Excelsior College?

Question

I'm looking into finishing my BA via distance learning. Excelsior is one of the cheapest and seems to accept most prior credits. Does anyone know anything about this place? Any criticisms or things I should know before I enroll?

Answer 1

One of my bachelor's is from Excelsior. They will indeed accept more credit in transfer than most other colleges but it has to be regionally accredited credit and apply to your degree.

Two others that are similar are Charter Oak State College and Thomas Edison State College. http://www.cosc.edu and http://www.tesc.edu

Excelsior is well known among military people who need a college that will accept a lot of transfer credit because they have to move around so often. It's perfect for that sort of situation.

As for acceptability - mine got me into grad school just fine. It's not Harvard, but it's not East Podunk State Teachers College either. The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy has an Excelsior bachelor's, seems to have worked out for him. In fact, if you look over the military bios of a lot of senior soldiers and sailors, there are a lot of Excelsior grads.

The cost is good but you will have to learn how the degree program works - they won't hold your hand through it. Their classes aren't the least expensive either - but they'll take other people's classes in as transfer. A lot of people do coursework at Louisianna State or Brigham Young and transfer it in.

Answer 2

As distance learning colleges go, Excelsior is highly regarded, but any responsible person will warn you about distance learning degrees in general. These degrees are simply not as well accepted as degrees from regular brick & mortar schools.

One person I know at my current workplace put a copy of a pathetic distance school diploma on his cubicle wall. He's a laughing stock and his career is as good as finished now.