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Presentation by Excelsior College's Mika Hoffman, executive director of the Center for Educational Measurement, and Lorrie Graham, open education resources exam coordinator, at Open Education Week (March 2013).
By Excelsior Life News Staff—
The White House’s College Scorecard has generated substantial feedback from both higher education and student communities. Unveiled the day after President Obama’s State of the Union address, the initiative is in response to growing concerns over both access and affordability in American higher education.
More than 34 million Americans have some college but no degree, according to the Lumina Foundation. Many believe that to reach the Administration’s goal of 60 percent degree completion by 2020, America needs to find a way to help these working adults finish their degrees. Unfortunately, at institutions such as Excelsior College, an accredited nonprofit that focuses on meeting the needs of adult learners, students are neither full-time nor first-time. As a result, Excelsior is excluded from the Scorecard database, even as it represents a 21st century model for reaching the President’s goal.
Working adults must balance numerous family and work commitments and full-time studies are often not an option. Since its founding in 1971, Excelsior has enabled more than 148,000 students to utilize multiple pathways to degree completion. Students can pursue online courses, portfolio assessment or even credit by exam, which has been a hallmark of the Excelsior experience since its beginning. Its 38,000 currently enrolled students include more than one-third from historically-underrepresented minority groups. Nearly 40 percent are active-duty, reserve, or veterans.
Under this model, in the 2011-12 academic year alone, Excelsior accepted 618,000 credits in transfer from 14,000 newly enrolled learners. If Excelsior had required students to take these credits over, based on that year’s tuition rate, they would have paid an additional of $219 million.
“This is an expense students, their families and benefactors – including federal and state sponsored grant and scholarship programs – did not have to pay for a second time” said Excelsior’s President Dr. John Ebersole. “Excelsior has turned these credits into ‘working assets’ for our students, removing a potentially significant barrier to degree completion.”
This multiple pathways approach is one of the reasons that the median debt for an Excelsior College student is substantially less than the national average.
While the White House’s Scorecard is a new effort toward transparency in higher education, Excelsior College has been a leader in this area for years. The Presidents’ Forum, an organization it formed back in 2004, engaged in the Transparency by Design project that resulted in a website where it and other similar colleges provided information to aid consumers in making an informed decision about pursing their degrees. Funding for this project has since run out but Excelsior carries it forward at its own website with a wealth of information not addressed by the President’s Scorecard. The College provides a net price calculator. It also serves up data on factors such as student learning outcomes and undergraduate student engagement, both of which are compared to national data.
Excelsior College Examinations (ECEs) offer proficiency examinations covering a diverse range of subjects, from nursing and business to economics, geology and history. For example, a student may register for a three-credit labor relations exam at a cost of $95 and independently study for the exam using a myriad of resources, from textbooks to Open Education Resources such as Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCS). The student can then prove their mastery of the subject through an ECE administered at any of the 4,500 secure Pearson VUE testing facilities. Credit earned will be recorded on an Excelsior College transcript which can be used toward their Excelsior degree or for transfer at hundreds of other colleges or universities.
“Truthfully, to find the model for the 21st century, we only need to look at Excelsior’s four decades of experience and success,” said Ebersole
Presentation by Excelsior College's Mika Hoffman, executive director of the Center for Educational Measurement, and Lorrie Graham, open education resources exam coordinator, at Open Education Week (March 2013).
By Alicia Jacobs, Excelsior Life Staff --
For adult learners, time and cost can be obstacles towards earning a degree. However, there are alternative pathways that can save time and thousands of dollars for individuals with some college background and/or demonstrated knowledge from real world experience. Three options include testing, transfer of credits, or a prior learning assessment (PLA) portfolio.
In 1976, Excelsior College began offering exams for college credit nationwide. In 2012, Excelsior College accepted 14,046 transfer students bringing with them more than 616,000 credits. At Excelsior’s current tuition rate, this savings, which Excelsior calls its Knowledge Value Index, had an economic value of $219 million.
Excelsior Life sat down with Mark Michalisin, executive director of Business Development, Center of Educational Management at Excelsior College, and Roberto Figueroa, executive director, Admissions, to discuss three popular pathways to a degree that can save time and money.
Pathway 1 - Pursuing credit by exam at Excelsior College. Excelsior College Examinations (ECEs), are proficiency exams within a variety of subjects ranging from accounting, biology, philosophy, and economics. These three- and six-credit exams enable individuals to earn college credit by demonstrating their knowledge and expected learning outcomes. Unlike the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or DANTES, students who earn credit through an ECE by achieving a “C” or higher, earn a letter grade on a college transcript.
To prepare for a proficiency exam, Michalisin suggests registering for its corresponding practice exam. Exams are designed for motivated, self-disciplined learners who study on their own time and at own pace, using a variety of study materials including Open Educational Resources (OER). Excelsior College has identified OER’s readily available on the web at no or low-cost for each of its exams. In addition, Excelsior has matched more than 30 Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to its existing exam programs, providing a pathway to credit.
Exams are administered at more than 4,500 secure, Pearson VUE testing facilities worldwide.
Pathway 2 - Most students enroll in Excelsior College with 25 to 75 percent of their college degree requirements already completed. Excelsior College conducts a thorough review of each student’s incoming transcript to determine not only the eligibility of credit for transfer (must be from an accredited institution) but which credits meet degree requirements within the student’s chosen degree program at Excelsior.
In addition, Excelsior accepts non-collegiate sources of credit, such as corporate or military training programs, that have been reviewed and recommended for credit by ACE-CREDIT or the National College Credit Recommendation Service. Excelsior also accepts credit earned through nontraditional learning programs e.g. GE’s Renewables Wind Technician Certification Program, that have been evaluated for academic and psychometric qualities by internal Excelsior teams consisting of academic faculty, subject matter experts, and psychometricians.
Pathway 3 - The evaluation and assessment of an individual's life learning for college credit, certification, or advanced standing is called prior learning assessment (PLA). Excelsior’s portfolio assessment is conducted through LearningCounts.org at the Center for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
PLA encompasses a variety of tools to evaluate learning acquired outside the traditional college classroom. One of these methods is portfolio assessment. When existing standardized examinations or other methods of evaluation are not available, portfolio assessment provides a means by which students may have the learning they have achieved evaluated by teams of faculty for college-level equivalency. LearningCounts.org will provide portfolio assessment services for students enrolled or interested in Excelsior College.
Research has shown that students who received PLA credit completed degrees at much higher rates than students who do not utilize PLA. Students using PLA also had higher persistence rates and a faster time to completion.
Figueroa explains, “Each of the three options are cost effective and potentially a faster way to complete a degree in a difficult economy.”
By Judy Reed, Center for Military Education at Excelsior College--
Juventino Gaytan, Jr. of San Diego, a machinist mate, after separating from the Navy heard news about the education partnership between the Department of California Veterans of Foreign Wars and Excelsior College in January 2012. He was one of the first to contact the college about enrolling under the partnership and joined the VFW the following month.
“The best advice I can offer any Californian in the nuclear Navy who wants to finish their education is to join the VFW, enroll at EC, and finish their education. Joining the VFW allows you the opportunity to help your fellow veteran as well as providing a reduced tuition benefit with Excelsior College,” Gaytan explained.
Gaytan previously attended University of California Santa Cruz for two years and then decide to enter the U.S. Navy in 2002. While in the Navy, he continued his education taking classes working toward a nuclear power degree, and always keeping in mind his goal of obtaining a bachelor’s degree.
Gaytan added, “Earning a bachelor's degree is going to allow me to continue my educational goals of pursuing a post-graduate degree and coupled with my military and current work experience will also provide a well rounded degree of experience, education and service that any employer will certainly benefit.”
Currently, Juventino Gaytan works for Life Cycle Engineering as an office manager and also as an independent tax preparer and notary finds distance learning a benefit. “Without a doubt, online and distance learning were the most convenient method for my degree progression. The 8 week format was especially beneficial when I needed to take a general education course and I felt comfortable with the material and just wanted to get the course completed quickly. The benefit of the 15-week format has been extremely helpful in my current Calculus II course because the material is being presented at a more traditional pace where I can take more time to absorb and process all that I'm learning.”
Juventino Gaytan will take his final course in the spring of 2013 in Integrated Technology Assessment and he plans to participate in the Excelsior College graduation ceremony in July of 2013 in Albany, NY. His parting words to other VFW members considering going to college, “In order to be successful at EC or any college whether it be a brick and mortar college or a virtual classroom, you have to put time and effort into your homework.”
The new statewide partnership builds toward a national VFW objective aimed at drawing younger veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seeking educational opportunity.
“The state of Arizona VFW is very proud to have entered into this partnership with Excelsior College,” said State Commander Michael Ferguson, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Arizona. “This is another example on how the VFW is looking to reach out to all veterans, especially our younger vets just getting out of the military. We’re hoping they will take advantage of this opportunity to earn a degree and advance their skills. We believe our veterans and their spouses have earned it for their sacrifice.”
“Since our founding more than four decades ago, Excelsior has strived to serve the military and veterans communities both at home and abroad,” said Excelsior College President John F. Ebersole. “Arizona is home to more than a half-million veterans, with more coming home soon enough, as drawdowns continue and more of our brave servicemembers return from battle. This partnership will help to provide a pathway for these returning men and women to seek out a higher education.”
Arizona is home to approximately 557,000 veterans with the number expected to grow as servicemembers return to Arizona from overseas missions over the coming years. The Department of Arizona VFW currently counts 25,560 members among its 77 posts.
Excelsior, a regionally accredited nonprofit distance learning college based in Albany, New York, has a long and successful history serving the veteran community that began with its founding in 1971. In addition to broad online programming, Excelsior is also home to Excelsior College® Examinations, an extensive credit-by-examination program that provides an additional pathway to affordable degree completion.
Among the more than 37,000 currently enrolled students, over 14,000 count themselves as active-duty or of veteran status. And of the more than 5,200 Excelsior graduates in the 2011-2012 academic year, 34 percent were members of the U.S. military.
The College offers an extensive range of academic support programs and services tailored to veterans, including career counseling, financial counseling on veteran benefits, and an online veteran center with vet to vet mentorship. Many financial aid and academic advisors are veterans themselves.
In addition, Excelsior accepts prior military training in the form of academic transfer credit based on recommendations from the American Council on Education's Military Evaluations Program. Each year, Excelsior accepts approximately 50,000 military training program credits toward completion of undergraduate degree programs.
Under the agreement, veterans may enroll in degree programs from any of Excelsior’s schools: Business and Technology, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, and Nursing.
Excelsior College's other education credentials include:
• G.I. Jobs has named Excelsior a top military-friendly school the past four years and Military Advanced Education has recognized Excelsior College the past five years. For the third year in a row Excelsior College has been named a “Best for Vets” college by Military Times Edge magazine.
• Excelsior's course, "Success Strategies for Military and Veterans" earned the 2010-2011 Innovation Award from the Center for Transforming Student Services (CENTSS). The course provides college and career orientation to veterans and military members and teaches transition strategies for those entering the civilian workforce after a military career.
• Excelsior is a recipient of the Council of College and Military Educators' (CCME) Institutional Award.
• Excelsior's military academic advising team includes veterans who are uniquely attuned to the unique needs of military students, veterans and their spouses.
• Center for Military Education (CME) Executive Director Susan Dewan is the recipient of the 2011 William E. Kennedy Award from the Council of College and Military Educators (CCME), which recognizes leadership in providing higher education programs to personnel at U.S. military installations.
• Excelsior President Ebersole is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who served in Vietnam and received the Secretary of the Army Public Service Award in 2010 for his leadership in contributing to the Army's educational mission.
For more information on joining the VFW in Arizona, visit the membership information page. For more information about the Arizona VFW educational partnership with Excelsior College visit either the VFW partnership or Excelsior College partnership page, email veterans@excelsior.edu or call 888-647-2388.
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Excelsior
Excelsior College http://www.excelsior.edu is a regionally accredited, nonprofit distance learning institution that focuses on removing obstacles to the educational goals of adult learners. Founded in 1971 and located in Albany, NY, Excelsior is a proven leader in the assessment and validation of student knowledge. It offers more efficient and affordable access to degree completion through multiple avenues: its own online courses and college-level proficiency examinations, and the acceptance in transfer of credit from other colleges and universities as well as recognized corporate and military training programs. Excelsior College is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Arizona
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is a nonprofit veterans' service organization composed of combat veterans and those who currently serve on active duty or in the Guard and Reserves. Founded in 1899 and chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW is the nation's largest organization of war veterans and is one of its oldest veterans' organizations. With 2.1 million members located in 7,700 VFW Posts worldwide, the VFW and its Auxiliaries are dedicated to "honor the dead by helping the living" through veterans service, legislative initiatives, youth scholarships, Buddy Poppy, and national military service programs. Annually, the VFW and its Auxiliaries contribute more than 11 million hours of community service to the nation. For more information or to join, visit the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Arizona’s website.
