Choosing

[twosidneys]

In 1988, I received my B.S. from the University of the State of New York. Later that university became Regents College, and eventually it became Excelsior College. My degree parchment says The University of the State of New York.

I'm sure that there must be a system for employers to follow all of this. I have certainly had no problem with it. There was no problem this year when I had the transcript sent to American universities to get into a masters program.

Sidney

[robo]

I should have explained it earlier but after looking into it I found out that there is nothing wrong with calling it University of the State of New York, Excelsior College. I agree that lying on a resume would not be a good thing.

I would like to apologize for saying that excelsior sounds pretty cheesy. I was just venting because EC is a great college and in my opinion it would be perfect if the name were different. As far as telling people the name of it, I'm not really worried about that. I'm just thinking about getting a job.

I also forgot to post that you should look into all three colleges as much as you can before you make a decision. And as somebody already posted apply at tesc and ec, and if you are considering cosc apply there too.

[robo]

I forgot to add that when I posted this I did not think in anyway that it would be misleading or misrepresenting. I appreciate all the feedback on the issue, and even though I still don't see it as misleading I will take it into consideration that it may be to someone else.

[PatsGirl1]

I would like to apologize for saying that excelsior sounds pretty cheesy. I was just venting because EC is a great college and in my opinion it would be perfect if the name were different.

That's ok, I think it is too Still a good school, just the name leaves something to be desired- I really liked the Regents College better when they were called that before. It sounds more stately.

[cookderosa]

What bad or inaccurate thing could be found if someone were to "check the credentials??" It's all 100% true and accurate--not to mention that there are an infinite number of resume styles so there are no hard and fast rules about how to describe the school from which you graduated.>>


Ok, I read Robo's reply, and I do understand your argument as well. I have two comments. First, I don't think there is anything terrible about trying to represent yourself in the best light- and spinning information or stretching can be done legally and ethically to a point. I don't think Robo's intent was wrong, I simply noticed that he seemed like he wouldn't be able to hold his head up high with Excelsior College on his resume, and I think that how you feel about your degree is important. His reply was that he does feel good about his school, and that's what's important.

Part 2:
You can go to the US Department of Education website, you can check for accredited colleges using the very simple search box. I use this often when I am checking out classes, credentials of teachers, or just for fun. (lol shhhhh ) If a person were to type in "University of the State of New York" or even "University of New York" there would be a display of no such college.

The format Robo used makes us think that "Excelsior" is the campus rather than the college. (University of Illinois, Springfield. University of Illinois, Chicago) So, what conclusion does someone draw? Diploma Mill? Unaccredited school? An imaginary school? If a person is on the east coast, or maybe they grew up there, or maybe they attended college in New York years ago, they are going to be highly suspicious of your credential. Will they take the time to unravel the mystery? Ask you about it? Call you in on an interview? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe there are 10 other people in the pile that won't make them work so hard. Why make it hard for them? Your resume should scream "HIRE ME!!!!!!!"

Now, in contrast, if a person types in "Excelsior" or "Excelsior College" within seconds, they will see a fully regionally accredited legitimate college. So semantics aside, I look at it more as a potential barrier that doesn't have to be there.

Search Institutional Accreditation System

[barcotta]

Now, in contrast, if a person types in "Excelsior" or "Excelsior College" within seconds, they will see a fully regionally accredited legitimate college. So semantics aside, I look at it more as a potential barrier that doesn't have to be there.

Search Institutional Accreditation System

I'm totally with you on that--but that brings up another interesting problem. What is the poor schmo who graduated from Regents College supposed to do?

[twosidneys]

In that case, I guess the poor schmo would say something like

graduated from the University of the State of New York, now renamed Excelsior College

[barcotta]

It may be a gray area as far as in how you are wording it, but to me, you’re wording it incorrectly. “University of the State of New York, Excelsior College” is not entirely correct, something like “Excelsior College, of the governing University of the State of New York” would be.

OK...so if I understand the rest of your post correctly--resumes with "University of the State of New York, Excelsior College" get tossed, but "Excelsior College, of the governing University of the State of New York" are OK, correct?

Better yet, just use Excelsior College. Sure, it is semantics, but the point is in the intent. You intend on making the school sound “more official” and giving it a better title.

OK. More official than...what? Assumably you mean more official than "Excelsior College" sounds on its own. If that's the case, do you feel as though the quality of the name is perfectly compatible with the quality of the institution--therefore any enhancement would be misleading? It used to be called "Regents College" and everyone liked that name. No need to make that sound more official. So it seems to me that if you perceive a problem with putting the USNY in front--that would mean the quality of the institution does not warrant the enhancement, right?

It’s like the people who say University of Michigan and leave off the campus (because neither Dearborn nor Flint is nearly as prestigious as Ann Arbor). Technically, it’s correct (all schools are under the UM umbrella system). But it’s not, in fact, the actual name of the school in its entirety.

Now that's pretty interesting. I have no familiarity with the University of Michigan--so the absence of a city would not stand out to me. However, if someone put "University of California" or "State University of New York (SUNY)" on a resume--I would immediately notice and wonder what the heck happened to the rest of the name. I would likely assume it was a mistake--and mistakes on resumes are bad news.

Is it a lie? No, because it’s not an untruth. It’s not even incorrect, really. However, is it intentionally misleading to make it sound a bit better? To me, yes.

This again suggests to me that the institution is only as good as the name they chose for themselves--and any attempt to dress it up is misleading. Well...it can only be misleading if you believe the result communicates that the institution is better than you believe it actually is. True?

Now, I guess I don't really believe that was what you were thinking at all--and I don't believe that was your intent--but I ask you--for something to be "misleading", doesn't the result have to communicate something....misleading???

And FWIW Michael, yes, I do some part-time HR work and we have thrown out resumes for being misleading (the above UM example is one I was a part of personally). My mother has done it in her capacity as a hiring manager, which is where I got the advice to go with a school I could say the name and leave it the way it was with no embarrassment. Logic being, if you can “bend” the truth on something as innocuous as a resume, what will you do when working for the company? It’s a gray area but it’s like 20 seconds you have to make an impression on a resume, why even bother doing it? Not all companies care, not all would even know, but yes, some do know and some do care.

For those newer to the working world, let me say this: Resumes get tossed for all kinds of reasons. I toss them for typos--particularly multiple typos because I think that communicates a lack of attention to detail and a lack of pride in your presentation and work product. Some people toss resumes due to unexplained gaps in work history. I think cookderosa makes the best argument for calling a spade a spade and leaving it at that. You want anyone who is as interested in this sort of thing as PatsGirl and her Mom to be able to recognize, and find if necessary, your school.

I'm perfectly happy with Excelsior College as a name. There are many colleges with unconventional names. We're all used to TESC, but is there a Benjamin Franklin State College? An Alexander Graham Bell State College? To me, the inventors' names suggest technical schools--but maybe that's just me. There's a very highly respected and well-known small college in my area called Occidental College. Imagine if they were a big three-type college? A little close to "accidental" for me. How about Pepperdine University? Heard of that one? What's a Pepperdine anyway? Then there's The College of William and Mary. Should we have a Robert and Sally? Fred and Wilma? How about National University? Now there's two of the grandest words ever put together to name a school. How about SUNY - Purchase College right there in scenic Purchase, NY. You've all heard of that one, right?

I think in that company--several of which are very expensive and very reputable schools--Excelsior College fairs pretty well--don't you?

[Sunshine]

I must take a minute (or 15) to rant over my frustration in choosing a school. I'm torn between EC and TESC, as my signature suggests. After months of researching, soul searching, and head scratching, I am still completely clueless. This should be a happy decision, shouldn't it? I mean, that they both offer such low-cost flexible programs- I'm not really gonna go wrong, right?

I'm not settled on History or English for my major, but it'll be one of the two. I don't want to rush that since I may find the answer during the course of my studies- one will end up my major, the other will be a depth.

I'm having a really hard time formulating degree plans. I want to test out of as much as possible, with the exception of a writing or english class (could use the practice). Unless I'm missing something, EC does not provide a list of exams (other than ECEs) that meet their degree requirements. TESC does, but they don't state how many UL credits are needed? This is important since I'm trying to calculate costs based on the need to take actual courses, rather than exams for credit.

Then there's the timing. I'm told that an "official eval" is needed to ensure the classes I select will count. In order to have said eval, I need to be enrolled, I think. Since I'm hoping to graduate within the first year, enrolling at this point seems risky with only 36 LL credits to my name.

As for the name discussion in this thread, it's not really a factor, although I am slightly partial to Excelsior. I must admit that the option of graduating with honors is a dream of mine, supposing I can manage the GPA. Bottom line is, the more I agonize over it, the less I'm studying. My lack of direction is messing with my flow! Any advice is greatly appreciated, even if it's a virtual smack to snap out of it. :o I apologize if any of the above info is incorrect- I've been staring at this computer all day and the information is starting to scramble my brain.

[cookderosa]

I must take a minute (or 15) to rant over my frustration in choosing a school. I'm torn between EC and TESC, as my signature suggests. After months of researching, soul searching, and head scratching, I am still completely clueless. This should be a happy decision, shouldn't it? I mean, that they both offer such low-cost flexible programs- I'm not really gonna go wrong, right?

I'm not settled on History or English for my major, but it'll be one of the two. I don't want to rush that since I may find the answer during the course of my studies- one will end up my major, the other will be a depth.

I'm having a really hard time formulating degree plans. I want to test out of as much as possible, with the exception of a writing or english class (could use the practice). Unless I'm missing something, EC does not provide a list of exams (other than ECEs) that meet their degree requirements. TESC does, but they don't state how many UL credits are needed? This is important since I'm trying to calculate costs based on the need to take actual courses, rather than exams for credit.

Then there's the timing. I'm told that an "official eval" is needed to ensure the classes I select will count. In order to have said eval, I need to be enrolled, I think. Since I'm hoping to graduate within the first year, enrolling at this point seems risky with only 36 LL credits to my name.

As for the name discussion in this thread, it's not really a factor, although I am slightly partial to Excelsior. I must admit that the option of graduating with honors is a dream of mine, supposing I can manage the GPA. Bottom line is, the more I agonize over it, the less I'm studying. My lack of direction is messing with my flow! Any advice is greatly appreciated, even if it's a virtual smack to snap out of it. :o I apologize if any of the above info is incorrect- I've been staring at this computer all day and the information is starting to scramble my brain.

>>


I just wanted to say that TESC doesn't require "upper level" and "lower level" the way EC does (which is why you don't find that info listed on their web site! They also don't have applied professional credits in case you were looking). For TESC, it's simply 33 credits in a major/concentration- of those- 2 classes can be 100 level, the remaining 27 credits must be 200 level or higher. (NOT so many at 300, so many at 400, etc.) If history is your major, you can fill nearly all (all?) your major with CLEP/DSST exams. I know there are at least 2 people here doing just that- maybe they will chime in. IF you go with TESC, you can also get 27 free FEMA credits which you can't get at EC without paying. In my opinion, you can probably earn a BA in liberal arts, social sciences, or humanities for less cost at TESC than EC if you are willing to take CLEP/DSST in any area that counts. If you want certain classes or certain exams, you'll have to do the math. Beyond that- maths, science/labs, business... I'm just not sure. Those areas require more than CLEP tests. TESC does not have Latin honors, but GPA calculation is new, so maybe they will change that at some point. They do have a national honor society award.

For me, I liked not getting graded on my exams (TESC is only pass/fail, EC gives a grade). Sometimes I just wanted to "pass" and not stress out over my score. Call it lazy, but if all my DSSTs were for a score it would have added a lot more pressure.

As far as the rest of it goes:: rigor, prestige, utility, accreditation, etc., they are even- so it's just a personal preference.

If it were me, I'd make a chart- put pros on one side and cons on the other. I also did a side by side cost calculation. Then pick a major and jump in. When your at the 60 credit mark you can do the rest in a year- that comes out to <5 credits per month. Add in a few classes and you're on easy street. (don't forget the 27 FEMA can be earned in a week)

Really, there are no wrong choices, you are in a WIN-WIN situation if you earn a degree. (but make the decision so you can get back to studying! LoL)