Feeling incredibly defeated and discouraged. Help?

[cookderosa]

rrr - welcome back Glad you can post again.

So, in general, CLEP exams will all be 100/200 level courses, so that should be straightforward as far as looking for duplication. People here are very good at that, so if you're up for typing out your 100/200 list many will happily weigh in.

DSST exams are mainly 100/200 but include a few upper level exams. If your degree was typical, it would be very easy to find DSST exams that are upper level and don't duplicate your major.

Finally, what about just credit on a transcript? I ask because there are a few options that might work - Annenberg comes to mind, these are geared toward teachers. You have to watch because the list over there is long but many share the same alpha-numeric, which will duplicate. Their set counts as graduate credit, which would for SURE not duplicate any of your undergrad Annenberg Learner: Graduate Credit

EDIT: I want to add the Annenberg info. The last day to enroll is October 12. They max you out at 5 graduate credits per term, but there are 3 terms in a year. It would appear on a CSU transcript- "Teachers can earn graduate credit using many of Annenberg Learner's professional development and content courses. Colorado State University offers two or three credits for teachers who use all the support materials found on the Annenberg Learner course websites and complete an end-of-course project. "

[Synicaal]

Personally I would tackle the Management/Marketing CLEP (6 credits), And if they take ACE I would use ALKES for the remaining credits in Math. You can do 3 Math Classes in less then a month for the other 9 credits.

Ahh I've been trying to reply but it says it's awaiting mod approval - maybe because I had a link in there? So I'm going to try again now. Yes, I'm a teacher, sorry for the confusion! There are salary steps based on education, so you get paid, say, 47k for a bachelors, 56k for a masters, and 63k for a masters + 30 college credits. That's what I'm aiming for. The CLEP credits I sent were rejected by my employer, the NYC DOE. They really seem to do it on a case by case basis; when I called, they told me they debated a few of them but came to the conclusion that they were too similar to other courses on my transcript. I tried to make my case but I ended up talking to the director of the salary step office who told me it was a final decision.

As for why I didn't check beforehand, I did call and they said the courses just can't be duplicates of ones I've already taken. On the website it also says: "Note: A CLEP exam used to obtain a salary differential cannot be a duplication of earlier coursework for which you have been granted course credit (undergraduate or graduate)." I suppose we just had different definitions of what counted as "duplicates." For example, I didn't take the English Lit CLEP because I took a class called British Literature in college. But I've never taken an American Lit class so I figured that would be fine.

Is there anything else I can clarify? Thanks so much to everyone who has responded, I really really appreciate it.

[Leedeedee]

Excelsior UEXCELs have a lot of biology and science options as well as others, plus you get a grade. I'm wondering if they are taking against the CLEP as they don't have grades. With Excelsior you can get the UEXCELs sent straight on a university transcript.

[alleycat]

I would do the DSST Intro to Computers ( not sure what's the name is now). DSST Personal Finance, DSST Intro to Business, DSST Tech Writing, and DSST Substance Abuse. Also DSST Health and Human Development might work if you do not have anything like that on your previous transcript.

Good luck

[Clep-tomaniac]

Thanks rrr for your extremely helpful posts. I am also a NYC public school teacher trying to get my 30+. As soon as I get the results for my College Composition CLEP, I will know if I technically have enough credits for my salary differential. I have this eerie feeling though, that when they review my college and grad school transcripts, those administrators in HR are going to quibble. In particular I am concerned that because I took one 300 level Spanish course in college they won't give me the 12 credits for the Spanish CLEP that I passed, and that I will then have to take 4 more exams. I have my explanation rehearsed, but I know how brutal those administrators can be. ¡Ay caramba!

I'd like to have my application approved the first time, as I have heard that it can take as long as three months for them to respond. That's three months of higher salary lost if they reject it. I'd like to avoid that if possible, even if it means that I submit more credits in my application than I need.

It looks like you had some success with the DSST exams. I have been looking for written proof that the DOE accepts those credits for salary differentials. Can you point me in the direction of where I might find that?

Congratulations on your 30+ and I hope you can spend this summer doing something a little more fun than studying for these exams!

Best,
Clep-tomaniac

[Clep-tomaniac]

The DOE site doesn't say anything about DSST exams. Are you sure the DOE accepts those?