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The College

In 1971, Regents College was founded to make college degrees more accessible to busy, working adults. The college focused on what students knew rather than where or how they learned it. It was a radical concept in its day because it recognized that college-level knowledge can be attained in many waysand students should receive credit for what they know. Today, Regents College is known as Excelsior College, a name that means ever upward and more accurately describes what the College doespropels students ever upward toward reaching their lifetime goals.

As a world leader in distance education, Excelsior College does not insist that learning can take place only in the classroom. Students have access to more avenues than are available at most traditional colleges and universities, because it is not realistic to expect active adults with family and career commitments to drop out of life to earn a degree. Each students journey upward is begun with Excelsior College acknowledging college credits already earned, so students can earn a respected degree in business, technology, the liberal arts, nursing, or the health sciences. Students advance with a customized degree-completion plan and choose from many credit-earning optionsdistance courses from Excelsior College and other regionally accredited institutions; traditional courses at a local campus; credit-bearing exams, including Excelsior College Examinations (ECE); or a portfolio assessment, which can allow students to earn credit through work, community, or volunteer experiences. More than fifty associate, bachelors, masters, and certificate programs, as well as military and professional development programs, are available. Alumni advance ever upward to graduate schools and better jobs in business, government, and health care.

Approximately 13 percent of students come from New York State; the remaining 87 percent come from all other states and many countries. Nearly 125,000 graduates have earned degrees from Excelsior College. Many indicate that they expect to earn an advanced degree at some point in the future, and a large percentage of baccalaureate graduates pursue postgraduate studies immediately after earning their degrees at Excelsior. Continuing its national winning streak, Excelsior College, one of the nations oldest distance learning schools, topped the U.S. News & World Reports Americas Best Colleges 2008 report in two key categoriesthe number of transfer students enrolled and the highest percentage of students older than 25.

Location

Located in Albany, New York, the College is in the heart of New York States Capital Region. The population of the metropolitan area, which includes Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs, is approximately 850,000. New York City, Boston, and Montreal are within a 3-hour drive from Albany.

Majors and Degrees

Excelsior College offers the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.), Associate in Occupational Science (A.O.S.), and Associate in Science (A.S.), with majors in administrative/management studies, business, computer software, electronics technology, liberal arts, military specialties, nuclear technology, nursing, and technology with specialty. Bachelors degrees are offered in accounting (general or New York State CPA track), computer technology, electronics engineering technology, finance, general business, global business, health sciences, hospitality management, information technology, liberal arts, management information systems, management of human resources, marketing, nuclear engineering technology, nursing, operations management, risk management and insurance, and technology. Certificate programs are available in end-of-life care, entrepreneurship, health-care informatics, health-care management, and homeland security.

Academic Programs

Excelsior College is a thriving, dynamic institution that is committed to serving the diverse needs of its students. Academic programs are continuously reviewed for currency and relevancy to ensure that each degree represents the best in academic rigor and includes the most up-to-date thinking in related career areas. In addition, the College continues to develop new programs and services to meet student needs.

Excelsior College accepts undergraduate credits from a wide variety of sources, generally from those colleges and universities that are regionally accredited, that are recognized by the New York State Education Department, and that have been evaluated by the Excelsior College faculty. Credit by exam is a tool many adult learners use to help meet their educational goals. Every year, thousands of Excelsior students take one or more proficiency exams. Excelsior College Examinations include about fifty undergraduate-level tests. The majority are multiple-choice tests, but the series also includes extended-response (essay) and mixed-format (multiple-choice and free-response) exams.

Excelsior College offers a number of professional development and training programs completely online. These noncredit programs are geared toward those looking for professional development, continuing education, and lifelong learning. Many can be completed in three to six months and open new opportunities for job growth or career change.

The Associate in Science degree requires a total of 60 semester hours, at least 30 of which must be earned in the arts and sciences; the remaining 30 semester hours may be earned in applied professional courses, additional arts and sciences credits, or a combination of both. The Associate in Arts degree requires a total of 60 semester hours; a minimum of 48 semester hours must be earned in the arts and sciences, with the remaining 12 in applied professional courses, additional arts and sciences courses, or a combination of both. Bachelors degree programs require a minimum of 120 semester hours, with the Bachelor of Arts requiring more arts and science credits (a minimum of 90 semester hours). Students who have taken or intend to take a large number of applied professional credits find the Bachelor of Science degree to be a more flexible option for them.

Academic Facilities

Excelsior College students have access to the Excelsior College Virtual Library (ECVL). The library is full of carefully selected and annotated sources pertinent to each program and provides a reliable and trustworthy place to start research. ECVL is continuously growing and offers a wide range of library sources and services, including help with getting started on research or with general search strategies, finding material online or in print, or locating material in a local library. There are interlibrary loan services for books and photocopies of articles. Resource collections specific to every degree program, such as databases, electronic journals, handbooks, and reports, are available. Students have access to carefully selected and annotated electronic reference material, including general and specialized dictionaries, almanacs, and directories; bibliographic databases such as nursing resources like Medline and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, liberal arts resources like Academic Search Premier, business and technology resources such as Business Source Premier and Regional Business News, and general resources like WorldCat; tutorials related to using databases and finding and evaluating information; and a virtual reading room with full-text books, newspapers, and governmental and nongovernmental reports.

Costs

To enroll officially, students must pay an enrollment fee, which is currently $895 for associate and bachelors programs and $495 for the A.O.S. in aviation and the A.A.S. in administration/management, aviation studies, and technical studies. For every year a student is enrolled following the first year, the Student Service Annual Fee (SSAF), now $440, is assessed. Tuition is $290 per credit.

Financial Aid

Excelsior College participates in a variety of financial aid programs to help students meet educational expenses. The College is a Title IV eligible educational institution, offering federal financial assistance (Federal Pell Grants, Federal Stafford Student Loans, and Federal PLUS loans) to qualified students. (The Colleges federal code number is 014251.)

Some students may qualify for the Hope Scholarship or Lifetime Learning tax credit. In addition, Excelsior participates in New York State financial aid programs, the Veterans Affairs Educational Benefits Program, and several private educational loan programs and offers a select number of scholarships. For more information, students should contact the financial aid office at 888-647-2388 Ext. 143 (toll-free).

Faculty

Students high-quality academic experience at Excelsior College is due, in large part, to the faculty. Drawn from many colleges and universities as well as from industry and the professions, faculty members are subject-matter experts who are strongly grounded in scholarship and research. The highly credentialed faculty also teaches at other prestigious colleges and universities, such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Skidmore College, and Northeastern University, and includes members of the Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing. Faculty members establish and monitor academic policies and standards, determine degree requirements and the ways in which credit can be earned, develop the content for all examinations, teach courses, review student records to verify degree-requirement completion, and recommend degree conferral to the Board of Trustees.

Student Government

Excelsior College has no student government.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must be self-directed and committed to completing a college degree, and they should have previous college credit, the time and motivation to study, and computer skills. Students must submit the completed application, the $75 application fee, and official transcripts. In addition, there are program-specific requirements, which can be found at http://www.excelsior.edu/apply.

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