FEMA Credit and Excelsior

[Basket Weaver]

I read the entire thread already about the FEMA program courses. However I just got off the phone with Excesior's Admissions and was told they would not accept the credits from the Thomas Edison credit bank, only from FCC. Now that I've completed 12 of these I find this out..... That's $720 for FCC verses the $350 for the credit bank; me thinks school has much more to do with money than what you learn..... Anything new came out concerning these FEMA courses or was I incorrectly informed by Toby (Yes, that's her name) in admissions? Thanks, Lee

[sirjake]

I remember reading on another board somewhere that an Excelsior student was *told* that, but when he pressed them, wrote letters, etc., they finally did accept them transcripted from TESC. That was only someone on a board, though. He could have been lying through his teeth for all I know. But he said that he did get it to work.

My guess is that he's telling the truth. If you're the squeaky wheel, you'll get the oil. If you put up enough of a stink about it, people will often give in. HOWEVER, this guy could have been the straw that broke the camel's back... He may have forced them to make a new "official" rule. I.e., they did not have an official position previously, so they let him use them since he put up a fight, but no one else can use the credits thereafter. I'll bet if you dug deep enough, you'd find out that one of those scenarios is the case.

[snazzlefrag]

Originally Posted by sirjake

I remember reading on another board somewhere that an Excelsior student was *told* that, but when he pressed them, wrote letters, etc., they finally did accept them transcripted from TESC. That was only someone on a board, though. He could have been lying through his teeth for all I know. But he said that he did get it to work.

My guess is that he's telling the truth. If you're the squeaky wheel, you'll get the oil. If you put up enough of a stink about it, people will often give in. HOWEVER, this guy could have been the straw that broke the camel's back... He may have forced them to make a new "official" rule. I.e., they did not have an official position previously, so they let him use them since he put up a fight, but no one else can use the credits thereafter. I'll bet if you dug deep enough, you'd find out that one of those scenarios is the case.

Yes,

I read that thread too. He got something like 40 FEMA credits converted via a TESC credit bank account. 40 credits for $350. Ha ha!

This happened just this last August (2005). I would ask Toby to please confirm it with her superior, because they DEFINITELY did allow it a few months ago.

[dhlvrsn]

I think that if you form your responce inteligently it helps. I'm in the BS-BGB program so I need math credit. I'd taken a Linear Math course already but when my transcript was evaluated it just counted as science, not fulfilling the requirement. I did a search for classes that would fulfill the requirement and found one with almost an identical course description. I e-mailed both that and the description from my previous school and explained that I did not want to take a course and then find out that it was considered dual credit... I got an e-mail back within an hour saying that my math requirement had in fact been fulfilled.

Create a case for why the credit should be accepted. Maybe there are similar courses at other institutions that cover the same material. I've personally stayed away from the FEMA stuff since I am at Excelsior and there a lot more cost effective ways to get credit. Due to four credit courses, Information literacy etc. I may take two courses if I've run out of CLEP tests to take but $70(with test center fee) for three credits is tough to beat.

[Basket Weaver]

Excellent news, straight from Excelsior themselves. I just got off the phone with Martha (ext 135) and debated the point with her, using this forum as backup. She put me on hold and went and talked to the admissions personnel. She got back on the phone and told me they indeed DO accept the credits from Thomas Edison Credit Bank (she said I was smart for pressing the issue too!). This has the potential to save many of their students loads of time. However, I found out I may already be maxed on general electives and just need upper level stuff......Good that I am farther along than I thought/bad in the fact I wasted time on courses I didn't need (I'll sell them...cheap )

I hope this helps others though, my way of maybe returning the favor for all the info given to me. Regards, Lee

[snazzlefrag]

Originally Posted by Basket Weaver

Excellent news, straight from Excelsior themselves. I just got off the phone with Martha (ext 135) and debated the point with her, using this forum as backup. She put me on hold and went and talked to the admissions personnel. She got back on the phone and told me they indeed DO accept the credits from Thomas Edison Credit Bank (she said I was smart for pressing the issue too!). This has the potential to save many of their students loads of time. However, I found out I may already be maxed on general electives and just need upper level stuff......Good that I am farther along than I thought/bad in the fact I wasted time on courses I didn't need (I'll sell them...cheap )

I hope this helps others though, my way of maybe returning the favor for all the info given to me. Regards, Lee

EXCELLENT NEWS!

Thanks Lee.

[yutzyj]

Originally Posted by Basket Weaver

Excellent news, straight from Excelsior themselves. I just got off the phone with Martha (ext 135) and debated the point with her, using this forum as backup. She put me on hold and went and talked to the admissions personnel. She got back on the phone and told me they indeed DO accept the credits from Thomas Edison Credit Bank (she said I was smart for pressing the issue too!). This has the potential to save many of their students loads of time. However, I found out I may already be maxed on general electives and just need upper level stuff......Good that I am farther along than I thought/bad in the fact I wasted time on courses I didn't need (I'll sell them...cheap )

I hope this helps others though, my way of maybe returning the favor for all the info given to me. Regards, Lee

thank you so much for this information. i plan on using fema courses for my general electives and i got a little nervous when i read that you couldn't use tesc's credit bank. thanks again for making that phone call.

[ShotoJuku]

Originally Posted by yutzyj

thank you so much for this information. i plan on using fema courses for my general electives and i got a little nervous when i read that you couldn't use tesc's credit bank. thanks again for making that phone call.

Can you use the TESC C-Bank even if you're not a TESC student?

[snazzlefrag]

Originally Posted by ShotoJuku

Can you use the TESC C-Bank even if you're not a TESC student?

Absolutely!

In fact, if you ARE a TESC student, you don't need the credit bank service.

[ShotoJuku]

Originally Posted by snazzlefrag

Absolutely!

In fact, if you ARE a TESC student, you don't need the credit bank service.

That's good to know if you plan on stocking up on those FEMA credits to send to EC. I ended up sending seven credits to EC via FCC and spent more than I had to but at this time the point is moot.

Still looking for those 2 math credit slots out here in Vegas, will keep you posted .