Are CLEPS/DSST's a Legit Way to Get your Degree?

[Gary]

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[sgloer]

Check out the following thread:
http://www.instantcertonline.com/forums/...rning.html

It may not answer your question exactly, but it's relevant.

My personal opinion--unless you're a young, fresh-out-of-college grad, the chance of a prospective employer asking to see your transcript is almost nil. At your age, your work experience is going to be the most important thing, and your degree is just going to be a box checked off on the requirements list.

At most, they'll check a) if your college is accredited and b) that you actually got the degree that you said you did.

Hopefully some members who have completed their degree through Excelsior will chime in....

[Chuckers]

Everyone, do these CLEP's /DSST's really help you land good jobs????? I've been wracking my brain going to college and it's getting old. I'm 49 w/90 credits + and Excelsior did a review of my transcripts, I need 10 Upper Level classes, 1 math and that 1 credit course they require you to take. I'm taking MGT 311 from CSU Pueblo because everyone says it's relatively easy. I'm still waiting for the book to begin. Another ques??? since there are so many posts, what are 5-6 good, quick to complete, Upper Level courses. I've seen Ethics in America listed as well as Organizational Behavior, HRM and MIS. Any others? I have my AAS in Admin/Management from Excelsior and I am going for my BS in Liberal Studies, with a wife, 2 kids and parents w/failing help, I'm waiving the white flag and realizing, I just need the paper now and I'm looking for the shorter, easier, cheaper route, yet one I can be proud of. I'm not looking to cheating. Thanks.....

Drug & Alcohol Abuse is an upper level and isn't extremely difficult.

[skyfall123]

Gary,
I'm older than you, have an established business, since 1988, and am still getting my bachelors. Why?

1) Setting an example for my two boys who are in their second year of college.
2) I want the degree in case I decide I want to teach a few years down the road.
3) Evey year I bid with two other companies on govt. contracts, while the degree may not win the job, the lack of one may disqualify.
4) I see the Bachelors as a gateway to a Master's which I will continue to pursue...probably a Masters in Education Technology which I can use for corporate training or a Masters in non-profit management..a unique degree with some posibilities....both offered at UCF.

I may directly use my degrees and I may not, but they are the best insurance policy for the twists and turns that life inevitably presents.

Good luck with your pursuits!

[Gary]

That's good enough for me. The main reason I'm going for the Bachelors is to try to get into government employment which seems almost impossible. I retired from the Navy in 2003 and have been researching jobs on USA JOBS website and though a Bachelors Degree is almost always a requirement, there are also requirements such as the number of Upper Level credits you have and if you have the required courses etc. The closer I look at the requirements, the more I realize you need a pretty heavy hitter degree to enter many available fields. I'm very content w/my resume and a Bachelors would definitely be icing on the cake. I seriously doubt I will go on to my Masters, I want to smell the roses as they say. But who knows. I know TESC is the easier way to go but I lost respect for that school, I think I'll continue on w/Excelsior. I never had any problems w/them in the past. I think I''ll look into a few of the ECE/DSST exams to try and get my degree quicker. I'll keep looking at what might be a few of the easier ones. Thanks and good luck all.

[ImustStudy]

That's good enough for me. The main reason I'm going for the Bachelors is to try to get into government employment which seems almost impossible. I retired from the Navy in 2003 and have been researching jobs on USA JOBS website and though a Bachelors Degree is almost always a requirement, there are also requirements such as the number of Upper Level credits you have and if you have the required courses etc. The closer I look at the requirements, the more I realize you need a pretty heavy hitter degree to enter many available fields. I'm very content w/my resume and a Bachelors would definitely be icing on the cake. I seriously doubt I will go on to my Masters, I want to smell the roses as they say. But who knows. I know TESC is the easier way to go but I lost respect for that school, I think I'll continue on w/Excelsior. I never had any problems w/them in the past. I think I''ll look into a few of the ECE/DSST exams to try and get my degree quicker. I'll keep looking at what might be a few of the easier ones. Thanks and good luck all.

Gary,

Your upper level Dantes/DSST exams would qualify you as having 'taken' the upper level classes. It is the same as challenging the class through the school and getting credit for your class. That's also why at Excelsior you get a letter grade for the DSST exams. CLEP exams generally are consiered to have "met the minimum requirement" but do not give the letter grade.

Check with OPM but I don't think they care if you have actually taken the class or merely possess the upper division(level) credits. You must get these upper level credits anyway to get your degree.

I would also reason that TESC is not the 'easier' way to go.

I enrolled in both TESC and Excelsior and had my transcripts evaluated at each. TESC said I needed about 30+ credits to get my BS degree, while Excelsior said I needed about 12 credits. It is my experience that Excelsior is much more flexible with how they distribute your incoming transfer credits. I only have experience in the Criminal Justice program but have seen on other threads that experience in other fields is similar. Plus, Edison's customer service and prompt response is SEVERELY LACKING in my limited experience. Perhaps with a master's degree you could teach a new course to TESC staff entitled, "Exceptional Customer Service 101." They could use it.

I wish you well on your road to success. Keep it up. It will go fast if you follow the advice of those on this forum. They have some great experience.

[ShotoJuku]

[COLOR="Navy"]I was 45 when I went back to school with all of 45 credits too. Three years later I have BOTH a Bachelors and Masters degree and I'm going back for more!

My advice - finish your degree with Excelsior College (THEY'RE THE BEST) and do it (enroll) in 2007 and make it your 2008 resolution to finish.

Good Luck and DO IT!!!!![/COLOR]

[cookderosa]

I just want to hit on the "is it legit" question. The legit part comes from which college you pick. If you go to an unaccredited college, the method of instruction delivery doesn't mean squat. Where you get your degree is more the question. How you choose is up to you- there are pros and cons of anywhere- and who accredits the school matters. (in culinary arts for example, being an RA college isn't anything,but having the American Culinary Federation credential is huge, In business, folks here have mentioned an alphabet soup accreditation that the school should have; I can't recall who)

The college decides which methods of instructional delivery they ACCEPT. At the community college I teach at, we have used telecourses for years. We also have weekend college programs, night classes, special mini-semesters in the winter, online classes, and accept CLEP. When it is all said and done, you know what our students have? A degree.

[Gary]

Thanks for all the info. As for TESC being easier, I didn't meant it that way. I agree with you that Excelsior is probably more acceptable of courses than TESC. What I meant by easier is that they accept 200 Level courses as Upper Level which makes it a little easier for me to get a degree through them. I have no respect for TESC though. Their customer service is terrible. I ask anyone to call their 800 number and ask 1-2 simple questions about any of their programs and their reply is to e-mail admissions with your question and the reply from them is you need to pay a $75.00 registration fee first, then send all your transcripts before they can give out any info. Just recently I was connected to an advisor who said to me and almost an exact quote, "answers cost money"! These were generic questions such as would Intermediate and College Algebra suffice for the AAS in Environmental Science? I never ran into this problem w/Excelsior or any other school for that matter. I live 30 miles south of Trenton so I could probably drive there for answers but they will NOT get my $$$$. They are not worthy. Enough on that. I will continue the march, steady as she goes like you all say. Man school gets tough when you get close to 50, doesn't it? I will continue on w/the BS in Liberal Studies (Excelsior). (1) question, I've read a lot of posts about the Operations Management course at CSU Pueblo. I signed up for MGMT 311: Operations and Quality Management at CSU, is this the same course or is it updated? I read another post about being good w/Excel will help you a lot with this course. Do you need to be good with Excel to complete this course? This site was a good find, you guys/girls all have great info which has definitely helped me, a cross between an infomercial and pep rally. I appreciate the help.

[ImustStudy]

Thanks for all the info. As for TESC being easier, I didn't meant it that way. I agree with you that Excelsior is probably more acceptable of courses than TESC. What I meant by easier is that they accept 200 Level courses as Upper Level which makes it a little easier for me to get a degree through them.

This site was a good find, you guys/girls all have great info which has definitely helped me, a cross between an infomercial and pep rally. I appreciate the help.

I was not aware of the upper level course acceptance. Good intel, thansk for sharing that.

You're right, we do sound like an Infomercial. Too bad they are not paying me for my time.

I have never been so sold on any school like I am with EC. They have spolied me so that I am no longer tolerant of lousy service.

I do see that TESC has an excellent policy on taking portfolio assessment that from what I hear may be superior to Excelsior's.

Anyone have info on this one?