Basic Questions

[barcotta]

I told the advisor at Excelsior that I didn't feel it was ethical for them to have informed me that I had 50 units (so that I choose to enroll with them because I believed I could get 70 units through these tests within the next year) and then after they have my money, to give me such different information. That just doesn't seem right to me... Is there any other school that might be easier to deal with? Easier to get my degree from. Has anyone had experience with Thomas Edison? I just want this process to be as straightforward and uncomplicated as possible.

I would have liked this to be a straightforward and uncomplicated process as well--but its not. I would also have liked it if someone would accept my quarter units as semester units--but I don't believe you will find any accredited institution that will. This is not an ethics issue (once you study for Ethics--you'll see!). Here's a common saying that I promise will add years to your life:

Never assume malice where ignorance will suffice.

It was an error. Semester units are more common than quarter units. They have 30,000 students. 30,000! Anyone would have a hard time producing mistake-free, $75 unofficial evaluations on that scale. Why assume malice and ethics violations? If you want straightforward and uncomplicated--go to your local college where they don't have a fraction of the credit sources to evaluate and they'll tell you what you need. Easy. Of course, I've heard more than one horror story from people who went that route and discovered as they were about to graduate that they were missing some requirement that their guidance counselor didn't tell them about or made a mistake on--and they were tens of thousands of dollars into the process and needed to get their degree to go get a job because they were broke! It didn't help that they now had to delay their graduation by a whole semester because they only had one option.

I think that your quest for a mistake-free process will ultimately be frustrating and unsuccessful no matter where you go. Suspecting the motives of one of the longest-running, least-expensive accredited institutions from which one may obtain a degree is not productive, IMHO. I would just ask them to suspend my enrollment for six months or so--or work with them to see if you can find some other solution. They may even agree to a refund if you explain your position politely and you don't accuse them of ethics violations over a simple error. That normally is not an effective negotiation tactic.

If you believe me and reconsider, I think Excelsior would be a great place for you to carry on. If not--you'd probably be doing yourself and Excelsior a favor by moving on.