Private online university in New York, United States
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Excelsior College was founded in 1971 by the
New York State Board of Regents as its
external degree program, known as
The Regents External Degree Program (REX). The initial development of the program was funded by major grants from the
Ford Foundation and the
Carnegie Corporation. Known as
Regents College from 1984 through 2000, it operated as a program of the Board of Regents (which also served as its board of trustees). In April 1998, the Board of Regents granted the school an absolute charter to operate as a private, nonprofit, independent institution. On January 1, 2001, Regents College, required to change its name under the terms of the separation, became Excelsior College (Excelsior means "ever upwards" in
Latin; it is also the motto of the
State of New York).
Excelsior College changed its name to "Excelsior University" on August 1, 2022.[3]
Academics
History (Regents College)
Excelsior, originally Regents External Degrees and later Regents College because it was directly administered by the
New York State Board of Regents, was from its inception a college that had faculty, majors, academic requirements, and advisors, but no courses. It provided a framework for evaluating and assembling academic credits into a degree program. In some cases a degree was awarded almost immediately after application, if the student had already met all degree requirements. For students needing additional academic credits, Excelsior provided some through its
Excelsior College Examinations. For other subjects, through human advisors and online tools Excelsior referred students to regionally-accredited colleges which provided the needed instruction,
accessible from the student's location whenever possible.
This was done with sufficient rigor that Excelsior had no difficulty in obtaining
accreditation. However, Excelsior students did not qualify for
Federal Student Aid, which funded instruction, not the advising and evaluation Excelsior provided. Starting with its first graduate program, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies that began in 1998, Excelsior began adding courses, delivered at a distance through various modalities, such as DVDs.
Since Excelsior was designed to consolidate credit from other universities, any transfer credit from an
accredited institution is accepted, if the course falls within one of Excelsior's degree programs and the credit is within an allowed time limit.[4]
Since 1998
Excelsior is well known for its flexible, online degree programs.[5][6][7]
Sources of college credit that can be used towards an Excelsior degree program, and to which advisors will refer an Excelsior student, include Excelsior
distance learning courses, courses from other accredited institutions, college-level subject-matter examinations (including
CLEP exams, and
DSST/DANTES exams), non-collegiate training (including corporate, governmental, and military training) that has been evaluated for college-level credit by the
American Council on Education (ACE) and National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS), and assessments of prior learning portfolios. Unlike most colleges, Excelsior sets minimal limitations on the amount of allowable transfer credit.
Excelsior is a member of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium of the
American Association of State Colleges and Universities. SOC institutions are dedicated to helping servicemembers and their families earn college degrees. Military students can take courses in their off-duty hours at or near military installations in the United States, overseas, and on navy ships.[8] Additionally, Excelsior College has repeatedly been nominated as a top military-friendly school by multiple organizations.[9][10]
Deborah A. Ashenhurst (Class of 1994), adjutant general of the Ohio National Guard (2011-2015), appointed director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services in 2019[11]
Edward D. Baca (Class of 1986), Chief of the National Guard Bureau from 1994 to 1998[12][13]
Gilbert King (Class of 1985), winner of the 2013
Pulitzer Prize in non-fiction for Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of the New America.[24]
^Subcommittee on National Security, Committee on Appropriations (1997).
Guard/Reserve Issues. Washington, DC: United States House of Representatives. p.
202.
^Matheny, Judd (September 19, 2007).
"Résumé: Judd Matheny". Juddmatheny.com. Normandy, TN: Judd Matheny. Archived from
the original on September 19, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2016 – via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
^Office of the Deputy Commandant for Missions Support (2016).
"Biography, Jason M. Vanderhaden"(PDF). USCG.mil. Washington, DC: United States Coast Guard.
^"Biography, Derrick Van Orden". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Washington, DC: Historian of the United States House of Representatives. January 3, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.