Graduate credit by exam

[ffdpsoldier]

I haven't had a problem with courses yet, last semester I took 2 online graduate classes, 1 in class grad class, 1 rotc class and still felt like I could have taken 1 more class.

The amu class requirements were

1 discussion post per week (when essays were not do) 400 words
2 replys to other posts 70 words
3 essays of 4pages each

I felt it easier then some of my undergrad classes I've taken.
If the rest of my classes at amu are the same I can easiler do 12 or 15 credits.

I'm hoping to finishe the degree this year and start on a. Criminal justice degree after wards and maybe a teaching cert afterwards.

The rotc class took up most of my time , it required 2-4 page essays due every week, physical training 3 days a week, 1 class, and 1 lab, it on its own was took up about the same as 2 classes. Since I'm no longer in rotc I can take a bigger class load.

[Jonathan Whatley]

On my list of tests i can take at the Military base i work on it is split into CLEP/DSST/PearsonVUE/Excelsion, under Excelsior College Exams the last two listed are 611 MBA Marketing and 613 MBA Organizational Behavior. Could these be like what he is refering to, or are these proctored exams for online classes? If they are CBE's I might try to give them a shot.

These are sort-of undergraduate level: See the Excelsior MBA program page. "The program has five foundation courses that can be waived either by approved undergraduate courses completed prior to enrollment in the MBA or by foundation exams from Excelsior College."

So these meet foundational requirements that could also be met with undergraduate courses (or I'd think, likely, with CLEP, DSST, etc.)

[Vandalet]

These are sort-of undergraduate level: See the Excelsior MBA program page. "The program has five foundation courses that can be waived either by approved undergraduate courses completed prior to enrollment in the MBA or by foundation exams from Excelsior College."
So these meet foundational requirements that could also be met with undergraduate courses (or I'd think, likely, with CLEP, DSST, etc.)

Thanks. How about when Excelsior or DSST's are listed as Upper Level, what is the difference between UL and LL tests?

[Jonathan Whatley]

Thanks. How about when Excelsior or DSST's are listed as Upper Level, what is the difference between UL and LL tests?

Upper level (or upper division) courses or exams are third- or fourth-year college level. They'd correspond with courses that college catalogs and transcripts typically number in the 300s or 400s, or 3000s or 4000s respectively. Essentially every bachelor's degree will need a minimum amount of credit in general, and a minimum amount of credit in the major or concentration, to have been earned at the upper level.

Lower level (or lower division) courses or exams are first- or second-year college level. Credits at this level are also offered by community colleges. The CLEP program is pretty much entirely LL.

While each college's rules are its own, TESC has especially distinctive standards about which courses or course equivalents count for LL and which for UL credit. More often than not this seems to work out in TESC students' favor, with credits the original source counted as LL being bumped up within TESC degree plans. But this can also cut the other way. (IIRC the Civil War and Reconstruction DSST, UL to the rest of the world, is now LL at TESC.)

[sanantone]

These are sort-of undergraduate level: See the Excelsior MBA program page. "The program has five foundation courses that can be waived either by approved undergraduate courses completed prior to enrollment in the MBA or by foundation exams from Excelsior College."

So these meet foundational requirements that could also be met with undergraduate courses (or I'd think, likely, with CLEP, DSST, etc.)

Yep, these are for people who did not complete the business prerequisites at the undergraduate level. When you don't have the prerequisites, you have to complete the foundational courses. They make the program longer, not shorter.

Thanks. How about when Excelsior or DSST's are listed as Upper Level, what is the difference between UL and LL tests?

All undergraduate degree programs at every school require a certain number of UL credits. These are normally courses taken in the junior and senior years of college. They are not graduate-level courses.

[cookderosa]

Out of curiosity, how is the workload for 6 credits while holding down a full-time job?

I don't know about anyone, but I'll share my schedule. I do the bare minimum necessary to get an "A." My homeschool "job" requires my full attention M-F 9-2, and I'm pretty hard-lined about those hours NOT being flexible, I treat it like a job. I have T/W/TH every night from 5-8:30 pm without anyone at the house, and all day Sat/Sun to do my school from about noon till whenever. I'm taking 12 credits, and it's pretty freaking crazy to be honest. I'd say I invest 25 hours/week on average, more or less depending on what's going on.

In fairness, I could invest more time. I don't do all the reading, but I do enough to get a solid grade. Mostly we just have a ton of reading, a bit of forum work, and a bunch of writing. Last term I had a project and a power point in the mix. I'm a pretty fast writer, but hate academic writing- so almost always get point deductions for messing up the format they want. (which changes from instructor to instructor!)

This semester coming up, I have a stats class (dread) a research class (dread) an obesity class (cake) and a sociology class (cake) so it should be a good balance. *for me

[cookderosa]

Thanks. How about when Excelsior or DSST's are listed as Upper Level, what is the difference between UL and LL tests?

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd take an upper level over an intro any day. Maybe it's just me, but I hate intro classes. Intro classes like to tell you everything without any depth or room to think and process. It's crammed full of random facts, dates, names, etc. I imagine I'd rather have natural child birth again before taking general biology 101 & 102 with lab. (the worst EVER!) That said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE any and every upper level and graduate level bio class I've taken. It's more specialized. For instance, I took courses on cancer, stem cells, and AIDS. Really good stuff. Microbiology? Super interesting. Discussions, critical thinking, and time to marinate in a subject work best for me- going back into memorize and regurgitate mode do "nothing" for my learning style, I'm glad all that is behind me frankly.