Please Critique my Excelsior Degree Plan

[wb.john]

Bachelor of Science with a Major in Mathematics

Humanities
ACTFL Malay 8L 4U
ACTFL Indonesian 8L 4U
CLEP Analyzing and Interpeting Literature 6L

Social Sciences/History
*UEX Poltical Science 3L
*UEX Psychology 3L
CLEP Social Sciences & History 6L

Natural Sciences/Math
CLEP College Mathematics 6L
DANTES Statistics 3L

Business
CLEP Information Systems and Computer Apps 3L

Major Option
GRE Mathematics 12L 21U

GRE Computer Science 12L 18U

Information Literacy: EC Course or LSU/Penn Foster?

WER: ECE English Composition or UEX College Writing?

- I am just starting this and the only two tests I have completed are marked *.

Does this look like a functional plan?

I read that there was a cheaper way to satisfy the Information Literacy requirement through LSU or Penn Foster, by I was unable to find this. Also do you know if the UExcel College Writing exam can be applied toward the Written English Requirement?

Do you have any suggestions for additional exams to help fill in any more credits I will need?

THANKS!!! =)

[TMW2010]

Does this look like a functional plan?

The two GREs that you chosen are kinda scary. But if you're confident you can pull this off, more power to you.

I read that there was a cheaper way to satisfy the Information Literacy requirement through LSU or Penn Foster, by I was unable to find this.

Doing it through Penn Foster only costs $90, and can be completed in a few hours. There's a thread or three in the main forum on this.

Also do you know if the UExcel College Writing exam can be applied toward the Written English Requirement?

Yes, it can.

THANKS!!! =)

Good luck

[peace123]

I would check with Excelsior about the Math GRE and it possibly duplicating the Math Clep or Dantes stats credits that you are planning on taking.

Peace123

[NAP]

You have been doing a lot of research. Great job!

Is the ATCFL all or nothing credit? If so and since the GREs are not guaranteed credit, start to think about how you might want to fill in some credits, if needed. (not for now, but for down the road)

To save some money, you could consider NFA credits and ALEKS Stats.

I still have not gotten to ask Excelsior about the math and math major policies, but this is what I have read last year about their Math policies:

Mathematics Restriction on page 17 of the Liberal Arts Catalog says in part - “No more than three courses on the semester-hour system . . . of mathematics credit below the level of calculus may be applied to any degree. Representative titles of math courses below the level of calculus include College Math, College Algebra, Elementary Functions, Modern Math, Fundamentals of Algebra, Trigonometry, and Precalculus.”

When they changed the requirements for the math major as of January 2007, they included this sentence “Credits earned below the level of calculus will not be applied toward the major but will count toward the overall degree.” This sentence is not in the recent Liberal Arts catalog. [Update: When not using the Math GRE for credit, this policy still seems to be true.]


The way I read these policies:

You could consider College Math CLEP (6 credits), 1 ALEKS (3 credits), Statistics through ALEKS (3 UL credits) for 12 total credits. (This would count as a depth in Math for others. - Great idea from TMW2010!) Then go on to Calculus through the Math GRE for the major.

[Update: Statistics does count as math, but it does not count toward the 3 courses below calculus policy. Statistics through ALEKS counts as upper-level credit, and can be used to fulfill a depth in math.]
[Update: College Math CLEP (6 credits) counts as 2 courses below the level of Calculus. Three levels of math through ALEKS (9 LL credits) plus Statistics through ALEKS (3 UL credits) would be the least expensive way to complete a depth in Math.]


If you get more information about this, please let me know.

I am considering taking both of these GREs. Please keep us updated on your study progress!

[wb.john]

Is the ATCFL all or nothing credit? If so and since the GREs are not guaranteed credit, start to think about how you might want to fill in some credits, if needed. (not for now, but for down the road)

The ACTFL gives a certain amount of credit depending on the rating you recieve, as shown here: ACTFL Certified Proficiency Testing Programs (oral and written) - American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

The ACTFL oral exams do not duplicate any written exams such as CLEP Spanish. I wish there was a written exam for Malay and/or Indonesian as that is my stronger point.

To save some money, you could consider NFA credits and ALEKS Stats.

I really hadn't considered either of these until now. I found the NFA website and several of the courses sound interesting. I am assuming that these are free?? That is really great. How much credit could I receive from these?

The ALEKS website is a little confusing at first. If I only need to pay the relatively low subscription fee to be able to take any or all of their ACE credit courses, that is also a superb deal!

So I'll definitely plan to use ALEKS to replace the UEX Statistics as well as add 3 credits from ALEKS College Algebra or Precalculus.

Updated Ideal, Everything Goes Right Degree Plan ----- I removed CLEP A&I Lit because essays scare me.

Bachelor of Science with a major in Mathematics

Humanities
ACTFL Malay 8L 4U
ACTFL Indonesian 8L 4U

Social Sciences/History
*UEX Poltical Science 3L
*UEX Psychology 3L
CLEP Social Sciences & History 6L

Natural Sciences/Math
CLEP College Mathematics 6L
ALEKS Statistics 3L
ALEKS College Algebra 3L

Business
CLEP Information Systems and Computer Apps 3L

Major Option
GRE Mathematics 12L 21U

GRE Computer Science 12L 18U

NFA Credits 2L <- Some room to grow here? \=)
Information Literacy: LIS 1001 1L
WER: UEX College Writing 3L
Total: 120 credits

[NAP]

Thanks for the information on ACTFL. I did not realize how that works. I am not aware of alternate language test, but check this post for any possibilities:

http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...-lots.html

The NFA course I took was called Fire Service Supervision Q318. I thought the information was very practical for anybody to use. I put some feedback at the end of this post:

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post75628

There are two other NFA courses. One is hydraulics Q137. I have been told that it is 2 hours of math problems. The other is community education Q118. ACE says it takes a few hours longer to complete than the one I took, but I have not been able to verify that.

As far as I know, those are the only 3 NFA courses we can use for college credit at EC right now. That would be 1 credit each, so 3 credits total. They are free except for the ACE transcript. The first ACE transcript is $40; any additional transcripts will be $15. Since you will probably do ALEKS, you will need at least one ACE transcript anyway.

ALEKS is $20 per month. People try to complete as many courses as they can in that time.

A&I Lit is just a reading comprehension exam. There are no essays to write (at least EC does not require it). Check my post above for more information.

That is all I can think of for now. Let us know if you have any more questions.

[wb.john]

I just completed Q118 Community Safety Educator! Woo! I did not find it 'fun' as they promised in the introduction. I took the time to read through the materials but I could have managed by just saving the PDF files or printing them off and referring back as needed during the final exam.

I also completed 'Q-137 Hydraulic Calculations for Water-Based Fire Protection Systems Plan Review' which is not as bad as it sounds. It was really easy and the equation needed for each problem is listed so you only need to plug in numbers. I got a 100%! Eaassssyy.

Ah, I overlooked the fact that the essays were optional in that test. I'll definitely take it in that case.

Now, on to the last NFA course...

...

EDIT: Q318 Completed! It sure feels nice to cross NFA courses off my to-do list.

[wb.john]

I've made some progress.

Passed CLEP A&I, UEX CW, and CLEP SS/H, so now I have 27 credits! Yay!

I changed my plan to be focused towards the actuarial profession. It seems very well suited towards someone who earns a degree in this method, as employment opportunities and advancement are largely determined by the passing of exams.

I added Macroeconomics and Microeconomics to my plan as well as CPCU 540, which is a corporate finance exam.

These three exams meet the first two VEE requirements that are needed for an actuarial designation in SOA or CAS.

The third requirement is Applied Statistical Methods. I have tentatively chosen 'Introduction to Econometrics' at CSU to meet this requirement. However, it's a little bit expensive at $795. I'll give a gold star to anyone who can find a better way to meet this requirement! =) I'd rather do a for-credit course than the ACTEX course which meets this requirement.

With these new exams added to my plan, I am able to reduce the amount of credit from the ACTFL exams and the GRE in Computer Science. I believe that puts my plan at a more reasonable level of difficulty.

[NAP]

Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.

You have gotten me interested again in completing the NFA credits.

Right now, are you just adding courses/exams to your plan? After you have made more adjustments, I would like to see an updated version of your plan.

Also, I would like to talk with you more about the differences between the Computer Science GRE and the other computer exams. I don't know when I will be able to get all of my thoughts together on it, but I'll let you know.

[wb.john]

Bachelor of Science with a major in Mathematics

Humanities 25L Credits Cost
ACTFL Malay 8L $134
ACTFL Indonesian 8L $134
CLEP Analyzing & Interpreting Literature 6L* $92*
UEX College Writing (WER) 3L* $85*

Social Sciences 18L 3U
UEX Poltical Science 3L* --
UEX Psychology 3L* --
CLEP Social Sciences & History 6L* $92*
CLEP Microeconomics (VEE-Economics) 3L $92
CLEP Macroeconomics (VEE-Economics) 3L $92
CSU Econometrics (VEE-Applied Statistics) 3U $795

Natural Sciences 33L 28U
CLEP College Mathematics 6L $92
ALEKS Statistics 3U --
ALEKS College Algebra 3L --
GRE Mathematics 12L 21U $140
GRE Computer Science 12L 4U $140
Actuarial Exams -- $700

Business 6L 3U
CPCU 540 (VEE-Corporate Finance) 3U $235
CLEP Financial Accounting 3L $92
CLEP Information Sys & Computer Apps 3L* $92*

Other 4L
NFA Courses 3L* --
PF Information Literacy 1L $90

27* $361*
Total 120 (89L 34U) $3099

It doesn't look quite as neat when you paste it in here.

You can see that I removed all of the upper level credit (8U) from the two language exams, and 14U from the GRE in Computer Science. I replaced those credits with several easier, career oriented exams.

I went ahead and took Info Sys & Comp Apps. I don't think it will be duplicated by the GRE Computer Science. I'm not completely sure if it would be fair to have the DSST duplicated by the GRE if I am allowed to take several math classes under the GRE Math.

I am pretty satisfied with my plan. Except that CSU Econometrics course is a bit expensive. I think there are still plenty of easy CLEP/DSST exams I can use if there are any duplicated credits. I am happy that all of the VEE requirements can be done for credit. Unfortunately, the Actuarial exams cannot. Anyone interested in the CPCU designation for underwriters has it good though, as all of those exams are ACE evaluated for credit.

I hope to complete the rest of the CLEP tests, ALEKS courses, and the CPCU exam before May/June. So I'll have 49 credits.

By the way, I think there's no reason not to complete all the NFA courses. You might want to consider making your degree a little easier.