Excelsior. Good College? Anyone Liked/Hated It?

[sanantone]

There is nothing wrong with technical institutes. The problem with ITT Tech is that it is nationally accredited limiting credit transfer options, extremely expensive, and a for-profit college that has been one of the worst in taken advantage of its students. Their tuition is so high that it is often not completely covered by federal financial aid. So, they end up directly loaning money to students at a very high interest rate.

[Christopher]

Right. That was his problem. No CC or University would accept his ITT Tech credits because they were nationally accredited and another Tech school he tried to get in that accepted nationally accredited units because they were nationally accredited wouldn't accept ITT Tech because they didn't accept anything ITT Tech. He said his classes (not online - actual ITT campus he went too) consisted of walking into class, and having the instructor play a VHS video recording of himself teaching the class from previous years, and the class ending there. If the teacher even showed up or would show up, start the video, and leave with what to read/homework on the board and that's it. He said it was a horrible experience. Mind you, I have nothing against nationally accredited schools and too some extent some for-profit schools (like University of La Verne or Cal Luthern University). Just ITT Tech is one of those I'm against because I hear nothing but negative things about them.

There is nothing wrong with technical institutes. The problem with ITT Tech is that it is nationally accredited limiting credit transfer options, extremely expensive, and a for-profit college that has been one of the worst in taken advantage of its students. Their tuition is so high that it is often not completely covered by federal financial aid. So, they end up directly loaning money to students at a very high interest rate.

[Exfactor]

I attended Excelsior and found the experience to generally be great. While most people here on the forum test out, I actually took many courses with them. Most of the courses I took were 15-20 students, with the majority being individuals in the military, stationed all over the world. Most of Excelsior courses are 8 weeks long; however, I did have 2 courses that was 15 weeks long. With a Google search you can find many Excelsior graduates that are doing great things. Excelsior is also the biggest of the Big 3, which sometime can result in longer periods of things getting processed, but it's a great school.

I also liked Charter Oak, but I didn't want a major in General Studies.

[JohnnyHeck]

Have you looked at Western Governors U.? They're the only online specialists in education licensure. I think they have some experience with CA licensure issues from what I recall seeing at one time. Regarding your math phobia issue: Even if you don't use ALEKS for credit, it's still the best way to finally learn the subject your own way with no time pressures and in a step by manner that makes sense. I mentor a math phobic BSAST student who graduated AA back in your day at Mt. San Antonio with zilch math . While he has taken a lot of hours to get there, he is ready for the Pre-Calculus CLEP and is now comfortable with math/science subjects. He could not have succeeded without ALEKS.

[Christopher]

I looked into WGU, but I didn't know they had any educational area courses. I actually did like their college a lot and their tuition was fair especially of being "in state." I'll email them and see. All you need in CA to teach Pre-School is an AA in Early Childhood Education then you can file for the credential permit. http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl797.pdf .But that changes per state. Weird as in Nevada you only need an AA to substitute teach. A BA in Child Studies and passing CBEST/CSET can get you into private school pretty easy. In CA you can make a living on substitute teaching if you find the right district. LAUSD pays $200-$240 a day, and if you work 600+ hours in a school year you are eligible to get benefits for the next year. Qualified sub teachers are hard to find but what’s harder is “trust” because you n ever know who you will get subbing in a classroom as anyone with a BA can sub teach. Regular contracted elementary school teachers are hit/miss. We're always cutting classes, offering incentives, and laying off teachers instead of hiring them and if you leave the station your credential is might be worthless. Why I'm staying away from the general teaching field. At least public school.

WGU ay. Yes, I’ll look into them. You know, seriously, yes about math. But being an older adult makes a big difference. Being 19 and being 34 does play a big role in maturity. I’m more able to focus better, have plenty of life experiences, serious about school, want to learn the stuff, and see college as higher education not something your parents try and force you to do lolol. Fresh out of high school it was more like some demon had to slay to get a degree - the instructors were there to taunt us was our view lol. You know...being a kid. My memory is far better now too. I might not have much problem in math as I suspect although I still have phobia over it. I got a B in Pre-Algebra, and a B in Elementary Algebra. One class at a time. . I have no problem taking the classes. As long as it doesnt take me 7 years to do it haha.

[UptonSinclair]

I have taken classes at both Excelsior and TESC and didn't see a big difference between the two. I prefer the advising at TESC to Excelsior because I can play with the webadvisor and get a rough idea of how my courses fit various degrees. The only reason I would attend Excelsior over TESC is if I were after the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology. It is one of the rare online programs that has ABET accreditation.

[Christopher]

We have that webadvisor like thing at the community college. It's called "DegreeWorks" and it has all the classes you taken, and paid to take next semester in the system. Tells you how much percentage you're away from your degree. What classes need or have filled in the require GE areas and major area. But they have a neat "what if" option to change your Degree option and play with classes to see how far you're off with different degrees. Like it'll tell you that you're 85 percent off from your AA in Business Admin, you need to take this class and that class, and if you take this other class you'll also meet the requirements for a second degree in Economics or General Studies. With Associate Degrees and Community Colleges it's funny how sometimes if you've taken a lot of genreal liberal art classes with your major that you might end up walking away with your AA in major and maybe also an AA in two other general studies areas like "Social and Behavior Sciences" and if you take that extra theater arts class "Theater Arts". Which can bring in a whole new topic of "Does it pay to have more than one associates degree?" or "If you end up having three associates degree would you list all of them on a job resume."

[MISin08]

I love everything about Excelsior but the name. I was pleasantly surprised but not "knocked out" by the quality of their courses. If I were not supported by tuition reimbursement I would have looked for lower-cost options. If I were looking for a few super-impactful classes in a specific subject I would find a school known for that subject then transfer the credits in to EC.

Phillip

[Exfactor]

I was pleasantly surprised but not "knocked out" by the quality of their courses.

I've taken online courses at my state school and at Liberty University, and the Excelsior courses I took I found to be extremely superior. The upper level psychology courses I took were quiet rigorous for an online course.

[Christopher]

I looked at Liberty University when I first started looking. I sent for info to be sent to me, and they responded back. I read what they had to offer, but I didn't want to..better put...I had no desire and refused to take "requirements" on religious biblie studies. I'm not religious in any way. They require:

"APOL 104 Contemporary Worldviews 3"
"BIBL 104 Survey of Biblical Literature 3"
"THEO 104 Introduction to Christian Thought"

Thats in their business major. If you get more into liberal studies or other majors, the Bible class requirements get longer. For $350.00 a unit x 9 units. $3,150.00 That's a waste of money for me on courses I had no desire (and has no education baring on me) to learn.

Liberaty is still a good online college, but you have to be in a certain type of demograph for it. Excelsior's name...yes...at first few sights I thought it was (seriously) Excalibur. I still see the name of Excelsior and it just looks like "Excalibur" a bit to the point I picture Merlin and the round tables of camelot. But back to topic. I ran their tuition calculator and they seem more expensive than the other two. Although they seem to allow more transfer credit.

I've taken online courses at my state school and at Liberty University, and the Excelsior courses I took I found to be extremely superior. The upper level psychology courses I took were quiet rigorous for an online course.