ever heard of a online chool called college network

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im skeptikal about this online school or whtever they call them selves but any hooo can some one please tell me if they have good or bad storys about it

:smiletea2: Hey just wanted to let you know that I purchased all of the books from College network to obtain my RN, well I took the Nsg Concepts 1 exam tonight and got a D the material you get from CN is not the same materials you are tested on. I have wasted alot of time and money with CN only to find out now that this seems to be a common thread with them. Steer Clear of them and good luck!!!

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here's my two cents.....

first off, The College Network is a publishing company, duh, but think of them as a bookstore for the schools that they actually partner with (Indiana State University, Regis University, George Washington University, CORNELL UNIVERSITY...IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL). No, of course, Excelsior doesn't 'recognize' them....they want you to spend your money for all those textbooks from them. come on people...you have to buy study materials from somewhere don't you?

yes, they, the college network, might be expensive, but you get what you pay for. If you buy the guides cheap on EBAY, well....who's to say that they are current. if you are paying $220 for a nursing test...don't you want to make sure that you have the most up to date materials?

yes, they might expensive, but TCN has 15 hours a day of academic phone support....ebay doesn't offer that when you go there and buy out of date books.

Yes, they might be expensive, but TCN guarantees that you pass....does EBAY offer that? No...in fact neither does excelsior when you go there to buy the books from them.

if someone needed all 13 class for the Excelsior ASN program, they are either going to get 13 self contained study guides that contain all the information that you NEED to know...which includes practice exams, academic support and a guarantee....or they are going to buy nearly 50 textbooks from Excelsior where there is no support or guarantee.

you all want to complain about cost? have any of you priced what it would cost to buy 50 textbooks? go ahead, buy a guide from Ebay and when you get the wrong version (life span---is currently being updated), pay the $220 testing fee and fail it. guess what, you'll end up spending another $220 to take the test again....for a total of $440...the same cost as a study guide from The College Network..........hmmm? maybe you should have done it the right way from the beginning....but to each his own.

doesn't your time and the convenience of using the TCN guides cost anything to you. Nursing 1 has nearly 7 textbooks....2000 pages of reading that you will end up needing to read because you don't know exactly what to study, so you study it all.

You get what you pay for. like the thread above...i know that this is going to upset some of you, but i've had nothing but a great experience with TCN and many of my co-workers are doing very well.

you get out of it what you put into it. you can't put a cost on your education...especially since LPNs are doing the work of an RN and not getting paid for it....you want to complain...right there is a reason to complain. Then, when you're done complaining, get your RN and start making $10,000-$20,000 more a year.

The cost of the EC program is nearly $10,000-$11,000 regardless of whether you get your study materials from The College Network of EC bookstore. so what!!!! you'll be making how much more when you get it done. Be happy that this company/program/EC is available to you because there are some states, like Maryland, where you can't do the ASN program.

Be thankful that you have a choice....and it is a personal choice of how you want to study. Ultimately, if you put the work into it, and i mean work....studying isn't reading something once and hope that it sinks in...you will be successful. isn't that what we all want anyway.

I just can't believe that there are some who want to put down another nurse for deciding to go through The College Network instead of EC directly. Maybe they would rather have the convenience----what's wrong with that?

be happy that there are people going back to school, working and raising families at the same time. education isn't something to take for granted---you have to earn it.

good luck to everyone.

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beware that the college network has you sign that they can get copies of your transcripts and they can also send you up to an additional 3 study guides and charge you for them if they determine that you will need additional guides to complete your degree and there is nothing you can do.

the state of arkansas has a class action suit pending against the college network for presenting themselves as a "school" when in fact they only really sell the study guides. you can't get a degree through the college network.

tcn sent me study guides for sociology and anatomy/physiology and micro that i didn't need because i already took the tests and had credit for the a & p and micro and gerontology. i sent the study guides back, and proof that i had been given credit through excelsior for these already, but they have never credited me for these guides. they still say that i owe them the money.

this is from a link above.....

the enrollment forms that the college network sends you includes a transcript request form. once you start, they send you your first course and you begin studying. then, they pull your transcripts and academic advisors review them to make sure that you are taking what you need. if you need more courses they will add them...if you don't need what you signed up for, they deduct them.

the only way that you need more guides is that first...you went to a school that wasn't regionally accredited. two....some of the courses that you took were counted as a nursing course instead of a general education course. a lot of lpn schools count anatomy and physiology as a nursing course. same with life span psychology and mircobiology. if that happens, yes, you will need to take them again.

plus, when you enroll with excelsior, you have to submit your transcripts to them anyway. if you get to that point and they say that you don't need it, well, send the paperwork to tcn. however, 9 times out of 10, you'll have to take them again.

also, someone said above that you can't clep out of life span....that is right. you have to take the ece exam not the clep exam for that. there is a difference. ece is an excelsior college exam...clep is a basic college level exam. ask excelsior....some want to blame tcn for making them take more courses.....but it's according to excelsior rules and requirements.

also, another very important notice.....arkansas does not have a lawsuit again the college network. tcn has never claimed to be a college and neither have any of the other 'publishing companies." i didn't see the word university next to the college network logo. heck...look on this website..they advertise everywhere.

these places give you an alternative to using textbooks through excelsior college.

walk onto any college campus and you will find more than one "bookstore" where you can buy your study materials. you go to the place that offers not only the best price, but the best guarantee, and support.

do what's best for you. there are a few links here talking about how they used tcn and didn't have a problem, but there are tones of people complaing....have any of you thought...why? you always hear about bad experiences, you never hear about good. maybe it's because those that are successful and pass the program...moves on and don't want to listen to complaints. thnk about it...those who aren't successful, or don't want to put the work into studying, fail, then they don't want to take the responsibility and accept their demise....and they have to blame someone else to make themselves feel better.

it's like my 9 year old...if he gets in trouble at school and i ask what happened, the first thing out of his mouth is "it wasn't my fault...it was the other person." yeah, okay. isn't it funny how we teach our kids to take responsibility for their actions...and yet some on this website don't. we teach our kids how to buckle down and study because it will make a difference for them when they go on to college....but when it comes to studying for the adult, well my my how things are different. sometimes we need to listen to what we preach....or just take responsibiity for our own actions.

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This is why not having a contract is good, you don't run into issues like what happened above.

Even if you did use The college network to get all those books, they are still way too expensive.

Why not get them new at ebay:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=college+network&category0=&submitSearch=Search

90% of the people that list them there, have brand new books, never open and have not seem to have completed the program.

Average price is around $20 per book for the General Ed or Phase 1 classes, which is a huge percent cheaper.

There is a large discussion about this topic located here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f233/college-network-200529.html

And what's good about this "No Contract", "More more in my pocket", "No loans" and the best, "No interest payments" I HATE INTEREST, it is just wasted money that you can use for something else. Do yourself a favor and pay cash, or use your credit card and pay it of right away!

Onto another point, it good that people are open to discussion here. I don't think anyone is mad or upset here, just a discussion with people that have different views. Thats what makes this place great.

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Specializes in LTC.

I signed up with TCN and have my first test scheduled in March. I personally have had no problems with them. They were not pushy at all when they visited my home. They have always been very nice and helpful when I have called to ask a question.

I probably would have chosen a traditional nursing school if my work schedule allowed it but it doesn't. This is the only way for me to get my RN . I am just very thankful this program is out there!!!

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Sounds like you like the program! Good luck on the test, you will do fine.

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..another note. TCN sent me all of the modules before even looking at my transcripts, scared me for a minute. I did email them and asked about it, and they said they sent them so i could choose which to work on in the meantime. If I dont need a course, they said I could send it back and I will be refunded. ...I am thinking the trick is that THEY decide which courses you need? Think I could get in touch with EC and get something from them that says I dont need a course to fight tcn if I ever need?

Vida

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I seriously doubt that EC will get involved in your dealings with TCN. EC is the degree granting institution, they will tell you what courses they are accepting from other sources, what tests/exams/courses you have to take, and whether or not you have to take them from EC. Good luck in your studies.

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Specializes in SNF, home health.

Just signed up with TCN 2 weeks ago and altough I didn't feel pressured to do it I still felt like this is a HUGE decision to make. I was so nervous. Just like buying a new car ( I needed to do it just like furthering my career and the cost). Anyway, I hope that this all works out for me and those that decided to go with TCN. I'll be checking in a lot more frequently now for updates from others and to give mine once I get started. Good luck to us all.

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