Excelsior College Reviews

To the Board of Ed.: it's a scam

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on June 6, 2008

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I submitted XXX plus semester units I had accrued over the years. I have certificates and an A.A. from a local brick and mortar junior college. I spoke with someone different every time I called. They misplaced my transcripts right from the start and couldn't get the institutional names right.

They wouldn't give me any credit for my A.A. major until I enrolled, even though I was only trying to get a liberal arts degree. They required that I take 20% more lower and upper division classes for a simple B.S. than my own local state college requires.

Excelsior College - The REAL story!

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on June 3, 2008

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I felt it was important to write this review based on another aspect of operations conducted by Excelsior College. The program content, books are not too bad. However, I must remind the reader of this review about the PRICE you will pay to get education from this institution. 
I enrolled with Excelsior early 2008 and I was floored by an admission fee of $895.00. I took deep breaths and decided to use a program to divide the payments equally among 6 payments. This was the tricky part. I thought that this "service" was to simply divide the payments up to make it easier to enroll. Think again. This "service" was indeed a contract binding you to pay the ENTIRE AMOUNT! I contacted Excelsior after receiving a letter from them. I had stopped auto draft payments because of a serious health issue and decided to withdraw from the college until things changed for the better. I also sent them a courtesy letter explaining such. The above mentioned letter was a reply to my courtesy letter to them. The letter stated that I needed to send in a letter from my doctor stating my diagnosis and length of time that this diagnosis would affect my ability to complete the Excelsior Program. This is a demand from Excelsior to supply them with MEDICAL RECORDS to be "considered" for release from a “contract” that I never knew I accepted! They have NO RIGHT to my medical records. Sorry, that is going over the top.  The letter stated simply that I owe them the rest of the $895.00 or I would be forwarded to collections! What?! Collections?! All I wanted to do was simply break the HUGE admission fee into 6 easy payments! They told me in the letter that I was entitled to a 2/3 refund of my fees IF I withdrew within six months and IF they had not completed a transcript evaluation. They got me. The transcript evaluation that "was made available to me online" that I never received in mail, email or internal website email. Since they completed the "transcript evaluation" supposedly within 3 weeks, I was now "locked in" to that $895.00 HUGE enrollment fee for their 30 minutes or less of work on that "transcript evaluation." 
After you complete the HUGE ADMISSION FEE that alone equals a full semesters cost at most colleges in the USA, you will then face test out fees. For Nursing, it was a mere $295.00 each test (multiplied by 7 = OVER TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS! $2065.00 to be exact) What about books? They require MANY books at a HUGE price. After you complete your exams (7 or more at $295.00 each) you will be done with your coursework and be eligible to graduate. Wait…now you have to complete the CLINICAL PORTION. This is a tiny fee of only ONE THOUSAND EIGHT-HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS. Can't afford to pay it all at once? Just sign another CONTRACT and have 6 easy payments ONLY $310+ dollars! The cost rakes in more than approximately $5,000 for the Excelsior staff! Your education HERE is going to cost you!

BS_IT

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on March 25, 2008

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Excelsior College is a great institution to obtain online degree at your own pace, especially if you are working adult. However, my experience is little sour in regards to thier class schedule which changes at the first day of class. In addition to canceling the class, some of the classes have not been offered for past year and a half which I desperately need to take to graduate. It is this frustration and uncertainity that makes me pessimist about this institution.

Great!

By: coachbarbe (Graduate) on March 11, 2008

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After my review, I only had to take one class! It was only a one credit course so I was done early. I was in some trouble because if I didn't have a Bachelor's degree, I couldnt work. The advisors and other staff were very sympathetic to my needs and got all my evaluations done really quickly. They saved my family and my tail.

I was so impressed with the compassion shown by the school, I will try to donate a little money every year. This is definitely the place to go if you need results!

Not For Busy Adults, but Great Education

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on February 5, 2008

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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.

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[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.

Finished Up

By: Anonymous (Graduate) on January 26, 2008

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My degree is a B.S. Liberal Arts with a major in History and a depth in Administrative/Management Studies.

During my younger years I was in the military and found myself changing schools often. Each school had its own requirements so some of the credits from previous programs would transfer and many would not transfer. Each program was different from the one you left.

At Excelsior I was able to use classes from all the schools that I attended as well as military credit to finish up a Bachelors degree-something I started in 1979.
Excelsior's program is outside the box. It's an innovative program and its flexiblilty allows others like me to complete their degrees. How is a service member supposed to complete his degree today between deployments and PCS moves? With Excelsior's program soldiers and sailors can work on their degrees while they are deployed and can remain in the same program regardless of where he or she is assigned.

Good program but I question the name changes.

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on January 26, 2008

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I graduated in 1977 when the program was called The University of the State of New York.  Then they changed the name to Regents External Degrees, then Regents College, then Excelsior College.  For me the name changes cause a lot of problems when using this degree to qualify for programs at other schools.  Having said that, I feel it is an outstsnding way to get a fully accredited degree without having to get all your credits from just one or two schools.  I have credits from 10 different regionally accredited institutions and had no problems applying that work to the B.S. program.
It does seem that they're getting pricey.  I cannot afford them now.

A Great Place

By: shadeed7 (Graduate) on January 12, 2008

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Great College and well worth the money.  Being in the military I have attended both on-line and on-campus programs.  Therefore, I had numerous credits that I had obtained. Excelsior showed me exactly what I need to graduate and the staff was very helpful.  After graduating I test to to see ho my degree would do.  I have been accepted to Liberty, OU, University of Denver, and nuermous others.  Excelsior College is well respected and worth the time time and money.

Very good

By: Anonymous (Graduate) on November 13, 2007

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After attending several different schools, I completed my degree at Excelsior.  
They did an excellent job in the review of my previous earned credit and outlining the courses needed to complete my degree.
The course were hard, but well worth the effort to complete.
The teachers I had were well credentialed and provided great support and guidance.
I am proud to have a degree from this program.

Great College

By: shadeed7 (In Progress) on May 17, 2007

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Wow,

Excelsior is a great college and the staff is very helpful.  I enrolled in the college and within weeks I had a degree plan.  This degree plan along with the staff helpful suggestion I will be done with college this July.  As an undergraduate student with a 3.17 GPA they allowed me take a graduate course!  Great college with great staff.

Definitely the best school to transfer to

By: vasilkor (In Progress) on March 27, 2007

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Definitely the best school to transfer your credits to. There is no residency requirement. So if you have all the credits you need to graduate up front, you can enroll and simply graduate.

Didn't miss a beat in life or work!

By: chhol (Graduate) on February 18, 2007

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I completed my BS degree through credits obtained via various sources: Online courses, IT industry certifications, Excelsior exams, etc. - I would advise it to anyone for degree completion!

Excelsior rocks!

Chris/Boston

Admissions Counseling

By: thomaskolter_keen (In Progress) on August 9, 2006

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I started the BS in Liberal Arts program and had no problems in transfering my previous credits and CLEP exams I have taken filling 60 credits including the core requirements. And with the help of my counselor found a variety of schools to get credits for my two concentrations in business and vocational adult education. I have to point out customer service and counseling is very important in a distance learning program in my opinion. And of course I must coordinate this with my superiors at work and the company training department for the suitable applied courses. So for now I give the school high marks on the counseling and working with me to get the best program options to meet the degree requirements filled.

Of interest to the school program they accept credits from any accredited source and legitimate common ways of getting credit, credit bank credits for you for a fair fee and have reasonable costs overall.

The admissions process is very detailed, they offered me a great deal of help and gave me top notch counseling so far. Highly recommended.

Simply the Best!!

By: stonewell_si (Graduate) on August 8, 2006

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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.

fabulous

By: carsonturner (In Progress) on May 22, 2006

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Excelsior College is one of three major institutions that will allow you to transfer in 100% of your degree requirements.  While they do offer some coursework of their own, they will accept credit from other RA colleges, CLEP/DANTES/ECE exams, ACE evaluated military experience...  and, they're very generous by most transfer standards.

The Liberal Studies degrees offer the most flexibility in program design and therefor in acceptability of transfer credit.

If you have a collection of credit already from the acceptable sources, Excelsior should be among the colleges you consider.  It's fantastic for those people who didn't quite finish their younger college experience and for those who have attended a large number of colleges and need the credits earned placed on a single transcript toward a good, recognized, degree.

It's possible to wrap a bachelor's degree at Excelsior for right around $1500.  I've spent just about $2000 on mine.

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