Capstone Course at Excelsior

[DMK1956]

Hello! New at this and need an explanation, please. I found this on the Excelsior site.... "Can I complete my liberal arts degree entirely by examination? "

REPLY - "No. As of July 1, 2010, all students are required to take an Excelsior College capstone course near the end of their program."

What are Capstone Courses? Also, what is the information literacy class that Excelsior requires for graduation? This must also be done through Excelsior.

It looks like Credit by Exam degrees are going by the wayside....?

Thanks for any input!

[marianne202]

You should be able to do the information literacy class through Penn Foster. I did mine through Excelsior, but Penn Foster is much cheaper. It is basically a class that teaches you how to do computer research, how to use the schools LRC etc. The capstone course is a final project course that draws on all your previous courswork. When I did my BSHS capstone we had to complete 3 research projects and each one used information pulled from two or three courses. I think it is a way for the school to prove that you learned the necessary skills and information by synthesizing the material into a few projects. I hope this helps.

[valsacar]

I just finished my BS in IT with EC (just waiting on grades and transfers), the Capstone course I had to take was a joke. I assume it's probably the same basic concept for every degree program. Each degree program has objectives (13 in my case), you have to write 3 statements (of around a page) showing how you met those program objectives (through work experience, coursework, etc) and submit evidence (homework, certifications, statements from employers, etc).

[pixaloop]

Excelsior required two courses from a community college I attended online, De Anza College near Cupertino, CA. They're on a quarter system so the 1-unit classes were fairly easy. I completed the courses months in advance, easy A's. Perhaps you can look into taking an equivalent course at your local community college. It cost me about $48 for both classes, all done online. good luck