New Excelsior Limitations - Page 3

I'm sorry, by no. The main admissions requirement for the entry level ASN program for initial license eligibility is a current, active US LPN, EMT-P (paramedic), or CRRT/RRT (respiratory therapist) license. However if you take your pre-requisites at a traditional school (whether online or in person) at a community college or test out (CLEP) of the courses you will it be affected by the upcoming ACE credit restriction.

If you look at the application you will see that you are required to provide your license information, if not a copy of the license itself.

For the "real" college comment...

Excelsior is a "real" college that is regionally accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which is a unit of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is recognized by the US Department of Education. This is the same regional accreditation body for "real" colleges/universities in mid-Atlantic states, including New York (home of Excelsior). Regional accreditation is not easy... my father used to serve on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges team (California, etc.) and wow, can they be nit-picky!

In addition, Excelsior's nursing program is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).

I'm not a salesman for Excelsior, but the accreditation issues were very important to me when I looked into pursuing my education. The excuse given by California for not accepting Excelsior graduates is in regards to the clinical hours component, and that's a long discussion in itself. I have no intentions of ever returning to California except to visit family.

As for the transfer limitations of ACE, etc., I simply see that as Excelsior falling in line with the rules and acceptance policies that other accredited colleges and universities have in place. My daughter is going to college now and she was limited to transferring 15 "unit equivalents" of her CLEP exams (5 exams, basically). While not pleasant, I can understand Excelsior putting these policies in place in order to maintain a comparable level of academic expectations to other colleges and universities. They cannot risk their accreditation and academic integrity, and I'm sure they are scrutinized under a microscope because of their non-traditional education.

Just my penny's worth... or more

Just like any other educational program, what you get out of Excelsior's nursing program is directly proportional to what you put into it. I find it hard to believe that I'd be a better nurse if I went to a traditional brick and mortar school. There are plenty of incompetant nurses that went the traditional route. Don't let these haters discourgage you! Some of these people BELONG in a traditional nursing school!

As far as the changes: As long as you enroll before October, you should not be affected.

Most other colleges I checked into will not let you transfer in any credits after you've enrolled - at least EC is giving you 7 ACE and as many CLEP/DSST as pertain, even after enrollment. The limit will only affect pre-reqs such as A&P, Micro, Math*, Info Lit and English - the others can all be done as CLEP/DSST (*even the math can be done CLEP, psych, soc, human development, humanities, etc.). The ECE A&P and Micro exams actually weren't bad and I passed without any problems -and I was pleasantly surprised. That would leave just Math (3), English (3), & Info Lit (1) that you could take as ACE = 7. Keeping in mind that most brick and mortor classes for 3 credits cost at least $350-1200, the EC exams are cheaper and at least you can go at your own pace. Myself, I don't think I could do a challenge exam for math - that would freak me out - but I had taken Beginning & Intermediate Algebra online at a local college several years ago.

So it doesn't appear to be a major change unless you were planning on taking all your pre-reqs ACE, I don't think most people do though. You can't beat EC's format when your busy working and raising a family and don't have time to sit in a classroom on someone else's schedule. It doesn't seem that the new limits will be much of a hindrance to most students and even if you were planning on taking them all ACE, you would only save maybe $200-400 total. Just my opinion....

here's the email i got:


our records show that you were admitted to the associate degree in nursing program within the past year but have not yet enrolled. therefore, we are writing to inform you of changes to the associate degree in nursing program that will become effective for those who enroll on or after october 1, 2012.

**************as of october 1, 2012, the anatomy & physiology and microbiology requirements will be accepted toward the associate degree in nursing only if they were completed no more than five years prior to the date of enrollment and meet the content requirements as outlined in the current nursing catalog.

in addition, the anatomy & physiology and microbiology requirements must be completed before registering for all associate degree in nursing theory examinations with the exception of the transition to the registered professional nurse role examination.

furthermore, as of october 1, 2012, future students will no longer be able to take nurx 104: essentials of nursing care: health safety prior to enrollment.******************

if you were admitted to the associate degree in nursing program based on military experience, please review the current admissions eligibility requirements to verify that you meet current eligibility criteria.

you may enroll online or download the undergraduate enrollment form(pdf) and fax the completed form to our bursar's office at 518-464-8700.

should you have any questions, please call us at 888-647-2388 ext. 22. we look forward to working with you as an enrolled student!

sincerely,

roberto figueroa ii, mba
executive director of admissions


the part that affects me (and for others to keep in mind) is marked between the *****.... that all a & p and microbiology must be completed less than 5 years before enrollment. also, the new requirement that both a & p and micro must be completed before enrolling for exams, except transition... and that health safety will no longer be able to be taken before enrolling.... some big changes!!

Yes that is correct!

So does this change as of oct 1 refer to only new future students enrolling after this date or everyone enrolled already and completed most of the exams. Thanks! Haven't called EC yet to get the info.

Those changes are only for those NOT yet enrolled...

I'm a EC graduate and I'm so proud of my "real" degree, I'm a "real" RN and I just got a new job only three months in and never once was my school an issue. I'd also like to add I've also been put in charge of people who've had years of experience...."really".