received my EC unoffical evaluation...advice?

[metadetroit]

EC just sent me my unofficial evaluation and I have a couple of questions for the forum. Here it is:
_________________________
Unofficial Summary - Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (BAL)

Listed below are the requirements you still need to complete:

General Education (Arts & Sciences Requirement)
6.00 semester hours at the upper level

Distribution Requirements
2.00 in Natural Science/Math

Quantitative Requirement
All baccalaureate degree students are required to take a course (equal to at least 2 semester hours or 3 quarter hours) in quantitative reasoning. You may satisfy this requirement by taking a college level course or examination such as college algebra, trigonometry, or statistics.

NOTE: 57*1705 from Columbia College Chicago will be reviewed toward this requirement upon enrollment

Information Literacy Requirement


Upon enrollment, as part of your Excelsior College online education, the first step is to complete our CCS*100 EC Student Experience course. The purpose of this course is to orient you to Excelsior College. There is no charge for tuition, it is non-credit bearing, and it is required.

___________________



So my questions are:

1. I thought I had a total of over 30 upper level credits...if I enroll in the BS program instead of the BA program is it possible that this requirement may already be complete?

2. When I enroll, Do I have to choose to be in either the BS or BA program definitely or can I decide that/change that after I enroll without penalty?

3. I took a math class at art school called 'Math for survival' at an RA 4-year art school. It was a college-level course teaching math to right-brain thinkers. Great course actually, I learned a lot. This satisfied that school's math requirement. I wish I knew if EC would accept it as their quantitative requirement, it's kind of frustrating not to know. Here's hoping they will

4. Information Literacy - From what I've read here it seems the best strategy for this requirement is to just order it through Penn Foster. Is that still true?

5. I've never heard of the EC Student Experience course. Can anyone shed light on this? Is this required for both BA and BS degrees?

____

Also before I enroll I'm still deciding if I'm going to complete my degree through Excelsior or through the University of Texas - El paso. With their Bachelor of Multidisciplinary studies program I'd definitely need more UL credits. Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies

So far the only test I could take that would give me UL credits at UTEP and A&S credits at EC is DSST-Money and Banking.

Anyway...any advice is much appreciated, either about my questions above, courses to take to satisfy the requirements or anything else.

[daniellevine]

So my questions are:

1. I thought I had a total of over 30 upper level credits...if I enroll in the BS program instead of the BA program is it possible that this requirement may already be complete?

Yes. With a BA in Liberal Studies, all of the upper level credits must be in the Arts and Sciences. With a BS you can also use other courses, such as Applied Professional (computers, health care, technology, etc.)

2. When I enroll, Do I have to choose to be in either the BS or BA program definitely or can I decide that/change that after I enroll without penalty?

Yes; you can change your degree from BA to BS, your major (if you are doing one), or switch from Liberal Studies to a major. The only time you would incur a fee is if you switch from the Liberal Arts department to the Business or Nursing Department.

3. I took a math class at art school called 'Math for survival' at an RA 4-year art school. It was a college-level course teaching math to right-brain thinkers. Great course actually, I learned a lot. This satisfied that school's math requirement. I wish I knew if EC would accept it as their quantitative requirement, it's kind of frustrating not to know. Here's hoping they will

Tough call. My guess is that it will count towards your degree, but not towards the math requirement. The requirement is for "Quantitative Reasoning." Usually that will entail something involving more left-brain thinking. I could be wrong.


4. Information Literacy - From what I've read here it seems the best strategy for this requirement is to just order it through Penn Foster. Is that still true?

Yes. I completed this last month. Always best to check with your adviser, but I'm 99.9% this is still in effect.

5. I've never heard of the EC Student Experience course. Can anyone shed light on this? Is this required for both BA and BS degrees?

It is a non-credit course that appears on your student page once you are enrolled. I haven't taken it yet but I believe it's very short and easy, and it's made to orient you with the college. It's free.

Also before I enroll I'm still deciding if I'm going to complete my degree through Excelsior or through the University of Texas - El paso. With their Bachelor of Multidisciplinary studies program I'd definitely need more UL credits. Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies

Excelsior is very flexible and carries a good reputation... UTEP might be a good option for you, but it definitely won't match the flexibility of Excelsior. Most conventional college severely limit the amount of transfer/ CLEP/ DSST credits... additionally most programs are specific, whereas the BS Liberal Studies allows you to design your own degree. The biggest problem, IMO, is having to wait for specific classes being offered. With Excelsior, I have gone at my own pace, accrued almost 80 credits in 3 months of studying, and will be finished very soon. There are very few options like this.

So far the only test I could take that would give me UL credits at UTEP and A&S credits at EC is DSST-Money and Banking.

Anyway...any advice is much appreciated, either about my questions above, courses to take to satisfy the requirements or anything else.

[TMW2010]

Just to add...

So my questions are:

1. I thought I had a total of over 30 upper level credits...if I enroll in the BS program instead of the BA program is it possible that this requirement may already be complete?

Depends on what you're credits are in. If they don't duplicate you could always take Rise & Fall of the Soviet Union, Civil War and Reconstruction, or Substance Abuse dssts to fill the A&S credits if you want to stick with a BA.

2. When I enroll, Do I have to choose to be in either the BS or BA program definitely or can I decide that/change that after I enroll without penalty?

Answered

3. I took a math class at art school called 'Math for survival' at an RA 4-year art school. It was a college-level course teaching math to right-brain thinkers. Great course actually, I learned a lot. This satisfied that school's math requirement. I wish I knew if EC would accept it as their quantitative requirement, it's kind of frustrating not to know. Here's hoping they will

Sounds like they likely won't... But $20 and a few hours with ALEKs would get you what you needed. And if you don't already have Stats, I think that would kill two birds with one stone, being 3 UL credits that fulfills the Quant Reasoning requirement. That is if you have enough credits in electives to cover any gaps to get you to 120.

4. Information Literacy - From what I've read here it seems the best strategy for this requirement is to just order it through Penn Foster. Is that still true?

Yep, cheap, easy, and somewhat boring.

5. I've never heard of the EC Student Experience course. Can anyone shed light on this? Is this required for both BA and BS degrees?

I think its required for all students now. Its just clicking a few links and paying attention to what's going on. I did mine this weekend, if if you've learned to navigate Excelsior's site already, there's very little to be excited about. Hint - Keep the quiz answers in mind when you take it, because many of them actually are on the 'test' at the end.

So far the only test I could take that would give me UL credits at UTEP and A&S credits at EC is DSST-Money and Banking.

Nope, that's a Business Test which would fall under General Electives. You need classes under Natural Science, Political Science, or Humanities for EC. Here's the breakdown. (And don't pay attention to ALL of the tests that show as UL credit, because EC only gives LL credit for the ones I didn't list up there.

Anyway...any advice is much appreciated, either about my questions above, courses to take to satisfy the requirements or anything else.

Good luck! Also, EC does have a few 8 week Criminal Justice UL courses that fall under Social Sciences if you want to get something done quick. And they're available on CD-ROM, which you could actually do the class faster than the 8 weeks.

[metadetroit]

Sounds like they likely won't... But $20 and a few hours with ALEKs would get you what you needed. And if you don't already have Stats, I think that would kill two birds with one stone, being 3 UL credits that fulfills the Quant Reasoning requirement. That is if you have enough credits in electives to cover any gaps to get you to 120.

Nice. So then with 3 UL math/science/quantitative credits it seems like I'd only need 3 more A&S UL credits?

Can anyone else confirm whether or not Excelsior considers DSST-Money and Banking to be A&S or not? Also it lists DSST-Substance Abuse as 'Applied Professional' would this be considered A&S?

On their 'Student Guide to Assessment' PDF, it lists the test as upper level social science and history.

https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_Coll...atalog.pdf

Thanks so much for the help.

[TMW2010]

Nice. So then with 3 UL math/science/quantitative credits it seems like I'd only need 3 more A&S UL credits?

Can anyone else confirm whether or not Excelsior considers DSST-Money and Banking to be A&S or not? Also it lists DSST-Substance Abuse as 'Applied Professional' would this be considered A&S?

On their 'Student Guide to Assessment' PDF, it lists the test as upper level social science and history.

https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_Coll...atalog.pdf

Thanks so much for the help.

That's... weird... I would double check with them on the Money & Banking. Hmm... I guess they don't consider Substance Abuse an SS like DANTES does.

Sorry about that, but yeah, I would still double check with them on Money & Banking... But it wouldn't be the first time they've made an utterly goofy call like that.

[MISin08]

That's... weird... I would double check with them on the Money & Banking. Hmm... I guess they don't consider Substance Abuse an SS like DANTES does.

Sorry about that, but yeah, I would still double check with them on Money & Banking... But it wouldn't be the first time they've made an utterly goofy call like that.

Money & Banking is UL Economics, probably why they count it as SS...

Phillip

[NAP]

What did you decide/find out about a communications/journalism major or area of focus?

[Tasman]

What did you decide/find out about a communications/journalism major or area of focus?

I too would like to know as that is my current degree plan

[eyrobinson]

You can take Penn Foster College's Information Literacy. I did it in one day. Two quick exams, $90, no books, and they send the transcript straight to EC for free.

[metadetroit]

I still don't have any more information about majors/etc. as I haven't officially enrolled in EC yet.

I think I'm going to take a few upper level DSSTs and then decide whether to finish with Excelsior or University of Texas Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies program.

I'll keep the board up to date.