Excelsior is not very Helpful

[rubbersoul]

I have not submited my application yet to Excelsior for evaluation because I am still 2 classes shy of an Assiciates degree at a local Community College in Illinois. I sent them an email asking a few simple questions and they replied with an unhelpfully canned response:

[I]The first step is to complete the required Undergraduate Application for Admission. Our unofficial review will give you an idea of approximately how many of your prior college credits may apply to one of our degree programs and approximately how many additional credits you will need to earn in order to complete your degree. The fee for this service is $75 (active duty military can apply $50 of the $75 application fee toward the enrollment fee should you enroll within 6 months of the application review). You will need to obtain your official transcripts to submit either with the Application Form or separately. You may apply right on line through our web site at http://www.excelsior.edu or you can download and print the below attached application form and mail to Excelsior College, 7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-5159. This unofficial review does not give you a list of courses you need to take to complete the degree nor does it allow you to obtain course approval from our academic advisors. Once enrolled however, your academic advisor will develop a program plan with you to help you pick the courses to take to complete your degree with Excelsior College. [/I]

I just wanted to know the following, can anyone shed some light?
I received a D in an Econ course, but will still obtain the AA with at least a 2.25 GPA. Will Excelsior transfer in the Associates degree as a whole, or will I lose that Economics credit?

Can I get an unofficial evaluation before getting the Associates degree? I would like to see where I stand with Excelsior with the assumption that I completed the Associates degree. My remaining classes for the AA are intro to Speech and World Religions.

[bmills072200]

Will Excelsior transfer in the Associates degree as a whole, or will I lose that Economics credit?

Can I get an unofficial evaluation before getting the Associates degree? [/B]

You can get the unofficial evaluation anytime, you do not need to have the Associates degree complete.

As for whether the Economics will transfer in...I don't think so, but you will need to check once you get your credits evaluated. Usually anything below a C will not transfer. Good luck - you will love Excelsior once you are in the program...

[rubbersoul]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. Illinois Colleges have an agreement with Community colleges to accept all credits used to obtain an associates degree including Ds as long as you get the degree. I was hoping Excelsior would do the same, but it's my own fault for getting that D.


The second question, I guess what concerns me is how will the 2 additional classes (speech and World Religion) fit in the roadmap after my transcripts are evaluated. Since these 2 classes won't appear on the transcripts, or can I have them give me a "What if" evaluation that includes the 2 classes that I have not yet finished.

I suppose I could wait until the last 2 classes are finished, but I am just anxious to get started with Excelsior and get a few for CLEP/DSST tests completed this summer.

[Chris442]

bmills072200 - may I ask what you studied before you took the ECE for Ethics: Theory and Practice?

[cookderosa]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. Illinois Colleges have an agreement with Community colleges to accept all credits used to obtain an associates degree including Ds as long as you get the degree. I was hoping Excelsior would do the same, but it's my own fault for getting that D.


The second question, I guess what concerns me is how will the 2 additional classes (speech and World Religion) fit in the roadmap after my transcripts are evaluated. Since these 2 classes won't appear on the transcripts, or can I have them give me a "What if" evaluation that includes the 2 classes that I have not yet finished.

I suppose I could wait until the last 2 classes are finished, but I am just anxious to get started with Excelsior and get a few for CLEP/DSST tests completed this summer.

Your college has in place what's called an articulation agreement. Many (most) public community colleges have a lot of these in place to keep you moving forward and usually in-state. You won't find any such programs at the big 3. Your credits will all be individually evaluated.

Even though I'm not attending EC, I understand your concerns. In a nutshell, you would have gotten the same crappy reply from TESC. They want that $75 :eek:

Simply, I would just say that if you have an associate's degree (pending), you have 60 or fewer credits...so, there are approximately 60 credits left. Rather than rush your eval, why not just generally look at the EC website and find a few CLEPs that you know you will need. (macro and micro? LOL)

[learflyer]

Rather than rush your eval, why not just generally look at the EC website and find a few CLEPs that you know you will need. (macro and micro? LOL)

this is the problem I have. I'm taking CJ at EC, and waiting for my eval to come back. I want to start taking cleps. I don't know where you guys are finding which cleps to take on their website. I asked this in a different forum. If I decide to change from CJ to Liberal Studies, are the gen ed requirements the same? Where on the EC website does it tell you what you need? And how do you know what you need BEFORE you get your eval back?

thanks!

[bat21]

Hey, I am taking CJ at EC also and my eval is finished and they did a decent job of plugging in my credits for my degree.


You have 2 Core requirements that you need to ful fil for that degree:

Major
You expressed an interest in earning a major in Criminal Justice Law Enforcement and Public Safety Emphasis Emphasis. The required subjects and/or credits you still need are as follows (a minimum of 2 semester hours is necessary to satisfy Core (I) and Intermediate and upper-level (II) course requirements):
9.00 semester hours at the upper level

I. Core Requirements
C. Theoretical course on theories of crime
CJ*324 CRIMINOLOGY
CJ*326 VICTIMOLOGY
CJ*326 VICTIMOLOGY (ACCELERATED)
D. Research methods in the social sciences
SOC*465 SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
E. Research and Writing
LA*494 RESEARCH/WRITING-CRIM.JUSTICE

** The Arts & Sciences include subjects which are classified as Humanities (e.g., art, philosophy, music, languages, literature, religion), Social Sciences and History (e.g., sociology, psychology, history, political science, economics), and Mathematics/Natural Science(e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, college algebra).

***Upper Level credit is advanced, junior-senior level work that generally builds on significant prior knowledge. All community college work as well as introductory level courses or examinations, even when they are offered to juniors/seniors, are considered lower level.



You can test out of only (2) core 2 classes ; I would take Cultural Diversity, Org Beh, Juvenile Justice, Ethics, and Social&Abnormal Psych. from the ECEs to test out of of upper level classes.

I am taking Criminology from LSU and SOC Research Methods from AMU and I am done.