Excelsior College nursing program?

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Nov 11, 2005

Has anyone earned their AAS in nursing degree from Excelsior College? I would appreciate it if you could answer some questions. How did you like the program? How does it compare to a traditional program? Did you have any problems transferring credits to a university for your BSN or Graduate degree? How would you compare what you learned to the others you work with? I would appreciate it if anyone could give me some insight. Thanks.

Hello there, and welcome ! :)

As a former USAF medic myself, I went the Excelsior route many, many years later.

There are NUMEROUS threads and posts here re Excelsior in the Distance Learning forum... browse around, you'll find plenty.

As for myself, yes, I earned my ASN degree through Excelsior and it was the best decision I ever made !:balloons:

Jo Dirt · Nov 11, 2005

I am a new Excelsior grad. I think the school can be beneficial for those who have no other option to further their education but I am not going to tout Excelsior as the best thing to come along since the lightbulb, either. In fact, I have many issues with this program. Realize that your degree from Excelsior is not accepted in California, after this year will not be accepted in Colorado without additional hours of clinicals, and is in danger of losing acceptance in several other states.

I have had issues with Excelsior for awhile now, but

I particluarly have issues with the way the clinicals are operated.

First of all, the wait of 6-8 months is ridiculous. Second, though it did not apply to me, the high failure rate of the clinicals is criminal. I say this because I have seen with my own eyes that those who fail do not necessarily fail because they were not prepared. It depends on your examiner. I saw a woman dismissed from the clinicals for failing a lab station twice: the first time, she gave an IM injection without gloves. The reason for failing because of this is fair enough, but the second time they failed her because the SQ needle she was injecting the dummy with bent and she did not have time to draw up another dose. So, in spite of her hard work, the time and money spent, she was failed because her needle bent. The labs are a joke. I confronted the CA about the labs. She could not give me a good explanation as to how the brutality of the way the labs are operated prove one is competent to be an RN. I said this because I as well as the nurse who failed over her labs heard from other students about making certain mistakes and getting away with them because their particular examiner did not pay attention to the mistakes. I had the misfortune of getting one examiner who looked for reasons to fail you. And she tried. Fortunately, Excelsior DOES have an appeals process, and I have found that I am not the first student to report this examiner (by the way, the other five examiners I tested under were wonderful).

Rnn2003, MSN, RN · Nov 12, 2005

I am a graduate of E.C. and found the school to be a good thing for me. As a student everything was lovely. If I had to do it over again I would in a Heart beat.:balloons:

pedinurse05 · Nov 12, 2005

Has anyone earned their AAS in nursing degree from Excelsior College? I would appreciate it if you could answer some questions. How did you like the program? How does it compare to a traditional program? Did you have any problems transferring credits to a university for your BSN or Graduate degree? How would you compare what you learned to the others you work with? I would appreciate it if anyone could give me some insight. Thanks.

I graduated in March from the program. I liked the program because it allowed me to tend to family and work while getting my degree. I felt that I received an equal education to that of a traditional college. You get out of the program what you put into the program. I was an LPN for several years prior to going into the program and felt like my work experience helped with clinical experience. I had a good clinical experience. I felt all the examiners were impartial and really wanted to see you successful with the program. The program obviously has its down sides...California not accepting & some people report having difficulty finding jobs because they are EC graduates. My own experience with job hunting has been great. I am in California and have been offered almost every job I have applied for. I was an LPN for years prior with solid recommendations from former employers...this is beneficial when marketing yourself. The wait for the CPNE and actual graduation conferral are lengthly! Overall I am pleased and would do the program over again. I knew what I was getting into before starting and was ok with it because the pros far outweighed the cons.

Best wishes!

Missy

RN34TX · Nov 13, 2005

The University of Texas system and the OU (Oklahoma) system accept Excelsior grads into their RN to BSN programs.

I know because I got accepted into both.

As far as the program itself goes, I'm glad that it's there as an option.

Most LPN to RN programs are not designed for full time working adults who don't live with their parents or have a spouse to support them in the way that most RN to BSN programs are designed.

But I too, have mixed feelings about the way that they conduct their clinical exam, and as someone else pointed out, the ungodly amount of time it takes between the CPNE and degree conferral.

luv4nursing · Nov 13, 2005

I just wanted to say Congratulations to LPNtoRN!