07-17-2009, 01:43 PM
Well--I suspect that David has sufficiently practiced his craft by this point.
David-
Your scenario does obviously break the mold in many ways. Many of us here, including myself, were looking for a quick and inexpensive way to earn a degree. I wanted a degree in business--but a liberal arts degree is probably 3-4 times more popular. My initial reply assumed several things which are not true. It appears that you are looking for a specific degree (music) for which you'll need classes that do not have corresponding CLEP, DSST or ECE exams and $$$ may not be as big an issue for you as it is for others. Also, you've already made significant progress and done significant research into PLA.
So while I still advocate credit-by-exam over PLA--in your case it is not nearly as clear cut as it first appeared. My sense/educated guess/feeling is that it is unlikely that a well-constructed PLA would fail. In other words, I would be shocked if, after taking the PLA class and putting in all the work to construct the portfolio, Excelsior or any of the others would not award the credit. For me it looked like I could achieve my goals with less time, effort and $$$. You have already put in much of the time and effort at this point it appears--so if the $$$ don't scare you away--it certainly seems worth a try!
Let me leave you with this: My experience with credit-by-exam was, overall, very good. My local CC was VERY accommodating to me as an adult learner. If there is a school within travel distance which has a credit-by-exam program and the appropriate classes--you may find them to be accommodating as well. After all--you are likely going to be older and more experienced and knowledgeable than many of the teachers and administrators with whom you will have to deal--and you've accomplished a lot. If you approach them with your goal and engage them in a friendly manner, I'll bet they will help. In my opinion, those credits will be cleaner and, in my case, they were graded.
I received a grade of A in everything except Bass Guitar I (B) because, as you may know, bass players are not often fond of guitar players who THINK they can play bass. Given that the bass course was an introductory TWO credit course, I was a little surprised that he was asking me to follow jazz charts and know the altered tones--sight read and demonstrate the various scale modes. He was actually a REALLY nice guy--but I kept thinking to myself, "Is he really getting kids from never touching a bass guitar to this in ONE TWO-CREDIT CLASS????"
Anyway, this is a great thread and I hope that you're able to use some of our perspectives as you put together your plan. Good luck!
David-
Your scenario does obviously break the mold in many ways. Many of us here, including myself, were looking for a quick and inexpensive way to earn a degree. I wanted a degree in business--but a liberal arts degree is probably 3-4 times more popular. My initial reply assumed several things which are not true. It appears that you are looking for a specific degree (music) for which you'll need classes that do not have corresponding CLEP, DSST or ECE exams and $$$ may not be as big an issue for you as it is for others. Also, you've already made significant progress and done significant research into PLA.
So while I still advocate credit-by-exam over PLA--in your case it is not nearly as clear cut as it first appeared. My sense/educated guess/feeling is that it is unlikely that a well-constructed PLA would fail. In other words, I would be shocked if, after taking the PLA class and putting in all the work to construct the portfolio, Excelsior or any of the others would not award the credit. For me it looked like I could achieve my goals with less time, effort and $$$. You have already put in much of the time and effort at this point it appears--so if the $$$ don't scare you away--it certainly seems worth a try!
Let me leave you with this: My experience with credit-by-exam was, overall, very good. My local CC was VERY accommodating to me as an adult learner. If there is a school within travel distance which has a credit-by-exam program and the appropriate classes--you may find them to be accommodating as well. After all--you are likely going to be older and more experienced and knowledgeable than many of the teachers and administrators with whom you will have to deal--and you've accomplished a lot. If you approach them with your goal and engage them in a friendly manner, I'll bet they will help. In my opinion, those credits will be cleaner and, in my case, they were graded.
I received a grade of A in everything except Bass Guitar I (B) because, as you may know, bass players are not often fond of guitar players who THINK they can play bass. Given that the bass course was an introductory TWO credit course, I was a little surprised that he was asking me to follow jazz charts and know the altered tones--sight read and demonstrate the various scale modes. He was actually a REALLY nice guy--but I kept thinking to myself, "Is he really getting kids from never touching a bass guitar to this in ONE TWO-CREDIT CLASS????"
Anyway, this is a great thread and I hope that you're able to use some of our perspectives as you put together your plan. Good luck!
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