received my EC unoffical evaluation...advice?

[daniellevine]

So my questions are:

1. I thought I had a total of over 30 upper level credits...if I enroll in the BS program instead of the BA program is it possible that this requirement may already be complete?

Yes. With a BA in Liberal Studies, all of the upper level credits must be in the Arts and Sciences. With a BS you can also use other courses, such as Applied Professional (computers, health care, technology, etc.)

2. When I enroll, Do I have to choose to be in either the BS or BA program definitely or can I decide that/change that after I enroll without penalty?

Yes; you can change your degree from BA to BS, your major (if you are doing one), or switch from Liberal Studies to a major. The only time you would incur a fee is if you switch from the Liberal Arts department to the Business or Nursing Department.

3. I took a math class at art school called 'Math for survival' at an RA 4-year art school. It was a college-level course teaching math to right-brain thinkers. Great course actually, I learned a lot. This satisfied that school's math requirement. I wish I knew if EC would accept it as their quantitative requirement, it's kind of frustrating not to know. Here's hoping they will

Tough call. My guess is that it will count towards your degree, but not towards the math requirement. The requirement is for "Quantitative Reasoning." Usually that will entail something involving more left-brain thinking. I could be wrong.


4. Information Literacy - From what I've read here it seems the best strategy for this requirement is to just order it through Penn Foster. Is that still true?

Yes. I completed this last month. Always best to check with your adviser, but I'm 99.9% this is still in effect.

5. I've never heard of the EC Student Experience course. Can anyone shed light on this? Is this required for both BA and BS degrees?

It is a non-credit course that appears on your student page once you are enrolled. I haven't taken it yet but I believe it's very short and easy, and it's made to orient you with the college. It's free.

Also before I enroll I'm still deciding if I'm going to complete my degree through Excelsior or through the University of Texas - El paso. With their Bachelor of Multidisciplinary studies program I'd definitely need more UL credits. Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies

Excelsior is very flexible and carries a good reputation... UTEP might be a good option for you, but it definitely won't match the flexibility of Excelsior. Most conventional college severely limit the amount of transfer/ CLEP/ DSST credits... additionally most programs are specific, whereas the BS Liberal Studies allows you to design your own degree. The biggest problem, IMO, is having to wait for specific classes being offered. With Excelsior, I have gone at my own pace, accrued almost 80 credits in 3 months of studying, and will be finished very soon. There are very few options like this.

So far the only test I could take that would give me UL credits at UTEP and A&S credits at EC is DSST-Money and Banking.

Anyway...any advice is much appreciated, either about my questions above, courses to take to satisfy the requirements or anything else.