Excelsior University BS in Liberal Arts Upper Credit Transfer Options

[Niketay]

Hello all. I am a military student who was admitted to Excelsior University for the BS in Liberal Arts program. I received my initial evaluation and need a few more classes to transfer. Does anyone have any recommendations for upper level courses? I heard lawshelf might be a good source and the tests are open book. I also need another written english requirement. Any good options for those? I heard English Composition II from Sophia isn't counted. I'll link my MAP. Thank you in advance.

[bjcheung77]

Hey, I removed your attachment as there is personal info in the file. Please remove the personal details if you want to add that back... I don't think there is a need to as you have VERY less remaining to complete! The info is below:

ARTS AND SCIENCES Needed
Arts and Sciences Upper Level 6.0
TOTAL ARTS AND SCIENCES REMAINING 6.0

APPLIED PROFESSIONAL or ADDITIONAL ARTS AND SCIENCES Needed
Any Academic Area Lower Level 4.0
Any Academic Area Upper Level 9.0
TOTAL IN ANY ACADEMIC AREA REMAINING 13.0
Totals listed above must include the following requirements:
General Education requirements: Needed
Cornerstone requirement 3.0
Written English 3.0
Information Literacy 1.0
Capstone Course 3.0

By reading that, you need 6 + 13, for 19 credits.
If you look at the requirements below, you have 10.
Cornerstone requirement 3.0
Written English 3.0
Information Literacy 1.0
Capstone Course 3.0

Take any three UL courses you want and you're done... I would suggest anything from Coopersmith, Lawshelf, Study.com

[Niketay]

Hey, I removed your attachment as there is personal info in the file.  Please remove the personal details if you want to add that back... I don't think there is a need to as you have VERY less remaining to complete!  The info is below:

ARTS AND SCIENCES Needed
Arts and Sciences Upper Level 6.0
TOTAL ARTS AND SCIENCES REMAINING 6.0

APPLIED PROFESSIONAL or ADDITIONAL ARTS AND SCIENCES Needed
Any Academic Area Lower Level 4.0
Any Academic Area Upper Level 9.0
TOTAL IN ANY ACADEMIC AREA REMAINING 13.0
Totals listed above must include the following requirements:
General Education requirements: Needed
Cornerstone requirement 3.0
Written English 3.0
Information Literacy 1.0
Capstone Course 3.0

By reading that, you need 6 + 13, for 19 credits.
If you look at the requirements below, you have 10.
Cornerstone requirement 3.0
Written English 3.0
Information Literacy 1.0
Capstone Course 3.0

Take any three UL courses you want and you're done... I would suggest anything from Coopersmith, Lawshelf, Study.com

Thank you very much for the help. Do you have any recommendations for the english course? And will any of the upper level courses from lawshelf work?

[bjcheung77]

Thank you very much for the help. Do you have any recommendations for the english course? And will any of the upper level courses from lawshelf work?

Yes, You've taken English I at Sophia.org, I would take English II there as well or you can switch it up a little for Study.com... I would use Sophia.org so you can 'take' extra courses you find interesting there as well while you're waiting on English II assignment grading and for extra 'elective' credit required for the LL area, that's if you want to get a LL course.

Arts and Sciences Upper Level 6.0 minus Capstone Course 3.0 = One more UL Arts & Science
Any Academic Area Upper Level 9.0 minus UL Cornerstone 3.0 = Two more UL any academic area
Take any two UL from their transfer list here: https://lawshelf.com/assets/pdf/Excelsior.pdf

Email your academic advisor to find out what other UL you can get from this list, if any.  If you can't get any from them for A&S, ask them about Davar Academy courses for UL, as a last resort, you can always look at DAU for more FREE courses to transfer into Excelsior or TESU.  Question: Have you set your sights on Excelsior because you don't have many RA credits? I see just the ones from WGU show up in the evaluation...  TESU and the 24 credit residency may rival the cost, ease, speed of Excelsior.

[dfrecore]

For UL Arts & Sciences, you can do Coopersmith or Study.com - not business courses, generally, so things that come in as Humanities or Social Sciences (like Communications, Psychology). Study.com has a list on their website of how things will come into Excelsior: https://study.com/college/school/excelsior-college.html

For UL anything else, you can do Coopersmith or Study.com, or Lawshelf. I haven't heard what they'll bring in from there, so you may want to check first.

[bjcheung77]

@Niketay, If you're going the Study.com route, try to take two courses there instead of one as the monthly fee already includes the two courses and final exams.  I would take something like English 305 Advanced Technical Writing an an A&S UL elective since you want to improve upon the English II from Sophia.org: https://study.com/college/school/excelsi...urse-guide

[Niketay]

Thank you very much for the help. Do you have any recommendations for the english course? And will any of the upper level courses from lawshelf work?

Yes, You've taken English I at Sophia.org, I would take English II there as well or you can switch it up a little for Study.com... I would use Sophia.org so you can 'take' extra courses you find interesting there as well while you're waiting on English II assignment grading and for extra 'elective' credit required for the LL area, that's if you want to get a LL course.

Arts and Sciences Upper Level 6.0 minus Capstone Course 3.0 = One more UL Arts & Science
Any Academic Area Upper Level 9.0 minus UL Cornerstone 3.0 = Two more UL any academic area
Take any two UL from their transfer list here: https://lawshelf.com/assets/pdf/Excelsior.pdf

Email your academic advisor to find out what other UL you can get from this list, if any.  If you can't get any from them for A&S, ask them about Davar Academy courses for UL, as a last resort, you can always look at DAU for more FREE courses to transfer into Excelsior or TESU.  Question: Have you set your sights on Excelsior because you don't have many RA credits? I see just the ones from WGU show up in the evaluation...  TESU and the 24 credit residency may rival the cost, ease, speed of Excelsior.

So I have 45 credits that I took at the Defense Language Institute in person. Do the RA credits have to be taken specifically at TESU? Or would my DLI credits work to cover the RA requirement and I would be able to transfer in the remaining ACE credit, then finish the 1 or 2 mandatory TESU courses?

[bjcheung77]

@OP.  It really depends on how you look at things... TESU has a requirement for 24 residency credits for military, civilians route requires 16 credits, in either case, some people go the residency waiver route ($3,354) and just pay the fee to take only the cornerstone/capstone at TESU ($1,635 each, $545x3 out of state or $1,257 each, $419x3 in-state NJ).  

The only difference is that for military students, the PLA and TECEP will grant residency credits, for civilians, this method will not work, it will only apply to RA credits.  I would recommend the TESU route, as you can add another Bachelors in Business or something for an extra $750 capstone + extra you need for the remainder of courses that make up the degree.  

Here's a quick break down and why I asked if you wanted the Excelsior route, or the TESU method.

Excelsior has 7 residency credits for any student.  Military rates are cheaper for tuition alone.
Tuition Reference: https://www.excelsior.edu/costs-and-fina...uate-fees/
7 x 250 = $1,750 for Tuition
28 x 7 = $196 Tech fee
$300 = Each Evaluation
20 x 7 = $140 Service fee
$125 = Grad fee
Total: $2511

TESU has 24 credits residency for military, it's recommended to take 18 credits for the easier lower level ones.
You can go for the BALS, but I would recommend either with a concentration or a BA Foreign Language instead.
Military Tuition Fees Link: https://www.tesu.edu/military/tuition-fees
18 x 52 = $936 TECEPs
6 x 250 = $1500 Cornerstone/Capstone
$298 = Grad Fee
Total: $2734

[Niketay]

@OP.  It really depends on how you look at things... TESU has a requirement for 24 residency credits for military, civilians route requires 16 credits, in either case, some people go the residency waiver route ($3,354) and just pay the fee to take only the cornerstone/capstone at TESU ($1,635 each, $545x3 out of state or $1,257 each, $419x3 in-state NJ).  

The only difference is that for military students, the PLA and TECEP will grant residency credits, for civilians, this method will not work, it will only apply to RA credits.  I would recommend the TESU route, as you can add another Bachelors in Business or something for an extra $750 capstone + extra you need for the remainder of courses that make up the degree.  

Here's a quick break down and why I asked if you wanted the Excelsior route, or the TESU method.

Excelsior has 7 residency credits for any student.  Military rates are cheaper for tuition alone.
Tuition Reference: https://www.excelsior.edu/costs-and-fina...uate-fees/
7 x 250 = $1,750 for Tuition
28 x 7 = $196 Tech fee
$300 = Each Evaluation
20 x 7 = $140 Service fee
$125 = Grad fee
Total: $2511

TESU has 24 credits residency for military, it's recommended to take 18 credits for the easier lower level ones.
You can go for the BALS, but I would recommend either with a concentration or a BA Foreign Language instead.
Military Tuition Fees Link: https://www.tesu.edu/military/tuition-fees
18 x 52 = $936 TECEPs
6 x 250 = $1500 Cornerstone/Capstone
$298 = Grad Fee
Total: $2734

Ahhh I see. Is the 24 credit requirement per degree plan? Or just total? Like let’s say I completed the BALS with CS concentration with 24 credits earned through TESU, would I need another 24 credits for another degree? Or if I have all the courses I need, just the capstone? 

This is very helpful by the way. I am also waiting for an updated TESU evaluation. My last one had 88 credits with 32 credits left for a BALS with a concentration in CS.   

I do not have too many business courses, but I do have a few CS/IT courses and I thought the optional concentration would be nice.

[dfrecore]

Thank you very much for the help. Do you have any recommendations for the english course? And will any of the upper level courses from lawshelf work?

Yes, You've taken English I at Sophia.org, I would take English II there as well or you can switch it up a little for Study.com... I would use Sophia.org so you can 'take' extra courses you find interesting there as well while you're waiting on English II assignment grading and for extra 'elective' credit required for the LL area, that's if you want to get a LL course.

So I have 45 credits that I took at the Defense Language Institute in person. Do the RA credits have to be taken specifically at TESU? Or would my DLI credits work to cover the RA requirement and I would be able to transfer in the remaining ACE credit, then finish the 1 or 2 mandatory TESU courses?

The DLI credits are RA, and they count towards the 30cr of RA that you need at TESU.  So that requirement is covered.

The main thing you have to deal with at TESU is the residency requirement for military (24cr).

Also, your DLI credits should count towards the BALS there, and you prob have all of your UL done as well.