Students Post Graduate
Published Feb 15, 2010
You are reading page 4 of Excelsior College MSN Degree Graduates
mekia86
3 Posts
Hey how are you I'm a recently new LPN and was thinking about going to Excelsior but i keep hearing about the clinical part its 2000 no refund pass or fail. Please HELP
exnavygirl-RN
715 Posts
Not only is it NLN accredited it is a NLN center of excellence http://www.nln.org/excellence/coe/index.htm. I always print this out when questioned http://nlnac.org/Forms/directorySearch.asp. I received my ADN from EC and I'm considering EC for my MSN.
Hope this helps :)
Excelsior is accredited by NLN so there should be no problems with credibility, etc. Some people haven't heard of the school, however, it is the first online school. I didn't really speak to the informatics students at the weekend retreat last month, but they all seemed to be happy and satisfied with the program.
Hey thanks Navy Girl but i live in Ga so i may have a problem because i have only been an LPN for four months and i will love to do EC but i think i would have to move so i have to do what i have to do. Thanks for the advice. I just have to get the hang of things i think first i have to take Sociology and Juvinelle Delinquency or they email me the study guide information. I just have to go through and find out how things work but i have to keep my fingers crossed.
fostermomof3
48 Posts
Hi Mr. Silly,I switched to WGU. Before formally withdrawing from all my EC classes and enrolling at WGU, I asked them about a millions times if I would need to post something on a weekly basis, etc. So far, so goo at WGU (my 6 month term started on 7/1). I can graduate faster b/c all courses are "competency based" so as soon as I turn in my assignment into what's called "TaskStream" and get a "pass" for all of the tasks for the certain class, I am done. A few of the MSN courses also have just tests that can be taken at home with the proctoring done via web-cam. Like EC, the papers/projects are graded on a rubric. The drawback I see in WGU is that they do not give out grades like EC, but it's strictly a pass/fail (pass being equivalent to a "B"). So, I may run into getting accepted into an NP program. Anyway, b/c I can just churn out the tasks, I think it truly will be possible for me to get my MSN by 6/30/2011--at least that's what I am shooting for. Like I said, this reminds me of EC when I got my AS(n). I just took all of the tests as fast as I could and the only hold up was scheduling the CPNE since there was almost a 6 month wait back then...Congrats to you though on making it through the EC program. And I agree with you that I thought the teachers were very nice-- as well as the students.
I switched to WGU. Before formally withdrawing from all my EC classes and enrolling at WGU, I asked them about a millions times if I would need to post something on a weekly basis, etc. So far, so goo at WGU (my 6 month term started on 7/1). I can graduate faster b/c all courses are "competency based" so as soon as I turn in my assignment into what's called "TaskStream" and get a "pass" for all of the tasks for the certain class, I am done. A few of the MSN courses also have just tests that can be taken at home with the proctoring done via web-cam. Like EC, the papers/projects are graded on a rubric. The drawback I see in WGU is that they do not give out grades like EC, but it's strictly a pass/fail (pass being equivalent to a "B"). So, I may run into getting accepted into an NP program. Anyway, b/c I can just churn out the tasks, I think it truly will be possible for me to get my MSN by 6/30/2011--at least that's what I am shooting for. Like I said, this reminds me of EC when I got my AS(n). I just took all of the tests as fast as I could and the only hold up was scheduling the CPNE since there was almost a 6 month wait back then...Congrats to you though on making it through the EC program. And I agree with you that I thought the teachers were very nice-- as well as the students.
would love to hear an update from you. How is it going. I plan to do the same thing.
akanini, MSN, RN
1,525 Posts
BUMPing. I don't know why I'm having a hard time finding Excelsior MSN graduates. I really would like to know what it's like. ANY info will be greatly appreciated.
Lunah, MSN, RN
14 Articles; 13,766 Posts
I think nurse2033 graduated from EC's MSN program....
I know I Pmed him a few days ago......no response yet.
THANKS NURSE2033 FOR RESPONDING TO MY PM!!! Does anyone else have any info on EC's MSN track?
EricJRN, MSN, RN
1 Article; 6,683 Posts
Old thread, but if anyone sees this, I am wrapping up the Nursing Education Capstone and would be glad to answer any questions.
anchorRN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN
279 Posts
EricJRN
I'm interested in pursuing an MSN from Excelsior. I'm in the military (RN, BSN) and they appear to be very affordable. What is the pace of the program? Can you start classes one after another? Also do you receive a GPA? or is this like WGU's program and only get a pass/fail?
My ultimate goal is to get into a Nurse Practitioner program after I separate from the military but while still in I'd like to knock out an MSN in my last 2 years. Do you know if EC's MSN programs would be accepted by other institution's Post-MSN NP Certification programs?
Also what is the retreat at the end of Capstone? Being in the military, that could be iffy.
Thanks!
Anchor,
The MS programs are pretty much self-paced. Classes are offered either in 8-week or 15-week semesters. In each class you have weekly online discussion posts and responses, and there is usually an individual term paper and usually also a group paper. You get letter grades in all of the classes and you do have a GPA.
I was able to work full-time and finish in under two years, but I don't have kids or other significant commitments. By lining up the right combinations of classes, I was sometimes able to take two eight-week courses together. During one (rough) semester, I tried to take three 15-week classes. The logic (having already done well with two eight-week classes together) made sense to me at the time, but I don't recommend three.
There is no retreat anymore, at least in the Nursing Education Capstone. Under the old capstone format, you did part of the project, then took the class and did the retreat. Now everything is done in the 15 weeks of the capstone course. It stays pretty busy with a proposal, project, paper, 15-20 min presentation and peer reviews of 15 or 20 other presentations.
Sometimes a challenge with the capstone is identifying a masters-prepared mentor to work with. I think it's easiest to identify someone in your geographic area, but I also know that people have used technology like Adobe Connect to work with people outside of their areas. EC doesn't sign out-of-state affiliation agreements except I think with federal facilities, so you have to locate a mentor that won't require such an agreement. In general, EC seems willing to help in locating a capstone mentor; a couple of my classmates even worked with EC faculty mentors when their original plans did not work out.
I am looking at Ph.D. programs now and I looked at post-MSN NP or DNP programs before that. I have not even applied anywhere, but from what I can tell, the main requirement for those programs is that the MSN is accredited. EC's MS programs are accredited by ACEN, so that is reassuring to me. I have found a few post-masters NP programs that were only open to NPs wanting to change specialties, but that isn't an issue specific to EC.
Good luck to you.