Excelsior College

Ok, I completed my Associates of Applied Science with Excelsior, and am proceeding with my MSN in Edu with them. This is a fully accredited nursing program, the nursing department, in fact has recived Excellence in Nursing Distinctions twice recently. The support you get and the tools available to succeed in the program are plentiful. Yes, the final clinical exam is No joke. But should it be? No. It should not. If this were, in fact a "Degree or Diploma Mill" these people wouldn't be complaining about them now would they? No. They would be happy being mediocre with a less that meaningful degree. You Should have to work hard to be a nurse. I passed the dreaded CPNE without even taking the additional classes offered, of which there are many. They give you the blueprint to pass, the rest is up to you. After completing my courses, I was able to identify care plan needs and assessment required for care faster and more accurately than nurses who went the "traditional" (old school) route. This program is Amazing, if you can put in the effort.

Here's the deal. It really isn't set up to teach you anything at least not from scratch. You don't get in without prior experience and prior learning so you shouldn't be starting from scratch. They are just validating the transferable knowledge and skills to entry level nursing. That's it. I have come to find that the nursing profession is very protective but ignorant in terms of how ubiquitous some skills and knowledge are in health professions. They won't give you credit without clinicals done in nursing at a hospital, period. Doesn't matter how much other experience you have. That's where this program is lacking; clinical experience. However redundant it may be for some of us the bottom line is the nursing profession demands it and it's a real struggle in a tight job market to try to get a RN job without it (obviously, I haven't as of yet). So, can you get your degree quickly? Yes (some in as little as 3-4 months). Is it legitimate? Yes (Never been questioned once about the school itself, just no clinical experience). Can you get licensed? Absolutely...well, maybe. Depends on where you live, they will make you jump through hurdles and there are many reasons for it, some just plain political so buyer beware. I had no problems with all that-I'm licensed but w/o nursing experience so it's a struggle and I'm looking into Oklahoma which requires "post licensure" clinicals even though I have a nursing compact license. So I'll have to do clinicals in that state to get a license there. The school is real, been around a long time so saying it's a joke, etc., is just plain stupid. It's regionally accredited and that's the gold standard so that's that.

I graduated with my associates of applied science in nursing. I was able to test out of everything using their Excelsior College Exams and passed the CPNE with no repeats. It's not an easy program, but it's definitely doable if you are highly motivated. I have had no trouble getting jobs or transfering my credits to other colleges. I really have no complaints and recommend this college for those who are highly motivated independent learners.

****Items rated as five should be considered N/A**** First of all I would like to clarify that I earned an associates in science, a two year transfer degree and intend to one day complete a four year degree (probably from Excelsior). I would also like to clarify that I never took any actual classes with Excelsior and am not sure why anyone would, not because the classes are poor (from what I've heard they are good but not cost effective) but because the primary reason Excelsior is successful is that it has no "residency requirement" (in other words, one need not take classes there to get a degree if sufficient credit has been accumulated elsewhere). I took this route, using ACE reviewed credit sources, tests, certifications, and other college credit. It was a hassle getting everything sorted out, the friendly representatives were great to talk to; however, the process was not always efficient and mistakes were made. Long story short, I highly recommend Excelsior as the most cost effective solution to earning a degree if one is to take advantage of the lack of residency requirement. It was cheaper than my community college in Colorado springs would have been. Just keep in mind that getting a degree this way comes with its own set of headaches and that it requires tons of research. I used www.degreeforum.net and www.degreeinfo.com quite a bit to get my credit sources figured out. Other good schools for implementing this option (ie. they have no residency requirement) are Thomas Edison State College (TESC) and Charter Oaks State College (COSC). Both have more expensive annual fees than excelsior (last I checked) so in my mind Excelsior is by far the most efficient associates degree option while the others become more competitive when getting a four year degree. I hope this is helpful!

I completed my associates degree in a little over a year with my SMART transcript. The math instructors provided good tools to make the information easier to understand. The other classes rely on papers and projects more than tests (since they are taken online) to test the students knowledge. I used Excelsior to get my degree for advancement in the Navy, but I am not sure about its real world value. I plan on going to a State university once I retire to complete my degree.

The CPNE, the stop gatefor the LVN to RN program, Very poor pass rate. very subjective, they want more mone.

People that run this are inept and out for money. The person who runs the military credit exchange is a joke. Funny how a brick and mortar school (where I am now at) accepted my ACE/DANTES and other military credits but this crap school wouldn't. Too bad I had to find out after a few hundred dollars. Folks-you get what you pay for and work for-there are no easy degrees. Save yourself the hassle and go to a brick and mortar school. Most of them even have their own online or distance learning programs-that way shams like Excelsior can go bankrupt.