Looking at switching to Excelsior's BS in Liberal Studies...

[tcc]

The Area of Focus at Excelsior requires that a person have 21 semester hours in a single discipline, with 6 of those being at the upper level. I wanted to have my Area of Focus listed as "Business", but wasn't allowed to do so. My only option was to choose "Administrative Management Studies". This would probably be the case if someone wanted to do an Area of Focus in marketing as well, since Excelsior seems unwilling to grant Areas of Focus in subjects they offer degrees in. They state in the catalog that the Area of Focus is an opportunity to demonstrate academic attention in a subject, "particularly in the academic subjects in which a major is not offered at Excelsior College". A person is allowed up to two Areas of Focus. Here are the tests I took for my AF: Human Resource Management, Labor Relations, Intro to Computers, Principles of Management, Principles of Supervision, Principles of Marketing, and Intro to Business. I think the AF is a great way to inject flexibility into a degree because one can show expertise in more than one discipline.

[Basket Weaver]

I hope I can help out on this one too. I just talked to my councilor last week about this very subject. An officer who graduated from the AF Academy literally laughed at me for getting a LA degree. She stated it showed lack of commitment to one area of study and that it was a worthless degree.

Needless to say, this comment concerned me, thus the call to Excelsior. My councilor seemed shocked that someone would say something like that. She went on and on about the value of a LA degree over a focused one (well versed in a variety of subjects). If I were to go into Finance, then of course I should have a focused degree. I am not doing that, I am using this degree to open the proverbial employment door to allow me to showcase my 24 years of practical management/production skills. Through my AF studies and experience, I will have an area of focus in Management. I have taken mostly Psychology ECE/CLEP/Dantes exams (thanks IC!) so my second depth will be in Psychology. To be honest, I could take a couple more ECE exams in Psychology and "Major" in that, but that holds no interest to me as I would then be limited to fields using only that degree.

Pursuing this LA degree has not been tough and besides preparing me for a game of Trivial Pursuit, it has done very little to make me any more employable. I have expressed my resentment towards this degree in the past, so I won't bore anyone by going into it again. However, please don't let my feelings sway you from your original studies; this is what will work for me. This forum has been a Godsend in helping me to get through these tests and a place to sometimes vent when I was getting fed up with studying silly facts and figures. I'm sure when it’s all over with; I may have a change in heart. Sort of like when you're waiting for a test score to come back, and then find out you passed- what a relief. I hope each of you finds what will work for you, Good Luck, Lee

[Katterina]

Thanks much, tcc! I'm glad it is something I can test out of.

[tcc]

You're welcome Katterina, and if you have any other questions, feel free to send me a pm!

[MailDog]

Taking into consideration all the wisdom and advice rendered on the board, I'm going to change from BS to Liberal Studies. I'll be looking into the Administrative Management Studies AF as an option as well. Given my situation and time on hand, I'd rather have a BS Liberal Studies degree at this point (no matter who laughs at the degree) versus no BS degree at all.

Like I mentioned earlier, I will probably re-pursue my Marketing degree afterwards. It's a bold move, but a calculated one which I'm sure will do me more good than harm in the long run. I thank everyone for your thoughts and I wish everyone the best in your respective educational pursuits. I'll let everyone know how the switch is coming along in the weeks to come....!

Sincerely,
Mike (d' MailDog)

[pugman]

For what it's worth, I think getting a BS/BA in liberal arts is an excellent option. Get the degree as fast as possible with as few hurdles as possible.

Then, enroll in a '1 year' MBA program that does not require 'leveling' courses (aspen,csu, many aussie mba programs, etc.).

Keep in mind that the MBA was originally designed to teach business skills to non-business majors (more specifically, engineers) so no having an business undergrad is hardly a detriment. Personally, I think a BS in business followed by an MBA is a bit redundant. Of course, that's just my opinion.

Greg

[Katterina]

Keep in mind that the MBA was originally designed to teach business skills to non-business majors (more specifically, engineers) so no having an business undergrad is hardly a detriment. Personally, I think a BS in business followed by an MBA is a bit redundant. Of course, that's just my opinion.

Greg

I didn't know that. I don't know a whole lot about MBA curriculum... how important is statistics and math and accounting for the MBA's in general?

[Papa Georgia]

[QUOTE=Katterina]I
I might jump on the Liberal Studies bandwagon as well if Excelsior can't enroll me before the January 1 Psychology program changes.

How is the program changing? I can't seemed to find it on their website.

[Johanna]

The requirements for a major in psych are changing as of Jan 1. I believe if you search in the archives you'll find a helpful explanation of the changes that Snazzlefrag wrote.

[Papa Georgia]

The requirements for a major in psych are changing as of Jan 1. I believe if you search in the archives you'll find a helpful explanation of the changes that Snazzlefrag wrote.

Thanks Johanna. I missed it the first time I searched. Good job as usual by Rob.