Excelsior College

Paul Chesterworth, give me a break... First off how do "they" know if ur any of that crap u said.... U sound like a conspiracy theorist.  Im sure they are using the Patriot Act to find out all this info on u so they can ensure u dont graduate.  Or perhaps ur not doing the work.

College network was a SCAM! I was never informed that you i had to drive 1 hr to sit for my test! I am still paying for this. I do not recommend this college. I also learned that if someone else is interviewing for the same job as you with a RN degree from a ACTUAL college they are 95% to get the job over you. 

Completed my BS here.  Professors definitely made you work for your grade.  Graduated magna cum-laude and had to bust my butt for every bit of my 3.84.  Definitely prepares you for the real world.  Worth every $.  All credits fully transferable to a university.

My Message Center - Once a day in responding. School fee's way off for an non profit institution. If you ask me, this school is probably a for profit rather then a non-profit.  Harharhar. Good School overall.

I earned my Bachelor of Science degree from Excelsior while attending the US Army Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, TX. I transferred my credits from Loyola College of Baltimore with no problems. I am currently in the Master of Liberal Arts program and I can tell you it has been an amazing experience. All of my professors have provided detailed and thoughtful feedback on all of my submissions to this point. I didn't think it was possible but I actually received a butt-chewing of sorts for not providing a"data based" supported document in one of my classes. This feedback encouraged me to work harder and fix my shortcoming. The bottom line... I am genuinely learning, my professors and advisors care, and the admissions staff does a superb job of assisting me with any of my enrollment concerns. Lastly, I am certain my Bachelor of Science degree from Excelsior was key in me securing my current position as an Operations Officer. I am proud to alumni of this institution and can't wait to graduate with my masters with them.  

Hey CSM Araiz, I too graduated with a BS from Excelsior. I recently received my eligibility for the post 9/11 GI Bill and am looking at their Masters in Liberal Arts. It has been  six months since your last post and I thought I would check in and see how it is going for you.  Feel free to email me at csmjvh@hotmail.com.  I am really interested in hearing your personal experience with there program.  Thank you.

Hate to reply to my own post. But that let sentence should have read "proud to be alumni...".

Excelsior has a built-in scam and  would not advise any young student (under 25) to use them.  They have you sign a detailed contract that is hard to understand and you need to know that you only have 3 days to drop the program/disenroll.  Otherwise be in for a nightmare because you will be caught up the rest of your educational career with chaos and loans.

Tuition here keeps going up and up, they even have a $400 yearly fee..for nothing, just to keep you enrolled. Support is abysmal. You're on your own as far as choosing and scheduling classes, academic path, guidance is zero. I'm outta here.

Dont look now but every school in America that is worth anything has raised tuition almost 40% the last few years, and not sure what ph# you used but guidence for me was flawless.  Accurately guided me all the way to a BS.

Another point of clarification:  The Cali state board of nursing has ruled that nursing degrees must include supervised clinical practice in parallel with the theory, and this was upheld in court.  A nursing degree from Excelsior or any other college that doesn't include concurrent supervised clinical work is invalid for nursing licensure in CA.  All other EC degrees are honored by the state university systems and by state of california human resources.

If you live in Cali or want to be an RN there, check out National University.

Point of clarification:  Excelsior is not a member of SUNY.  It is a member of NYSU.  Completely different.

Excelsior grads have been accepted to many high-level grad schools.  Check the excelsior.edu website for a list.  I'm a Gonzaga grad student halfway through my program, and while I can't credit Excelsior for preparing me for my graduate studies, I think the point is that isn't what Excelsior is there to do.  It's a great way to a fast regionally accredited degree for someone who has moved around between a lot of institutions.  If you are depending on the elite reputation of your undergraduate degree to get a job, you are looking at the wrong institution.  If you are seeking a degree as a basic qualification for a job, or for entry into a graduate program that has a name that stands on its own, Excelsior is for you.  It's regionally accredited, accepted by other institutions, and it's a flat-out lie that "California has banned Excelsior."

Hi. i found your post helpful because i'be been searching and searching for an "elite college" with a good reputation. unfortunately i have to do online right now because of my situation at home (kids,etc.) I am finding it very hard to find an online college that i will get a quality education with. i am going for my bachelors in psychology or sociology but not so i can be some everyday run of the mill socialworker. i will hopefully, eventually, get my doctorate and i want to go into research and do something big. so getting into a quality program where i will be at the top of my game is important to me. i don't want to just get an easy degree. any suggestions? (Also please excuse the quality of this message,I'm going from my phone.)

Another one of these "life experience" schools, in fact they will give you credit for just about anything you ever did. Joke school. Expensive too so what's the point? There are many cheaper diploma mills out there.

Sept. 17, 2010, 3:13 a.m.
I found the CPNE to be the most difficult experience of my life.

Did you pass?  If so how many times did you take it?

I am thinking about excelsior for the nursing program . Did you pass the CPNE? Can you tell me about it. Thanks.

I did well with Excelsior College. The problem now is finding a job.I don't know if it's just the bad economy, but I 've applied to multiple places and have not heard one call back.Some places do not take Excelsior College  graduates. So what do I do now?

Not the worst school ever but close. Expensive. Crappy online systems. Non-responsive staff. Stay away.

I am an LPN intrested in the Bridge program to a ADN, i am looking for input and reviews regarding the CPNE and the Clincal experience from previous students....email me @ Cntrygal87005@gmail.com

I am interested in applying, Can I chat with you about he college?  I just have some questions.  Email me at KimHubrich@gmail.com

I'm a white, male, straight republican and had absolutely no problems graduating.

I did well with this school in completing a long-overdue Associate's degree.  This Associate's degree allowed me entry into what was an accelerated 3-year Bachelor's program.

Great school for mid-career folks who need to finish a degree cheaply.  You can finish quickly if you have good study habits and lots of discipline.

It would be nice if Excelsior College contracted with a tuition management company that allows students to modify their billing information and make payments online. FACTS Management Company has this inflexible payment system that does not allow one time payments by phone or online. Instead, all payments have to be processed through a payment agreement. As an added service, they could allow students to make tuition payments online. For some reason, Facts Management was unable to charge one of my active cards. I updated my payment information with them and now they have to go from department to department to process the remainder of my automatic payment and make changes to my monthly agreement. On a positive note, they are responsive and professional.

I completed my Bachelors at Excelsior.  

Good experience, and Excelsior is part of SUNY.

I've gone on to a B & M Grad School program. Other schools on the list of where graduates have been accepted include Top-Tier Law Schools and Ivy League Schools. So, the degree is worth something...

Excelsior was a great experience.  They have great multimedia resources and many of them.  The CD courses are very challenging and you must have very good writing skills to attain an A or B.  The professors are, for the most part, very good.  Plenty of feedback on your papers and exams.  You're always going to have iffy professors, even in traditional institutions.  I have been in the Army for 25 years and can say Excelsior was liberal in awarding military credit and without them I would have had a very difficult time finishing my degree elsewhere. Just a comment on DALTONs post, nursing clinical exams are very difficult everywhere, and I'm glad they are at Excelsior.  Because one does not have the option of mistake in the real world when applying skills on real patients.

I found the CPNE to be the most difficult experience of my life.

Exceilsior College is a SCAM!!!!! Beware!  Their online courses are easy to pass, but when you go to their clinical exam sites, they find many ways to fail you.  If you miss just one little item, you fail! They don't use point system, the only thing they do is sorry pay anoth $2,000, plus hotel expenses, airfare and renatl car.  All I can say is, I told you so if you waste your time, money and hard effort on this school.  Do your self a favor and apply at a regular ADN program, you'll be much happier and you will actually learn something vs. paying your hard earned money to these "Crooks".  Why do you think California has banned Excelsior and won't recognize their pogram or degree, because of thousands of complaints! Exacelisior is a fraud!!!!!!! BEWARE!!!!!!

I am currently enrolled in the RN program (Associates) and I am nearly ready to apply for clinicals.  Is there any study material that I can attain to prepare for clinicals? In the event you haveany info at all upon the matter, please e-mail me at ABarfield001@yahoo.com.
Thanx!

Here is why I regularly recommend Excelsior College to working adults. 

1, Regionally Accredited.
2, Extended hours for academic advisement.
3, Option to take classes at outside schools and then transfer them into their/your degree program effortlessly.
4, Extremely generous with accepting ACE, CLEP, and Military training courses.

I started taking classes while stationed at Quantico Virginia in 1999. Today I have an ASL and BSL from Excelsior College and I couldn't be happier. Being stationed overseas, the extended hours on Mon and Wen (8PM) really helped. I was able to call in and speak about my degree plan and get course approvals for courses offered at other institutions. In fact, I was so happy with the school that I joined the Alumni Organization and donated money to the group. I haven't put a purple lamp on my car or anything, but for military personnel no school can match Excelsior's flexibility and freedom.  

Class of 2010! Ooh-Rah!

I can provide a little insight to the Excelsior experience of trying to get your RN if your an LPN.  Let me first say upfront that I am not a healthcare professional.  My wife just went through this program.  As a spouse I can say this was a long trying experience for my wife.  She started this journey a couple years ago.  You must be very disciplined regarding your study habits.  My wife studied consistently.  After each course she then had to go take a test at an approved location.  In her case, at one of the local colleges or an approved testing site.  This scenario played over and over again over a couple years until she was finished.  Then it was time to do her clinicals.  By the way the cost for all of this was not bad but still expensive for average folks of average income.  Clinicals alone were close to $2K not counting transportation costs and hotel costs.  If you live in a state that has a hospital approved to do your clinicals then it's not too bad.  However if you don't you could end up flying half way across the country to get there.  It can take several months to a year before you get a date and location where you will do your clinicals.  I will add that it is not very easy to pass clinicals.  It's definitely doable but you must be prepared.  You must also be prepared for the fact you may not pass your first time.  You are allowed three attempts. The kicker here is it's three separate fees of close to $2K plus travel costs and you again have to wait between each attempt for them to schedule you for a location.  My wife eventually passed but not on the first try.  She was heart broken to say the least.  This was the first time she did not pass a test of any kind! She is an excellent LPN.  She has been in nursing for a very long time. You learn very quickly that attention to detail is crucial.  Even a detail that is very minute in nature could end up in being failed.  So preparation is very important.  Use the resourses that Excelsior provides.  Study guides and so forth.  They are going to be your best source for information.  When She returned for he second attempt (it took almost 8-10 months to be rescheduled)she faired much better and was better prepared.  It was a very long journey to go through and in the end I suppose it was defintely worth it.  Just be prepared to make the journey.

I completed an AS and 
BS from Regents in the 90's. Great experience. My major was Psychology and I was accepted into two Graduate schools that I applied. Regional accreditation is the key. Highly Recommended.

I am intersted at taking the RN associates program, and I was wondering how the exams were.

The credit exams aren't designed to give you an answer sheet and then have you regurgitate it for easy credit.  They are designed to allow you to display your MASTERY of a subject to the point that classtime isn't necessary.  It should be the culmination of your independent study and review of the topic, and the school is crystal clear that you may need to review materials beyond what they provide in order to master the topics.

To the other person who gave EC near-zero rating:  Excelsior accepts ACE/DANTES credits where they can be applied toward a degree.  If they did not accept yours, either it must have been because you had all your electives filled by other sources or because you didn't get the transcripts to them properly.  They accepted 18 of my 24 CLEP credits.  They didn't accept the 6 English because I had 6 credits in classroom composition.  I didn't submit my ACE military transcript because I don't need those credits, but EC accepts them if they are applicable.

Excelsior is among three unique institutions in the US that will gather transcripts fro other universities for you with no required minimum residency.  They are regionally accredited and must maintain academic standards of the transfers they accept, the courses they offer and especially the topic depth of the CBE they offer, because ACE also recommends their CBE to all other institutions.

University of Pheonix tried to sell me a bill of 15 COURSES I needed to complete my BSBA.  National University matriculated me with 9 courses remaining.  I will complete my degree at Excelsior with three full courses plus the 1-credit literacy course requirement, and the cool thing is that of the three remaining courses, I'm taking one at National, one at UoP.  Excelsior DOES require that the capstone course for my BSBA be taken from them.

If the above paragraph doesn't make you understand how valuable an institution like Excelsior is, then you probably don't have the specific need that EC is best at fulfilling.

I just moved from National University to Excelsior to expedite my degree completion.  While National was going to require 7 additional courses, I only need 4 courses with Excelsior, and two of those I'm taking from National.

Kate in admissions and Chris in Business Dept Advisement are FANTASTIC.  After suffering a rude and self-important "academic advisor" at National University, I was pleasantly surprised how completely supportive and approachable everyone has been at Excelsior, even after I laid down the steep enrollment fee.  I get to cut at least 3-4 months off my degree completion track, I get to take the courses where I want to take them, and I get to deal with administrators who aren't full of themselves.  So far, so good at Excelsior.

Excelsior is an excellent college in the fact that they will evaluate fairly transfer credits, and provide a road map to your degree goal.  The courses that I have completed are mostly dependant upon the student to read the text material, write papers, and answer essay questions in ASA format.  If one has access to email, and follows the course scedule, and reading, a tremendous learning experiance is acheived.  My focus was to just complete my degree, however, the course material encouraged me to actually learn the material, and search more knowledge on the particular subjects.  
  As a BS-Liberal Studies grad, I can say without contradiction, that Excelsior was the best degree program for me.  I have been active duty in the armed forces for 28 years, and Excelsior has helped me "pull it together" to obtaining me degree.  Semper Fi.

I'm very interested in the RN Associates program.Could anyone please give me some feedback? corina_balan99@yahoo.com

To the actve duty personnel on here, how many credits did you receive through Excelsior for military exprience?

Anyone completed a psych major (BA or BS) with Excelsior?
What has been your experience?

Thanks!

I am interested to attend the health sience BS program any one who attended the program please email your commient and experience at tgfcali@yahoo.com

I am seriously interested in the AS in Nursing and would like some feedback about the Examinations and the course format.  Thanks.

I just graduated from the ASN program at Excelsior and could not recommend it more!  It was an ASWESOME experience.  I did not purchase any books/materials.  I used the internet and purchased some of the practice exams (specifically in areas I was weak like Micro).  This is a very good program and I was able to find employment easily.

Great school! Fairly priced and accepted all of my CLEP, DANTES, and various college credits earned while I was on Active Duty.  The Excelsior College Exams were a godsend since I really didn't have the schedule to attend class or even be able to access the net for periods of time.  

After recieving my B.S. in Liberal Arts, I was accepted at every Grad program I applied for (most were traditional Tier 1 universities.

I'm interested in the RN associates program at Excelsior. I have finished enough clinical hours to be eligible for the program. I am curioius to how the exams are (without having to take the course) and how helpful the books are for those exams.

I have recently earned my BS through Excelsior College after transferring 100 credit points obtained at universities in three different countries. 

All staff at EC were very helpful and very prompt to respond to all questions. The academic staff were also top-notch and even inspiring. I expected less, but got more in terms of quality and service. 

I wish all colleges were as good as Excelsior College. It was a pleasure and an honor to have graduated from such a fine college. I miss studying there :(

Sonoma, I am a graduate of the BSN program and wouldn't trade my experiences or learning for anything. I liked it so much that I am now enrolled in the Masters Degree program. 

YOU should go for it!!

Has anyone completed the BSN degree?

I am interested in their BSN program as well. I am curious if anyone has any comments about it. Is it worth it? Will their program prepare to work proficiently as a nurse? How long did it take?

Congrats Rick on finishing you MALS degree.  I completed my bachelors from Excelsior last August.  I have been seriously considering their graduate program.  I was able to take the graduate research writing course while being a undergraduate student.  My only concern is the cost of the graduate program.  Nevertheless, I love being a graduate of Excelsior.

I recently completed the online MA in Liberal Studies Degree.  It was a terrific experience.  The teachers were positive and helpful.  The education was on a par with any other I have taken at other traditional institutions of higher education.

I was an older student returning to school for the sake of knowledge.  Excelsior fulfilled that goal.

I would recommend Excelsior College to anyone seeking a degree.

As a military member, I couldn't be more satisfied with Excelsior’s online program. Like most military members I jumped from school to school and duty station to duty station before I finally got serious with Excelsior. Excelsior accepted most of my pre-military college credits and the credits I earned while in the military. I was able to complete several classes either online or through Excelsior exams during and in between deployments to earn my BSL. Excelsior College was highly recommended by the representatives at the base college office where I am stationed and I highly recommend it to any working adult.

Excelsior was a great experience. I needed 60 credits and completed in less than 3 months. Really top notch service (better than the traditional colleges I attended beforehand) and the degree is well regarded, Excelsior students have gone on to graduate studies at Ivy league universities and enjoy the special pride of demonstrating the knowledge they have gained independent of traditional classroom settings. I don't know of anyone who has anything bad to say about the place.

Great college!

I earned my Bachelors of Liberal Studies after attending numerous online and on-campus programs.  Excelsior made it easy to transfer over and showed me exactly what I needed to succeed.  I applied and have been accepted to numerous colleges like OU, Liberty and North Carolina for graduate work.  Excelsior College degrees do work and they are well respected.

Thanks for the correction.  The information has been updated.

Yeah, the webmaster seriously needs to fix that, lol.

Excelsior College actually has 28,000 enrolled students, not 7,000, and it was originally established in 1971 as Regents College.  The name change to Excelsior College in 2001 reflected change in status from a state institution under the Board of Regents to a private, non-for-profit college.