Feeling incredibly defeated and discouraged. Help?

[rrr]

Maybe try calling and asking specifically about your situation. Who knows, maybe you'll be luckier than me, but I spoke with my other English teacher friend trying to CLEP her way to the MA+30 and apparently they also rejected analyzing lit and college comp for her. I agree that it's so arbitrary.

What's bothering me the most is that they're not giving me credit for Humanities, even though I have absolutely never taken any course similar to the humanities CLEP. They're not granting it because on my undergrad transcript, it says I have two "Humanities electives" under the section of AP credits that transferred over. Those were just my AP Lang and AP Lit credits that satisfied the college's humanities gen ed!! I tried explaining this but they said that because the transcript says "humanities elective" they can't give me the humanities CLEP. I asked my college's registrar to send an email explaining what I just said, but I haven't gotten a response from the DOE. That one is reaaally irritating me because in 100% good faith, I have NEVER taken a class or AP that covered the content of the humanities CLEP.

[ajazzie]

I guess I will call on Monday. I am scheduled to take the personal finance dsst tomorrow along with the revised intro to computers. I will sit for personal finance and call about the intro to computers since I got my MA in educational technology and there is some correlation.

I just happened to be doing some last minute studying and noticed your post. I am glad I read it but now feel so dejected. It's so much money for the DOE not to clarify things. I could have spent time studying for exams that would helped me qualify for the differential. Ridiculous.

[rrr]

Let me know how those go! If they end up accepting Humanities (I feel my case is strong...) then I need 4 more tests. Annoying, and expensive, but once we get the +30 then it will all have paid for itself! The frustrating part is every month we don't have it, it's lost potential money, but I'm sure we'll get it soon. I just wish they had some sympathy for the $500 I just dropped, but alas.

[dfrecore]

I'm not sure if you ever replied to this kind of question, but will they accept other sources of credit besides CLEP and DSST? Like, if you can find some ACE-recommended courses, can you take those instead? I ask because there are free/cheap credits you can get via other methods.

Also, what is it exactly that you cannot take? Just so we have some ideas of what to suggest.

It also might help to post your transcript info here, so we can see what you already took, and not suggest courses/exams that are already covered.

[ajazzie]

Let me know how those go! If they end up accepting Humanities (I feel my case is strong...) then I need 4 more tests. Annoying, and expensive, but once we get the +30 then it will all have paid for itself! The frustrating part is every month we don't have it, it's lost potential money, but I'm sure we'll get it soon. I just wish they had some sympathy for the $500 I just dropped, but alas.

Well, for us some classes might be easier than others. I had to reconfigure my list based on what I learned from you. I have some business background but really just looked at the boards and read the threads to see about the easier tests. Here is what I came up with as things that are doable for me.

criminal justice
substance abuse
intro to counseling
lifespan developmental psy (I know you took it already though)
Environment and Humanity
Human Cultural Geography
principals of supervision
juvenile delinquency
technical writing

I have to ask about Technical writing since I have an English degree, but it's not the same as college comp at all. Human Geo and Environment and Humanity have some overlap. So I'd like to take those because it makes things easier.

Hope this helps, and yes we will get this +30. I was thinking that the city is coming down on us because they want to market those afterschool courses that costs About $350.

[KayV]

Good luck to you all, it's a struggle but worth it to get the next step up. According to ACE, the DSST Criminal Justice is worth 6 credits instead of the usual three, so that might be a good test for you to take if NYC will accept it as such.

[rrr]

Thank you! Here's what it says is approved and not approved:

What type of academic credit qualifies for the various differentials?
There are several ways employees may earn credits toward their differentials. Credits may include those earned:

• At an accredited college or university (domestic or foreign)
  
• Via tests offered by the College Board’s College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
  
• Note: A CLEP exam used to obtain a salary differential cannot be a duplication of earlier coursework for which you have been granted course credit (undergraduate or graduate).
  
• Via in-service courses offered by the NYC DOE’s After School Professional Development Program
  
• Via in-service courses offered by NYSUT—a federation of local education-related unions
  
• Via the Success Via Apprenticeship (SVA) internship program offered jointly by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and NYC DOE (trade teachers only)
  
• Via in-service courses offered by the NYC DOE’s After School Professional Development Program (Only Professional Development coursework taken through this program is acceptable.)
  

What type of academic credit does not qualify for the various differentials?
The following types of courses are not acceptable:

• Courses that are a duplication such as CLEP examinations
  
• Note: The Office of Salary Services makes the determination as to whether a CLEP exam duplicates earlier coursework.
  
• Correspondence courses
  
• Continuing education courses
  
• Video courses
  
• Courses offered by business ventures or third parties (i.e., courses offered by organizations other than regionally accredited colleges and business schools registered by the New York State Education Department [NYSED])
  
• Online/Internet courses with the following exceptions:
  
• Only distance education (online) programs that are offered by accredited New York State institutions and approved by NYSED are accepted. An individual who enrolls in a program offered in New York that is not NYSED-approved may not be eligible for state or federal student financial aid and thus cannot use that program to qualify for New York State teacher certification or other professional licensure or New York City salary increments.
  
• The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is unacceptable for a salary differential.
  
• Professional development coursework taken outside of the NYC DOE’s After-School Professional Development Program is unacceptable.
  

[Life Long Learning]

Call and email them about DSST and UExcel  and Excelsior College  Examinations (NY).

[ajazzie]

This is on the UFT website:
I still need to meet some of my state requirements. Can I do that by taking exams, online courses or classes at out-of-state institutions? How can I be sure the State Education Department will accept these credits?

A:Yes, you may be able to meet some state requirements in this way. For example, you can eliminate course credit deficiencies for your state certification requirements by getting passing grades on exams given by the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST) or Excelsior College Examinations.

The credits you earn by taking these tests also count toward the credit requirements for either the first or second salary differential. You will need to request a transcript from the testing company

The exams you take should not duplicate any college courses you already took. If you have questions about these exams,

CLEP offers exams in 35 subjects. For more information about CLEP go to http://www.collegeboard.com/student/test...about.html.

You can get current information about DANTES at DSST | Get College Credit or by calling 1-877-471-9860.

To check on Excelsior exams, go to Excelsior College | Excelsior College, then click on Exams, or call 1-888-72EXAMS.

DSST seems to have easier exams. I am going to call tomorrow and verify they are still accepting these exams.

[rrr]

Let me know what you find out. I'm also wondering if they will accept both DSST Principles of Supervision and CLEP Principles of Management, because apparently there is a lot of overlap and you can study for both simultaneously. If you don't get a chance to ask then I'll call as well.