I'm a student at Empire State College, and I've just been told by somebody on the degree planning committee that they may not allow me full credit for some combinations of CLEP tests. Example: the claim is that since the CLEP Social Science and History test is 17% US history, then I should not get credit for the overlap with US History 1. So, the committee may decide to deduct a credit due to the overlap. The same thing with my CLEP College Math and the ECE Statistics. CLEP contains 25% statistics, so they may deduct that, too

I will not make a difference because I have way too many lower level credits, but it does seem petty. Is this normal? Has anybody heard of this occurring at ESC or another college? Do some schools get annoyed if you have allot of CLEP or other tests?

Just curious.

PS, I just passed the ECE test in Org Behavior today.

The majority of schools put a limit on transfer and test credits (usually 30 credits). It seems the exception to this rule is online colleges.

Hi Dan,

Firstly, congratulations on passing OB!

Secondly, each school sets its own policies regarding acceptance of credits from other institutions. Obviously, this also includes the acceptance (or not) of CLEP/DANTES examinations, and partial credits thereof.

From my own research, it seems that your school is rather more strict than most other schools in regards to the actual overlap of CLEP exams. Most schools I have seen, will reject certain exams because of overlap. But I have not heard of any other that literally dissects credits down to the percentage of overlap. That seems a bit much to me. If you think about it, MOST subjects have SOME elements of overlap with various other subjects. There are elements of Math in Accounting, elements of Psychology in Management, elements of Sociology in Criminal Justice, elements of Economics in Marketing, elements of Vietnam War in US History II, elements of Biology in Drug & Alcohol Abuse...and so on.

Anyway, your school HAS chosen to implement such a policy, and there isn't much you can do about that.

If nothing else, your experience should be a reminder to us all of the importance of researching the policies of our own specific school before taking exams. It's always hard to learn, after the fact, that one or more of our exams or credits won't count.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this Dan. At least we are only talking about EXAMS that they may disallow, and not semester-long COURSES. That would be SO much more frustrating.

I hope everything works out well for you in the end.

Don't let them discourage you,
Snazzlefrag

__________________
My name is Rob
So far, I have earned 142 credits (12 not used).

Excelsior College
- BS Psychology (5 courses/exams to go)
- BS Business (2 courses/exams to go)
____________
Upcoming: N/A
In-progress: CSU-Pueblo: Labor Relations course
Most Recently Completed: English Composition at PFC (97).
Exams/Courses Passed To Date (43):
- Courses (4): 1 ECE, 1 CSU-Pueblo, 2 PFC.
- Exams (39): 24 DANTES, 15 CLEP.
GPA: 4.0

__________________
ShotoJuku +
A.S., B.S., M.S.

Always be ready to release your mind and be willing to listen to the advice of others. Remain flexible. - Gichin Funakoshi

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

It's not that I disagree with what my school says, they are basically just looking at the CLEP test content. After thinking about it, they are only complaining about the CLEP general subject tests, which actually are a mix of many different subjects. It just seems petty.

I do have a relatively large amount of test credit - 12 CLEP tests, 3 ECE tests and one ungraded DSST test. I just wonder if they feel annoyed about it or not.

The Empire State College rule is that you can transfer in 75% of your total credit and you must earn at least 32 credits at the school for a bachelors degree. I'm OK with that and they seem to accept many forms of credit, too. I just don't like getting jerked around by the committee which hasn't even looked at my plan for a few months. I may be able to graduate after the summer, but I need to get word from The Committee - so now I don't know whether to take courses in the fall...

Yes, I do feel like jumping to Excelsior and telling Empire where to stick their committee - but I'll wait a little longer.

I recommend jumping ship now. You could at least see what Excelsior will give you for your credits before you decide. If its better... jump over!

hi, I am with esc college too, and I am very confused about what credits they accept. I am especially nervous about the 45 advanced credits which is not from cleps and dantes or others... Do I have to do them all with them or is there any other way of getting them?
I am thinking of jumping ship to Exelcior but I was referred to ESC since I was told they have the best financial aid plans. Do you know what EC accepts as far as tap or pel grants?
Anyway do you know if EC also has demands for advanced credits and how much you can get from prior learning from them?
I don't recomend jumping before knowing what waters you're going into, maybe we can be of help to each other at this time. By the way what was your major?
good luck
Dina

I am actually supposed to take the sociology clep this week, but am thinking of changing it to history since sociology is not a requirement and history is, I also took intro to psychology, do you know if they overlap? Do you know what the requirements are?
thanks

Congrats on passing your exam!! IMHO, I'd jump ship as well to a school like EC which is definitely more flexible regarding the # of credits they'll allow to be transferred in, as well as the different types of credits they'll allow. Anyway, that's just me, though...as well a couple others that have posted on this already.

__________________
Matymus Prime
Lincoln, NE
Excelsior College
B.S. General Business


~105 Credits down - 15 to go~

thanks matymus, you're not just a knight you're right,