Please critique my degree plan: B.S. Liberal Studies, Excelsior College

[Kelly Green]

66 hours of Arts & Sciences credits, including 21 upper level:
CLEP Psychology 3
DSST Lifespan Psych 3
ECE Social Psych 3 upper
ECE Abnormal Psych 3 upper
ECE Res Methods Psych 3 upper
ECE Psych Aging/Adult 3 upper
DSST Money & Banking 3 upper
ECE Gerontology 3 upper
ECE Org Behavior 3 upper
CLEP Sociology 3
CLEP Microeconomics 3
CLEP Macroeconomics 3
ECE English Comp (WER) 6
CLEP Analyzing/Interp Lit 6
CLEP College Mathematics 6
CLEP German and/or French* 12
Depth/A.O.F. #1 in Arts & Sciences: Psychology

55 hours of Applied Professional credits:
DSST Business Math 3
CLEP Management 3
CLEP Marketing 3
DSST Statistics 3
CLEP Business Law 1 3
DSST Business Law 2 3
DSST Prin of Fin Accy 3
INDY 3 Accounting 9
LSU 6 Accounting 18
ECE Information Lunacy 1
DSST Principles of Finance 3
DSST Mgt Info Sys 3
Depth/A.O.F. #2 in Applied Prof: Admin/Mgt Studies

Total credits: 121

* I'm rusty in both German and French, but I think I can squeak out a "C" in both for 6 hours each, or maybe an "A" in German...
INDY= Indiana University - Bloomington (distance coursework)


I think I have covered all the requirements regarding Humanities, Math/Science, Social Science.

Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[alissaroot]

I think you need a Natural Science class on here...like DSST Astronomy, CLEP Biology, or something similar. That's the only thing I see missing, although I might have overlooked it. Any of the following exams will qualify:

DSST Astronomy
DSST Geology
DSST Principles of Physical Science
DSST Environment & Humanity: The Race to Save the Planet
CLEP Biology
CLEP Chemistry
CLEP Natural Sciences

And that Statistics DSST may end up as Arts and Sciences, not Applied Professional, but that doesn't matter since you will be fine either way for meeting the degree requirements.

Hope that helps!

Edit to add: Now that I have read my post again, I am not completely sure if your extra math credits will fulfill the Natural Science/Mathematics requirement or not. You may be okay doing all those credits in math, but this is the first degree plan I have seen with no natural science or history exam at all, and I am unsure if all the credits can be in math, and if all the Social Science/History credit can be in Social Science. If so, then your plan is fine. Sorry if I confused you with my confusion.

[Kelly Green]

Thank you for the reply!!

Does anyone else know for sure if Excelsior *requires* credits in science and history?

[perrik]

Just read through the LA catalog again to verify the requirements...

The Humanities distribution for a BS requires that at least 3 of those credits be in art, music, or philosophy. If you're relying solely on test credits, DSST Art Of The Western World would be the cheapest option (it's possible that DSST Intro to World Religions also counts). There are two ECE that qualify, MUSX*101 (intro to music) and PHIX*101 (intro to philosophy). If you're already taking classes from LSU, the two qualifying classes are Intro to Music Appreciation and Intro to Philosophy: Elementary Logic.

For natural sciences/mathematics, the only limitation I could find was that at least 2 of the credits must be in math (the qualitative reasoning requirement). There appears to be no necessity to take a science class/exam as long as you've got the credits covered by math & stat.

I think the only reason the other distribution is defined as "social sciences/history" is to clarify that history falls under this category rather than humanities. The psychology, sociology, and economics credits are enough to fulfill this distribution.

[Kelly Green]

Just read through the LA catalog again to verify the requirements...

The Humanities distribution for a BS requires that at least 3 of those credits be in art, music, or philosophy.

Thank you for the reply!

I originally had DSST Art of the Western World in my plan (in place of DSST Business Mathematics), but then I read on page 16 of the LA catalog that foreign language satisfies the humanities requirement, so I figured the CLEP German would cover it.

Is there another section of the LA catalog that specifies it must be art, music, or philosophy?

I'm so confused! :o

Thanks for any replies!

[lolojapan]

I do think you will need at least one natural science test. Not sure if EC accepts ECE exam for English Comp requirement, you should check with them and see. You will be required to take an online course in Information Literacy (1 credit hour). You should not go for an assiciates degree unless you have about $900 to spare for graduation fees, and enrollment fees for your BS. Languages should take care of your humanities.

[perrik]

Aha! Page 16 of the Liberal Arts Catalog (June 2008 edition) states that the humanities requirement can be fulfilled with a class/exam in music, art, philosophy, religion, literature, speech, or creative writing. Wait, are there humanities classes that don't fall under those categories?

I still cannot find any requirement for natural science credits, so my assumption is that EC allows you to fulfill that distribution with math with the caveat that you are allowed no more than 9 credits below the level of calculus. My concern with your game plan is that you include CLEP College Mathematics and DSST Business Math. You might not be allowed to use both as they may be considered duplication of credit. Combining the 6-credit College Math and the 3-credit Stat would probably be fine to complete the distribution.

EC does accept its own exam (ENGX*111, English Composition) for the Written English Requirement; it grants 6 LL credits, which do not apply to the Humanities requirement.

Regarding the information literacy requirement, you can take the $300 exam from EC or spend just $90 on the equivalent course at Penn Foster. I registered for the class (ENG*103) over the phone, got my student login info a couple hours later, downloaded the course textbook (PDF format), and did the two 20-question online exams on my lunch break the next day. Bingo, one EC requirement finished off in an hour's worth of effort. If you're already enrolled at EC, just get your advisor's official approval of the course first!

[Kelly Green]

I still cannot find any requirement for natural science credits, so my assumption is that EC allows you to fulfill that distribution with math…

Thank you! That’s what I thought, too, but I wasn’t sure.

My concern with your game plan is that you include CLEP College Mathematics and DSST Business Math. You might not be allowed to use both as they may be considered duplication of credit.

Uh-oh. I hadn’t even considered that. I thought I’d be safe since EC lists DSST Bus. Math under Applied Professional, not Mathematics…. Hmmm…

Regarding the information literacy requirement, you can take the $300 exam from EC or spend just $90 on the equivalent course at Penn Foster. I registered for the class (ENG*103) over the phone, got my student login info a couple hours later, downloaded the course textbook (PDF format), and did the two 20-question online exams on my lunch break the next day. Bingo, one EC requirement finished off in an hour's worth of effort. If you're already enrolled at EC, just get your advisor's official approval of the course first!

Thank you!! The Penn Foster plan sounds like a MUCH better (cheaper/faster) option!!

Thanks for the reply!

[perrik]

Uh-oh. I hadn’t even considered that. I thought I’d be safe since EC lists DSST Bus. Math under Applied Professional, not Mathematics…. Hmmm…

DSST Business Math might be accepted as generic LL elective if you already have the CLEP College Math. It's worth asking an advisor if you need some filler credits. :p

You've got a lot of accounting credits on the plan - are you really aiming for 30 accounting credits? If so, why not switch over to the School of Business to take an Accounting BS? You'd have to bump up your math aspirations to take pre-calculus, but you're already planning on statistics and pretty much the entire core curriculum for the business program.

[NAP]

I still cannot find any requirement for natural science credits, so my assumption is that EC allows you to fulfill that distribution with math with the caveat that you are allowed no more than 9 credits below the level of calculus. My concern with your game plan is that you include CLEP College Mathematics and DSST Business Math. You might not be allowed to use both as they may be considered duplication of credit. Combining the 6-credit College Math and the 3-credit Stat would probably be fine to complete the distribution.

I don't see why you would need science, if you are fulfilling the requirement through math. (I was planning to meet the Social Science/History requirement with just 2 history exams.)

The math restriction actually states 3 courses not 9 credits. My interpretation of this is that with 6 credits for College Math CLEP plus 2 other 3 credit exams equals 12 credits. Plus Statistics may not count as math so that could be 3 more credits. I have not confirmed this with EC but it is a possibiltiy.

Aha! Page 16 of the Liberal Arts Catalog (June 2008 edition) states that the humanities requirement can be fulfilled with a class/exam in music, art, philosophy, religion, literature, speech, or creative writing. Wait, are there humanities classes that don't fall under those categories?

It also lists foreign language, which is what I am counting on to meet this requirement.

Kelly, I know that you are shooting for 12 credits, but I hope you get 24!

Don't forget, I don't think they will grade any CLEPs; all are pass/fail. At least that is what I am counting on. I would not want to pull down my GPA by only getting 6 credits on the test.