Did anyone who Graduated from Excelsior College had problems when trying.

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Hello,

I've just sent in my first payment to start taking classes from Excelsior to get my ADN. When I called the school where I got my LPN, I was told by the director that Colleges are not recognizing ADN from Excelsior college because they do not have a Clinical Component. Is this true, I did call Excelsior and was told that California will no longer accept students from Excelsior to sit for the Boards. But those that are already enrolled will be allowed but no new students. Has anyone had any problems in the past or present with going on to get your BSN from a different colleg? Say Pace University or Stony Brook? Thank you for any information you can give me. I don't want to be halfway through with Excelsior and find out it will be useless to me..

Thanks:)

You have to be careful with any of these distance education schools just because there are a few states out there who won't let you take the boards. I believe Illinois is one of them and it does not recognize excelsior. I'd love to get my RN eventually through distance education, but it just feels a lot safer to stick to the traditional route.

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Asking your BON if they accept EC grads to sit for the boards is an easy way to dispel that. It takes less than 5 minutes to find out.

The College Network is a note group service. They, themselves, award no degrees whatsoever.

Notice that "their" ADN is conferred by Excelsior College. If you went the College Network route, you not only have to pay them, you would also have to pay Excelsior College the same fees the rest of us do (did). Or, you could just go to Excelsior College and only pay the Excelsior College fees, and use the recommended texts, and the yahoo notegroups (free) and the support of Excelsior students and graduates from around the world, right here on allnurses.com (also free).

As they say, you do the math.....

I'm betting that if you contact any of the schools mentioned in the "ad" the link in the above post and ask them about College Network's "degree" that is conferred by their school (e.g., Indiana State University) the kindest response you will get is, we don't know them, never heard of them, have no relationship with them.

Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware.

I checked with the College Network and Chancellor (spelling) and neither one of them are "colleges". I totally agree with you.

Go to this site and you will get your answer in regards to the Excelsior program. I did read that Calfornia will accept the program but I do believe you have to get your clinical hours in order to take the boards.

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/licverif.htm

As of December, 2003, California doesn't accept Excelsior. There was a proposal to allow LVN's to enter the program as long as they did clinicals in California schools but Excelsior couldn't meet that requirement. That's why they pulled out of the state, as the OP mentioned. And, if you choose to move to California, you cannot opt in if you graduate from Excelsior.

As this document points out, starting on page 12, Excelsior is not "legal" in the state of California. Unless, perhaps, you're referring some other program besides their RN program.

http://www.rn.ca.gov/pdf/brdmins%2012-03.pdf

:uhoh3:

As of December, 2003, California doesn't accept Excelsior. There was a proposal to allow LVN's to enter the program as long as they did clinicals in California schools but Excelsior couldn't meet that requirement. That's why they pulled out of the state, as the OP mentioned. And, if you choose to move to California, you cannot opt in if you graduate from Excelsior.

As usual, more quasi-info and innuendo. There is a difference between opinion and fact. As somebody said earlier in this thread (paraphrasing here), okay, lizz, we get it, for whatever reason you don't like Excelsior. Enough already.

Excelsior is perfectly legal, with and without your quotes, anywhere in the world.

There is absolutely nothing in the link posted that is supported by any kind of evidence. Board minutes and all that mumbo-jumbo is about as dependable as any other campaign rhetoric. And if you believe that stuff, have I got a deal on a bridge for you! :coollook:

California can decide who and when to license. That's their right as a sovereign state. It doesn't mean their decisions are correct, or even based on fact. If they think they know better than the NLN, well okay!!! That's good enough for me! (NOT.)

Some state (Wyoming? North Dakota?) has decided not to license grads of associate or diploma programs as RN's, only BSN's. Oddly, that doesn't mean anything about the quality of any associate degree programs--or their graduates. It only means that state has made a decision, for whatever reason, right or wrong.

Excelsior has an excellent program. I'll match my credentials, accomplishments, and experience against anybody's, insofar as justifying my subjective opinion about the quality of education that Excelsior offers.

Ever hear of Mildred Montag? Look her up! This was one very famous, tremendous nurse educator. She really liked Excelsior--so much so that she was instrumental in developing its program. One of the Excelsior board members who developed our program along with Ms. Montag is alive and well and on the board today. Mildred Montag was a founder of the Excelsior distance learning program.

It just doesn't get much better than that.

Excelsior didn't "withdraw" anything in California. Excelsior, being a responsible school, has declined to enroll anyone in California since the decision, because it would be wrong to involve students who would then be unable to be liicensed in that state. Pure, clean and simple. Before that a warning was posted on the school's website that prospective students from California needed to be especially prudent in making a decision to enroll. I saw it. I was there.

Right now, a number of California hospitals (3? 4? somebody help me out) conduct the CPNE there. Since the storm troopers haven't shut that part of the program down (and they sure could, if California really believed--with evidence--that Excelsior College was substandard), I don't think much of the suggestion that Excelsior is "persona non grata" in California, as you strongly suggest. But the hospitals get money for letting Excelsior use their facilities for the CPNE. They also shoulder significant liability for being involved. And yet, they continue. Somehow it just doesn't fit with all the conjecture posted in this thread.....

Oh, and here's something for you to check out, lizz, what about the Excelsior students who were enrolled prior to December 2003? I believe you will find that they (and this would include me, and yes, I checked) can be licensed as RN's in California, no matter when they graduate from the program.

Wouldn't you think that if California thought that EC grads were sufficiently substandard, they would just put the kibosh on them all, straight away? How about the ones that are already licensed--if their education has been "proved" poor, shouldn't a responsible state review their credentials and their ability?

This isn't about quality nurses or quality education. This is about "guild issues," that is, California's decision had to do with economic protectionism, not quality education.

Why anyone who doesn't "have a dog in this fight" would want to constantly deride something they clearly know little or nothing about (except maybe that they tried the program and it wasn't for them) is beyond me. If you don't like Excelsior, that's your right. Don't work with Excelsior nurses! Don't enroll in their program!

Sadly, some people who would otherwise benefit from the program will be scared away from it by the unsubstaniated slanderous maligning that goes on from time to time. Those people won't ever realize their dream of becoming a nurse, and someone, somewhere, will not enjoy the benefit of their professional care. Just like we never know where the result of our good actions ends (some say it never does), so we never know where the unfortunate effects of our bad acts end.

If you were a responsible person, would you want that?

I was reponding to a quote stating Excelsior is accepted in California. It's not as of December 2003, and I pointed that out. Since when is it helpful to mislead prospective students into believing the program is accepted in this state when it's not.

Read the document: it repeatedly states Excelsior violated state law here. That's why the program is no longer accepted in California. Someone else may have a different definition of "legal," but I think the California Board of Registered Nursing is a better informed authority on the subject.

The NLN doesn't mean anything. Several universities have withdrawn from the NLN. This was posted and discussed at length on this board a couple of months ago. I don't have time to dig up the thread now, but I will when I have more time in a couple of days.

:rolleyes:

Interesting that you mentioned Stony Brook. (I have an interview at Stony Brook Hospital on Monday. Wish me luck!) If you have your RN and a BS in another field, you can get into Stony Brook's NP Program by taking EXCELSIOR TESTS. So obviously Excelsior College and Stony Brook work together. They are both SUNY schools, so I am sure you will have no problem with an Excelsior degree.

The NLN doesn't mean anything.

To who? Good luck getting your license as an RN if you have graduated from a school which is not NLN accredited. I wouldn't waste my time with a school that couldn't meet NLN standards. Is this another California trend?

Several universities have withdrawn from the NLN.

The NLN's members are the Boards of Nursing (or Boards of Nursing Examiners) of individual states, not universities. Therefore, if the universities have withdrawn from the NLN, I don't think the NLN noticed or minded.

:)

i just now got off the phone with the lady at the california bon. anyone can feel free to call for them selves and discuss it, their phone number is 916-322-3350. choice "0" will get you a live person. i asked several questions preventing several senerios, the answers are below.

if you have an adn or lpn and attend excelsior for an advanced degree (rn/bsn/msn) as of 12/06/03 the cali bon will not accept it.

if you live in outside cali and hold a license in that state based solely on your being an excelsior grad, as of 12/06/03 the cali bon will not issue you a license.

if you live in another state and hold license based on the education (adn/lpn) at an approved school and then attend excelsior and earn an advanced degree (rn/bsn/msn) as of 12/06/03 the cali bon will only issue you a license based on the lower level degree earned at the approved school.

regardless of the promises any school makes it is up to the student to verify that information with their bon.

again, i encourage everyone with a question or a doubt to call the cali bon at the number above.

edited to remove information i was given via phone as it conflicts with info on the cali bon website (and i got different answers on different phone calls).

california bon:http://www.rn.ca.gov/news/news.htm

From what I understood, 12/06/03 was the enrollment date cutoff. That means that if you are an Excelsior graduate from before 12/06/03, you can still get a California license. I enrolled in 10/03. I graduated in May of 2004. From what I understood, I can still get a California license, because I enrolled before 12/06/03. I think all the people who enrolled before 12/06/03 were grandfathered in.

From what I understood, 12/06/03 was the enrollment date cutoff. That means that if you are an Excelsior graduate from before 12/06/03, you can still get a California license. I enrolled in 10/03. I graduated in May of 2004. From what I understood, I can still get a California license, because I enrolled before 12/06/03. I think all the people who enrolled before 12/06/03 were grandfathered in.
I strongly suggest you call them. As I was given different info when I called.
The bottom line is: As of 12/06/03 the Cali BON will NOT issue new licenses to any Excelsior grad for any reason, they will only continue to renew licenses issued before that date.

Interesting info. The board did amend the original order at a subsequent meeting to say the following:

"The following action supersedes and replaces the December 5, 2003, Board action related to Excelsior College.

"Excelsior College graduates, like other out-of-state graduates, must meet the requirements set forth in California Business and Professions Code Section 2736, including supervised clinical practice concurrent with theory, in order to be eligible for examination and licensure as a California registered nurse. This eligibility requirement applies to students who enrolled at Excelsior on or after December 6, 2003."

I don't know if that grandfathers people in before December 6, 2003. But I would definitely call to find out for sure. Kids-r-fun may be right, but who knows.

:coollook:

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