Excelsior BLS Majors

[blu2blu]

I have read alissaroot's BS History major plan and liked it very much. Since I've always been interested in History I'm going to pursue the plan. Instead of a second depth requirement though I think it would be fun to pursue a double major.

So my question is are there any other majors that can be obtained exclusively (or almost exclusively) through CLEP/DSST/ECE/TECEP? I have strongly considered sitting the Psych GRE for a second major (I'm aware of the current policy mess) but I wanted to check for alternatives.

Also I have just discovered that my Freshman College Comp. w/ essay will NOT satisfy the WER at Excelsior. That's fine I'll just take the ECE. I read that one person was able to use Freshman Comp w/ Essay to knockout the 6 Humanities credits required in the BLS program. Is this still accurate?

UPDATE: I just read the Excelsior Liberal Studies catalog in regards to the above question about Freshman Comp. The catalog specifically states that English Composition with Essay does not satisfy the WER. It never mentions Freshman Composition w/ essay but in a list of courses that WOULD satisfy the requirement it lists "Freshman Composition." So if a brick and mortar Freshman Comp is good enough why isn't a CLEP Freshman Comp. w/ essay? Weird.

Does anyone have any input? Can I apply it to humanities?

[alissaroot]

The Uexcel College Writing exam would satisfy the WER,

I believe the policy has changed regarding the CLEP composition exams, they used to be worth humanities credits even though they didn't satisfy the WER, but I believe this is no longer the case. Sorry!

[TMW2010]

The Uexcel College Writing exam would satisfy the WER,

The Uexcel gives 3 credits, the ECE gives 6 credits... IMHO the UExcel is the better deal at $85 compared to the $300-400 for the ECE. So unless you've got money to burn, and really need that extra 3 credits in English, the Uexcel College Writing is the way to go.

As far as acceptance of the CLEPs, this one is probably purely a money making issue with EC. They've got 2 tests that they've developed that compete against the two CLEPs so they've chosen not to accept them for the WER.

[blu2blu]

The Uexcel gives 3 credits, the ECE gives 6 credits... IMHO the UExcel is the better deal at $85 compared to the $300-400 for the ECE. So unless you've got money to burn, and really need that extra 3 credits in English, the Uexcel College Writing is the way to go.

As far as acceptance of the CLEPs, this one is probably purely a money making issue with EC. They've got 2 tests that they've developed that compete against the two CLEPs so they've chosen not to accept them for the WER.

I am fortunate in that I don't have to worry about how much tests and classes cost. I am active duty Navy so all of that stuff is payed for. I am actually deployed to Afghanistan right now and am planning on taking some tests here. Sounds crazy huh? I started out the deployment at a small base that didn't have much. Our mission there ended and I'm now at a much larger base that has a college office with a testing center. They do CLEP, DSST, and ECE exams. Not all of them but the selection is still good. A testing officer will be here in a couple of weeks and they can resume testing so I am planning on knocking out as many as possible while I'm still here then doing the rest when I hit stateside.

I agree about Excelsior's motivation for requiring their own ECE for English.

EDIT/UPDATE: I read through the Excelsior Student Asessment Guide 2010 and it confirms that Freshman Comp. with Essay is indeed still worth six humanities credits. I am relieved!

[mlwilliamsiv]

EDIT/UPDATE: I read through the Excelsior Student Asessment Guide 2010 and it confirms that Freshman Comp. with Essay is indeed still worth six humanities credits. I am relieved!

DO NOT GO BY THIS!!! I called Excelsior like 2 months ago about this and they still haven't changed it. THEY DO NOT AWARD CLEP CREDIT for any of the ENGLISH COMP exams. NEITHER WILL THEY AWARD CREDIT for the NEW CLEP English exams coming out. SO DO NOT LET THIS LIST FOOL YOU. You'll be wasting your time and money.

From a loyal degree seeker,

Marshall

[blu2blu]

Why would Excelsior go against their own publication? It clearly states that the Freshman Comp exam is worth humanities credits, see attachment.

I had to crop it to meet the size requirements but it comes from the Student Guide and Asessment Catalog.

[mlwilliamsiv]

I totally understand. And that's the point I was making to them. It does clearly state that they do accept the CLEP English exams for credit but they don't.

They told me that a new policy was instituted (January 2009) and now they can't allow "splitting" of credits. If you did take CLEP English Composition w/essay they would at least grant you 3 credits for Humanities but it still wouldn't count towards your WER. Now their revised catalog didn't come out until May/June so I don't understand why they still show that they grant credit when they don't. I just threw my hands up on the matter and said forget it. Stuff like that really does make my blood boil but what are you gonna do!:mad:

So to repeat for people who are reading this....EXCELSIOR DOESN'T ACCEPT any of the CLEP ENGLISH EXAMS for credit.

From a loyal degree seeker,

Marshall