact my GPA in any way, I would really appreciate it.

By the way, the only reason I'm so concerned is that I computed all the grades I expect to get which will leave me with a GPA of 3.74. At that point, I'll have to replace the Business Law to get over 3.75--however , I won't bother if I get even one "B" out of my last four graded tests and classes--because then even the Business Law swap won't get me over the 3.75 mark.

Thanks for listening and your prompt responses--as always!

Excelsior: The SCCC Business Law class will be on your record. Then if you decide to take the CLEP and use this for the requirement, the prior course will no longer count toward your GPA. It will still appear on your transcript, but will be coded so that it does not count.

So there you have it--another impossibly long post from me. It appears that you may end up with a GPA for your degree and maybe another GPA for your overall transcript??? I only care about my GPA for the degree, so I'll take my chances so that I don't unnecessarily take Business Law again. I just wanted to get this out there and see what y'all make of it. Thanks.

__________________
Michael

CLEP - ISCA 68, Sociology 72, Psych 73, A&I Lit 61, HG&D 65, Ed Psych 70, Marketing 72, Management 69, Macroeconomics 63, Microeconomics 67
DSST - Intro to Comp 66, MIS 61, Supervision 67, Counseling 58 - no study!, Personal Finance 67, Statistics 60, Criminal Justice 57, Ethics 58, Finance 63 (All A's at EC)
COC - 2007 (Community College) - Acctg I&II 10c, Work/Study 4c, Intro to Research (Info Lit req) 1c, Society and Rock & Roll 3c, Fund of Music 3c, Guitar I & II 4c, Bass Guitar I 2c
ECE - Ethics (A), HRM (B), Organizational Behavior (B) | CSU - Operations Mgmt. (A) | TECEP - Business Policy 80 (CR)

My Excelsior Degree Journey

Bachelor of Science in General Business, cum laude
Excelsior College
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Thanks for taking the time to post this. It is very helpful.