October 30, 2006

Dear Dean ........:

Mary ........... has completed the requirements to graduate from Indiana University, with a Bachelor of General Studies degree, December 2006.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact our office.

Sincerely,

.......................
Certifying Recorder

Finally!!!

Also got an A in both courses, A- on both finals...Still can't believe it, but I'm not arguing.

ShotoJuku, happy birthday.

Ok, 2 more exams and I will be a college grad! One problem: they are the two TECEP exams, Business Policy and Operations Management. I can't seem to find any study material anywhere. I checked both bain4weeks and 123college and there sure isn't much to find. I bought Strategic Management by Wheelen (old edition but info is info, right?). The website has a lot of info but no summaries. I know the instructors manual does have summaries and sample test questions to practice but I am not a teacher, so I can't buy that manual.

I am even considering Istudysmart, but can't stand to spend the money. On top of it, I am a crammer, work best on my last 3 days before a test, not on 4 months of preparation. Any ideas????

Thanks,

Christa

Hello everyone!

I just recently enrolled in Excelsior's BS Marketing program and was wondering if I could (and should) use an old & ancient college Algebra class to satisfy the math requirement. My first problem is this class was graded a "D" and wasn't sure if the advisors would want to include this class towards credit. My other problem is that having taken the class way back then, I'm not so confident today I could tackle the CLEP Algebra exam even if I prepared for it. What are your thoughts and opinons about my problem?

Thanks much in advance,
MailDog

Hi All,

It is almost one year to the day since I took my first nervous step on this journey. Now, one year later, I have taken 40 exams, earned 133 credits, and am 30 credits shy of earning two degrees.

I thought I would take a moment to reflect on all the exams I have taken over the last year of my life. It has been a year of laughter and tears for me, but I am proud of all that I have accomplished in such a short time.

It is my hope that the following list will serve as not only a celebration of a year in my life, but as an encouragement to others, and an incentive to reach for the stars. It can be done!

One Year of My Life!

------------------------------------------------
1 Year: 40 Exams; 133 Credits; 12 Unused Credits; 30 Credits Remaining.

November 2005
98 ECE Information Literacy [My Feedback]
76 CLEP Intro to Sociology
73 CLEP Information Systems & Computer Applications
71 DSST Intro to Computing [My Feedback]
57 CLEP English Comp w/Essay [My Feedback]
70 CLEP Analyzing & Interpreting Literature
68 CLEP American Government [My Feedback]
73 CLEP Humanities [My Feedback]

December 2005
68 CLEP Principles of Marketing [My Feedback]
77 CLEP Principles of Management [My Feedback]
67 DSST Principles of Supervision [My Feedback]
66 DSST Intro to Business [My Feedback]
76 DSST Intro to World Religions [My Feedback]

January - February 2006
Took a two-month hiatus from exams.

March 2006
72 DSST Management Information Systems [My Feedback]
65 DSST Drug & Alcohol Abuse [My Feedback]
66 DSST Here's to Your Health [My Feedback]

April 2006
71 DSST Principles of Statistics [My Feedback]
64 DSST Human Resource Management
72 DSST Ethics in America [My Feedback]

May 2006
71 DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union [My Feedback]
69 DSST Intro to Criminal Justice [My Feedback]
70 DSST Environment & Humanity: Race to Save the Planet [My Feedback]

June 2006
66 DSST Principles of Finance [My Feedback]
68 CLEP Principles of Accounting [My Feedback]
64 DSST Civil War & Reconstruction [My Feedback]

July 2006
74 CLEP Intro to Business Law [My Feedback]
70 DSST History of the Vietnam War [My Feedback]
71 DSST Organizational Behavior [My Feedback]

August 2006
72 DSST Business Law II [My Feedback]
77 CLEP Introductory Psychology [My Feedback]
68 DSST Lifespan Development Psychology [My Feedback]
66 CLEP Intro to Educational Psychology [My Feedback]
64 DSST Fundamentals of Counseling [My Feedback]
67 CLEP Macroeconomics [My Feedback]

September 2006
60 CLEP Microeconomics [My Feedback]
68 DSST General Anthropology [My Feedback]
60 DSST Money & Banking [My Feedback]
74 CLEP Freshman College Composition (only 3 of the 6 credits count) [My Feedback]
66 DSST Modern Middle East [My Feedback]

October 2006
69 DSST Intro to Law Enforcement [My Feedback]

------------------------------------------------

Thank you to ALL my friends who have walked with me along the way. You have inspired me greatly, encouraged me often, advised me regularly, and taught me much.

I'm not quite finished yet! But the end is in sight, and I will value your continued support and encouragement in this next year, just as I valued it in the last.

May all your dreams come true, and all your stars be reached!

Your friend and classmate,
Snazzlefrag (Rob)

I just took and passed the Ethics in America DSST. I scheduled the test Monday and took it Thursday. I really didn’t study very much. I went through each of the 8 instacert tests once or twice. I probably spent 6 or 7 hours total preparing. The test was the new online format and I got my results instantly. I did have one hang up, my pc locked up with 3 minutes to go. When they rebooted it my time had expired, good thing I was totally finished before then. I was surprised by the number of essay based scenarios. The test was 111 questions and i think 85% was scenario based. There were about 10 different scenarios that were repeated. Every scenario based question had Yes/No answers. Maybe 15 questions were multiple choice and were based on the founding principals. My score was a 54 a 43 was required to pass. Two more classes to complete and I walk in December!

AG

I recently went to the excelsior discussion boards, ( they dont compair to this forum ) and became abit anxious over ECE exams after reading several of their posts about how some studied for 4 months! and still coped a grade of b or c. :confused: I've taken CLEP exams before. I know that the members of this board are Exam Wizards and that the performance on exams has to do with study habits, prior knowledge of exam subject matter etc, but, for those of you who have taken ECE exams, "in general, and aside from test length" did you feel that ECE exams were harder than CLEP Exams, and how much time difference in studying was there then in preparing for CLEP exams. I've yet to take an ECE exam. I'm leaning towards Ethics to be my first. Though after reading their board, I'm apprehensive about going into the test with my current CLEP study preparation method; 1-2 weeks of study; IC; REA Guides; and Petersons Test, which have served me well to this point. Any insights would be appreciated.
Jeff

That probably excludes any with essays..

Guys, I'm kinda in a bit of a dilemma. This thread involves long passages about me and my career path, so I just wanted to forewarn anyone who is not interested so they don't waste their time reading.

Okay, here's the situation. I have been in the IT industry for close to 10 years. I have done everything from programming to testing/QA to project management, with the longest stint being project management. When I got out of the Marine Corps, I was working as a heavy equipment mechanic, and studying in the evenings teaching myself how to write code. I eventually learned how to program, and my brother (who is also an IT guy) and I started our own software development company. We were EXTREMELY successful from about 1999 until the end of about 2004. We built custom software for the nuclear power industry, and were very good at it. Over the course of this time we grew, had about 5 guys on board with us, and were making tons of money. Well, to make a long story short, the nuclear industry had major cut-backs, and we started losing business fast. It got bad enough that we decided to make the company a side business and all go do other ventures.

I was immediately hired as an IT Project Manager for a very large financial institution (which does 100% tuition reimbursement by the way). I stayed there for about a year and a half, and was moderately happy. The money wasn't what I was used to, but it was better than nothing. I felt like there was some opportunity there, but not for a substantial amount of time.

About this time, a friend of mine approached me about coming to work for him in sales (I've always had a natural nack for sales). He had an Account Rep. leave, and was VERY interested in getting me to come to work for him. My main concern was that this was a totally different and unrelated industry that I knew nothing about, and frankly didn't have a lot of interest in. BUT the salary and overall package was really tempting.

Needless to say, I accepted the position despite a pretty good counter-offer from my current employer. I have been here for about 2 months. I am now beginning to second guess my decision. I really do enjoy IT and am thoroughly interested in the IT industry. In my current position, not only did I not know anything, but alot of the "promises" seem to have been forgotten, or have fallen by the wayside. About the only thing that has kept me around this far is the money (which is pretty darn good). There are several things (that I won't go into) that are making me wonder if this was really the right decision. Please understand, I am extremely analytical and typically do not make uninformed decisions. I felt like I gave this decision due dilligence before accepting the offer. But sometimes a picture is painted one way, and when you step into that picture, it looks a whole lot different.

I just recently heard of a couple of openings back in IT Project Management, and one of them could be a higher position at my old company. I really hate this feeling of instability and uncertainty, but I don't see myself where I'm at long term.

I went back to school to finish my MIS degree, and have about a year and half left. From there, I plan to sit for the PMP (Project Management Professional) Exam (this is the most highly recognized credential in my field), and maybe eventuall get my MS in Technology Systems. As you can see, even though I am working in an unrelated field, my heart is still in IT.

My question is, given the Cliff Notes version of the situation I have provided, what do you guys think you would do in my shoes?

A. Stay where I am, even though I have little interest and the things that were "promised" have not come through.

OR

B. Start entertaining other options, and if something as lucrative as where I am now pans out, jump on it.

I don't want to drag this out too long either. I have only been here a little less than 2 months. If I were to leave now it would be a whole lot better than a year from now. Rememer, I know my boss on a personal level, and if I decide to leave, I want it to be as painless as possible.

I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks for listening...

Well I just found out why I have not received the score on my retake of the ECE Human Resource Management. It seems that even though you can retake them after 60 days, Dantes will not pay for it unless you wait 180 days. This is because even though it is an ECE test, Dantes pays for them under the military clause, thus we fall under their rules on retaking failed courses. So here I sit with them having the test in their hands, but they won't score it unless I pay the $190.00.

I opted to pay for it and will find the score out tomorrow. No stress here:eek: ..... If I passed, then it was the best money ever spent. If I fail, I think I might be a bit P/O. I know all of the non-military are probably laughing right now as this is what you have to do every time. I'll post tomorrow and let ya'll know how it turned out. Lee