Excelsior College

I was in a bachelor of science in general business curriculum. I had to take a capstone course BUS 495 business strategy. It was an 8 week format. The problem with the course is you had to work on the business strategy game in a group. Some of my group members couldn't be contacted because they weren't in the United States. You had to do 2 case studies that were 10-12 pages in length, a report and power point on the business strategy game which took a lot of time, complete a 10 page business portfolio, along with 6 posts a week(2 initial, and a 4 responses to other students). I am a working person who went to a traditional brick and mortar school, I didn't get nearly that amount of work. The instructor was no help because she didn't want to be contacted by phone only by email where it took a long time to respond. She said to me that I am a tough grader. She had a PHD but, I believe she did not know how to facilitate online courses. I encourage everyone who is in business to do your research before enrolling in this college. From what I hear from other students, they were correct, you waste more time doing discussing questions and writing case studies. Also, there is no real interaction between classmates unless you are posting answers to discussion questions. The instructor wasn't very personable. In the fall, I am going back to the New Jersey School of Technology where I can have real interaction with my professors and classmates.

I attended Excelsior for the same reason most do: I was on the edge of a degree and Excelsior was the shortest route. I applied to EC in September 2009. Six months and 13 credits later, 6 from UOP, 3 from National University and 4 from Excelsior, I have diploma in hand. Stanford it is not, but if you need an accredited degree as an entry condition for a job or promotion, or you are applying for post-graduate work at a school with a more distinguished name, regionally accredited Excelsior works like a charm. In fact, I expect to be beginning MA courses with Gonzaga in May. A couple things, though.....courses, at least business courses, seem disorganized in the course search, and a lot of needed courses aren't offered in a timeframe that works for you. The cool solution to that is that you can take those courses at a local school or from an accredited online school and they transfer right over. Also, I found the capstone class (the only required course to be taken from EC) to be less interactive and enjoyable than online courses I took elsewhere, and it was so asynchronous that I darned near slept through my deadline for the final paper. Don't let that deter you, though, as the pros outweigh the cons by a ton at this institution.

I was matriculated into Excelsior hoping to get a second BS in a different area than my first degree. I chose BS-CIS. They accepted my undergrad courses and examinations that I took. So I had less than 10 courses to complete in order to get my degree. Between then and now, I moved 3 times, changed jobs 3 times, and had 3 babies. I completed courses as my schedule permits. They added an Ethics requirement after my matriculation. After I took the Ethics exam, I thought I had completed all the requirements, but I was wrong. Two months before my Ethics sitting, Excelsior had changed the degree name to BS-IT. The old BS-CIS degree is done after Nov 2007. I did not know there were new requirements because the communications did not specify any. On top of that, I kept checking my evaluation summary to see that the Ethics requirement was all that was needed to graduate. Nothing indicated that I would need to do anything more than to complete this requirement. Well, several weeks after my Ethics completion, I logged on to check my status, and there were 5 new requirements for the new degree. I found out the new requirements after logging on. They do not tell you unless you ask. What I have a problem with Excelsior College is not their education. I enjoyed and learned a lot from their online courses. I have a problem with their changing requirements on a working adult. Quote from their website: "Excelsior College helps busy working adults earn the degrees they need with flexible distance education programs." I missed the Ethics requirements by two months. I was busy with a change of jobs, a move, and my third child. I could have taken the Ethics exam earlier if I had known that I would be imposed with new requirements. Like I said earlier, there was poor communication on their part. I contacted Excelsior about this and their attitude was "Too bad." Why would I want to spend more money and time if I don't have to? It seems to me that if you are busy, as I have been, you will not be able to graduate even if you meet all your old requirements. I understand that things change, but to not be flexible about it, I don't think that's right. In theory, you could be in a perpetual cycle where you almost finish all your old requirements, but then the college decides to add more requirements. And then you take more of your busy schedule to finish them and then there are more requirements. They are willing to accept your money, but not willing to be a little lenient. ---- [Update] Several days after my last contact with Excelsior, my file was reviewed and was granted a degree. I had only one exam requirement missing that I had scheduled in advance to complete. I missed the degree expiration by two months because of some miscommunication. Now I felt like they did right. I can say that the college is great for busy adults and you can get a great education. Whew.

Excelsior represents the best opportunity for anyone to earn an accredited degree. After many attempts to start and finish my degree with several colleges, Excelsior provided me the means to do so with their liberal transfer policy for credit by examinations. Within 10 months, I was able to complete over 100 credits via CLEP, DSST, ECE and TECEP exams. The service and support I received from Excelsior was superb and an important factor in my success. As well, the overall cost of my degree was very affordable. Shortly after graduating, I was accepted by several graduate programs and am now currently enrolled in a masters program.