Excelsior: course approval

[nepaloga]

Hello ALL,

I am glad I found this forum before I spent thousands and thousands of $$$ to get a degree. Everybody here is so helpful.

First of all, I am 45 y/o, married with a child. Oh, and I have been working for a living since 16. I think that sums it up why I have not had the chance to return to college.That's my drama.

I have been trying to figure out how to get approval for the courses I wanted to test out. Do I email the advisors? And, by the way I am enrolled at Excelsior. Does anybody know how to write this proposal?

If there is a thread out there that covers this subject, can anyone direct me in that direction, please. Thanks in advance.

[ShotoJuku]

[COLOR="Navy"]Welcome to the IC-Forums-Classroom!

Yes, by all means contact your EC advisor, that's why you enrolled and that's what they are there for.

Be guided by your official evaluation summary and as to what exam credits you can focus on. Many of us here can guide you but your advisor has the final word here.

We look forward to watching you progress towards your degree - Good Luck!![/COLOR]

[gcalvin]

Make sure you download and read the Student Guide and Assessment Catalog from Excelsior. Actually, since you're already enrolled, I bet they sent you a copy. This is the booklet that will list the CLEP, DANTES and ECE exams available. Also, your regular catalog (you didn't say whether you're enrolled in the Business School or Liberal Arts or what) will tell you which exams qualify to fulfill which degree requirements. If your exams are listed there, there is no need to consult your advisor about them (but it doesn't hurt to send a heads-up anyway).

You definitely don't need to worry about formalities, especially after the first e-mail conversation. You can try something like this:

Dear Business Advising Team,

I would like to take the Penn Foster Managerial Accounting course (AC112) to cover the Managerial Accounting requirement for my BS General Business degree. The course is DETC accredited and ACE approved. Please advise whether it will fulfill the requirement.

Thank you,

Joe Student
Student ID: 123456789

Even that is probably more formal than it needs to be. The key is to get to the point, and provide enough detail so the advisor doesn't have to search all over creation to find the course you're talking about. If you can provide a link to the course or exam description on a web site, by all means do. I think you'll find the Excelsior advisors friendly and helpful.

-Gary-

[nepaloga]

I received my unofficial evaluation 2 weeks ago and I enrolled just a week ago hoping to immediately receive an official eval. Still waiting!!

I am enrolled in Lib Arts. I did receive a booklet and an addedum, but not the Student Guide and Assessment catalog. I found it in the website and began studying it.

Brian and Gary, I want to thank both of you.

Nestor

[originalbigjim]

have you seen Lawrie Miller's BA in 4 Weeks. Online degrees by distance learning. BA degree and graduate degees - Accelerated Master Degrees by Distance Learning. or Excelsior College, Value Of A College Education, Distance Learning Degree Program - 123collegedegree.com yet. These two sites will give you a basic outline of what you need to do. You can contact your advisors at excelsior either by email or by phone ( Calling speeds up the process). They can help you every step of the way.

[Runner4064]

Welcome, First off let me say how proud of you we are. I (as many others) was in a similar boat, as responsibilities would not take a back seat to school. For me it was a long ride and in the end totally worth it!

As far as your evaluations, advisors, etc. I would advise you to do this.

When you call them to get approval, ask them to list it on your "MY EC". They will type in approval as well. This gives you documentation. This is very important because they are human (and although less than other schools) they still screw up. This happened to me and I lost out on a lot of time taking a class that was unnecessary. If I had known to do this it would have saved me.

Along the way you will get evaluation summaries. Buy a 3 ring binder and catalogue EVERY one. This will also save you.

There is a ton of great info on this site, not to mention great people. When I graduated (10 days ago) the outpouring of support I received from everyone (of whom I never met) was completely overwhelming. They are the Best.

Ok good luck with your studies. Welcome to the fraternal order of Instantcert.

[gus]

Hello Nestor, congratulations on making the first step. I have little to add here, but you can also contact your advisors by email or using the college's Message Center (available from MyEC after you login). Both ways should work, but I find that the latter to be more reliable.

As Gary put it, the communication need not be elaborate nor very formal. I think it is best to always get exam approval in writing as the rules and regulations keep changing and it would sometimes differ from the catalog/assessment guide contents.

For Excelsior course approvals, you can simply enroll online and approval will either be automatic or directly sent to your advisors for approval without further effort (note that there are threads here on the board about how you can save money when taking Excelsior courses, although I'm not familiar with the process).

Good luck with your journey!

[gus]

Welcome to the fraternal order of Instantcert.

This is off topic, sorry, but it seems that the fraternal order is official!

[ShotoJuku]

This is off topic, sorry, but it seems that the fraternal order is official!

[COLOR="Navy"][SIZE="5"]F[/SIZE]raternal [SIZE="5"]O[/SIZE]rder [SIZE="5"]I[/SIZE]nstant[SIZE="5"]C[/SIZE]ert....

[SIZE="3"]Would that make you a FOICer?[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[gus]

Before we had the STOICs and now we have the FOICs

I'm so sorry, don't mean to hijak the thread. I obviously couldn't help it.