Rep. Paul Tonko Receives an Honorary Degree

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Maria C. Sparks

On September 3, 2019, President James N. Baldwin awarded an honorary degree to Rep. Paul D. Tonko, a sixth-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York’s 20th Congressional District in the Capital Region.

“Throughout his career, Congressman Tonko has been a champion for the working class and advancing policies that create jobs. He has been a champion for the underserved and underprivileged,” said Baldwin, heralding Tonko as an advocate for education and for adult learners.

Tonko had planned to attend Excelsior College’s 48th Commencement on July 12 and receive the honorary degree, but he was needed in Washington, DC, for a critical vote on the 911 Victim’s Compensation Fund. He opted to speak to graduates via a recorded video.

In recent years, Tonko has worked with Excelsior College on many initiatives and events, such as the Nyquist Leadership Series and Workforce Development Strategy and Policy Forum, and supported a grant for Excelsior College to develop the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS). In 2014, he helped the College with a grant establishing new and creative uses of technology to increase college opportunities for low-income students.

From Cornerstone to Capstone

Posted on February 7, 2020August 14, 2023 by Maria C. Sparks

New first course positions learners for success throughout their degree program

To help provide students with an engaging start to their learning experience at Excelsior College, all undergraduate students admitted to the College as of November 1, 2019, are taking a Cornerstone course that will provide them with foundational skills and the resources needed for academic and career success. The 8-week, 3-credit course will introduce students to the skills, resources, tools, and mindsets that are critical for success throughout all their coursework — and beyond to their careers.

The course encourages what are referred to as the “5 Cs” — confidence in students’ ability to achieve their educational goals, comfort with online learning and available resources, courage to think deeply on open-ended questions, intellectual curiosity, and a sense of community. The course focuses on giving students a “smart start” for their educational journey and skills to rely on as they progress through their degree program.

Many, if not most, students start at Excelsior with no previous experience with the Canvas learning management system or the College’s other digital resources and platforms. As a result, it takes them some time to reach a comfort level and develop confidence with how the courses work, including where to submit assignments, how to see their weekly schedules, and where to contact their instructor, says Mary Berkery, the faculty program director for the Cornerstone course. “The Cornerstone provides a safe place to land and get comfortable in a low-stakes environment where everyone is learning the LMS and the resources at the same time, with plenty of help from their instructor,” says Berkery.

In developing the Cornerstone experience, Excelsior’s faculty program directors also recognize that some adult learners who are returning to college after many years express a lack of confidence in their abilities, such as writing academic papers or navigating the technology. “Starting college with a mindset of ‘I’m not sure I can do this’ is a recipe for failure as opposed to adopting a growth mindset and believing you can and will be able to finish your degree,” says Berkery. “The Cornerstone is a place where students can build their confidence over the eight weeks and recognize that they have everything they need to be successful in their next courses.”

That focus on student success is the motivation behind developing the course.

“The Cornerstone is a place where students can build their confidence over the eight weeks and recognize that they have everything they need to be successful in their next courses.” ––Mary Berkerey

“The Cornerstone course is an innovative way to give adult learners the best possible start on their journey toward achieving the goal of degree completion,” says John Caron, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Excelsior College. “We talk a lot in higher education about meeting the learner where they are at. The Cornerstone course gives our faculty and advisors the ability to assess each learner’s level of readiness and get them on a degree pathway that is personalized to their academic success.”

The interdisciplinary Cornerstone course was developed in two versions — one for students entering Excelsior College with more than 60 credits and one for students entering the College with fewer than 60 credits. Both courses cover the same material, but they are tailored to the academic experience of students. The Cornerstone course consists primarily of activities, such as readings, videos, multiple choice questions, and reflections, and discussions within eight modules:

Module 1: Is There Anybody Out There? Why You’re Not Alone in Your Pursuit of a Degree
Module 2: Is Intelligence Predetermined? Why Passion and Perseverance Matter More in Future Success
Module 3: What Is the Future of Human Thought? Critical Thinking, Reasoning, and Argument in the Digital Age
Module 4: Is This the Dawn of the Post-Truth Era? Determining Truth in a Glut of Information
Module 5: Why Do I Need to Take that Class? How General Education Can Save Us from Dystopia
Module 6: Will the Robots Replace Us? How to Remain Employable in the Unpredictable Future of Work
Module 7: What Makes Us Human? Diversity, Bias, the Workplace, and Ourselves
Module 8: Can We Create the Future? What We Can Take Away from the Course and What’s Next

Through the module topics and their associated discussions, students will hone their skills and increase the flexibility of their minds to help them navigate the change and uncertainty in our future societies, workplaces, and selves. They will plan and write a research paper during the course that they will upload to an online portfolio in the final module. As they take other courses, students can continue to upload work to the online portfolio.

The Cornerstone course stands apart from other Excelsior courses in another way: A section of the course might consist of the most diverse group of students one will encounter during their studies. Because it’s a required course for all undergraduate students, those registered for any given section reflect a variety of degree programs. The different interests and backgrounds of the students add to the overall learning experience.

Focus on Student Success

The Cornerstone course was piloted in the Fall II term and made available to all new students for the Spring I term. It is one of three courses students are required to take at Excelsior College rather than transferring in credit to meet the requirement. The others are Information Literacy — a self-paced 1-credit course that focuses on cyber literacy, library research, academic integrity, and critical reading, thinking, and writing skills — and the Capstone, the culminating experience of all degree programs. The Capstone course has traditionally been required to be taken at Excelsior College since it’s an opportunity for students to show their cumulative knowledge of their chosen discipline and for instructors to evaluate that knowledge.

With these changes in requirements, maximums for credit acceptance and awarding toward undergraduate degrees has changed. Excelsior College will now accept all but 7 credits transferred from other institutions of higher education institutions, earned through exams, awarded for workplace training and professional certifications, or from other options toward a bachelor’s or associate degree. This change reflects efforts to ensure Excelsior students have the knowledge and skills they need for academic and future success.

Alignment with Capstones

Each degree program has a Capstone experience, typically a project or paper that gives students the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge acquired throughout their course of study. With the addition of the Cornerstone course, students will gain stronger preparation for all their coursework, including the rigorous experience of the Capstone. Since all students will complete an independent research project during the Cornerstone course, they will gain skills in locating credible information, citing information correctly, and creating an academic argument — all skills they’ll use again throughout their course experience, including in the Capstone. In addition, most students will use the online portfolio again in their Capstone course.

While faculty have been working on giving students a strong start to their Excelsior experience, they have the Capstone experience. LA 498 Liberal Arts Capstone, the largest of the Capstone courses in terms of enrollment, is being revised and will premiere for Summer I. The updated course focuses on this question posed to the student: What problem do you want to help solve?

“The course is designed to allow students to be experts on different topics and facilitate problem-solving and support their peers in discussion formats,” says Amber O’Neil, the faculty program director for the capstones in liberal arts. “All formal weekly discussions in this course are focused on group discussions where students serve as experts on things critical to the Capstone like global issues, writing, interviewing, internships, and cultural diversity.”

In the course, students must choose a short experience that informs their project — the problem they want to help solve — and also highlights the importance of having experiences in the learning processes, says O’Neil. Students are also required to have a draft of their final paper reviewed by a professional in the field, and then they must share the feedback with Capstone faculty and incorporate it as appropriate into the final paper.

The Cornerstone and Capstone courses complement each other, with the Cornerstone laying groundwork with broad interdisciplinary perspectives and the Capstone completing the degree program with work focused on a specific discipline. “The Cornerstone and Capstone are meant to serve as bookends to a student’s Excelsior experience,” says Berkery.

Alumni Receive Awards in Recognition of Achievements

Posted on February 7, 2020November 5, 2025 by Jenna Kerwin

Alumni Award Recipients are (left to right) Jeffrey Baker, Christine Robinson-Cooley, and Greta Kostac.

Three alumni were honored for their outstanding achievements at the College’s annual Awards Convocation on July 11, 2019. Dwayn Hanford ’05, Alumni Association president, and Mark A. Bowman ’00, chair of the Awards Committee of the Alumni Leadership Council, presented the awards.

The three award recipients shared anecdotes from their educational journeys, including observations from their time spent with Excelsior College. A common theme was that each felt they would not be where they are in their careers if it hadn’t been for their Excelsior experiences. Alumni Achievement Award recipient Jeffery Baker said he would not have been able to go on in his career teaching at many universities and volunteering at various non-profit organizations if it hadn’t been for participating in the former Regents External Degree Program. C. Wayne Williams Award recipient Christine Robinson-Cooley was grateful to the College for allowing her to work and go to school at the same time, saying, “Having a career and a family should not bar a person from getting an education. It should enhance that experience.” Carrie B. Lenburg Award recipient Greta Kostac added, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Excelsior College. Excelsior made me feel that I could succeed; that I could get to do what I wanted to do.”

Course Prepares Faculty to Improve Student Writing

Posted on February 7, 2020November 25, 2025 by Maria C. Sparks

Excelsior College offers a professional development training for college-level faculty who are interested in improving their students’ writing skills for academic, career, and life success. The free, self-paced Writing in the Disciplines Certificate Course includes assessments and optional networking discussion forums during which faculty who wish to can share resources and collaborate on designing assignments related to writing in the disciplines.

The training consists of four modules: Introduction to Writing in the Disciplines, Creating Effective Writing Assignments, Peer Review and Revision, and Effective Feedback and Rubrics. Each module includes readings and videos. It is hosted on the popular MOOC (massive open online course) platform within the Canvas network.

Upon successful completion of this course, faculty receive a downloadable certificate in Writing in the Disciplines (WID). Writing in the Disciplines is a subfield of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), a nationwide movement designed to ensure students have frequent and significant opportunities to write, revise, and discuss their writing in their classes.

“This certificate course was a labor of love for our team … This course provides faculty with the tools to teach students robust writing and revision skills within the context of what they are writing about …” –Anna Zendell, PhD, MSW

“We think this is an excellent professional development opportunity for faculty in any discipline,” says Ben Pearson, PhD, co-chair of Excelsior College’s Writing Across the Curriculum initiative. “Writing is a crucial 21st-century skill, and it’s not something students can master in just one to two required writing courses. The more opportunities that we can create for high-impact, high-quality writing assignments in our classes, the better prepared students will be for life and career success.”

This certificate training was developed by a team of about 10 faculty members with experience in teaching writing across a variety of disciplines and was supported by a grant from the Booth-Ferris Foundation. Many key elements of the training were developed as part of grant-funded collaboration among Excelsior College, SUNY Rockland, SUNY Clinton, SUNY Monroe, and other colleges.

“This certificate course was a labor of love for our team,” says Anna Zendell, PhD, MSW, co-chair of the Writing Across the Curriculum initiative at Excelsior College. “We wanted to design a course that equips faculty to support students in their writing. Faculty often feel quite confident in teaching course content, but much less confident helping students with writing challenges. This course provides faculty with the tools to teach students robust writing and revision skills within the context of what they are writing about, rather than compartmentalizing writing mechanics from disciplinary content.”

Welcome Back

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Maria C. Sparks

Nyquist Leadership Series event considers how communities can streamline support for military veterans

Keith W. Wilson, of the Army’s Soldier for Life program, encourages communities to establish a network of services for veterans. Photo: Jason Hughes

With about 200,000 servicemembers leaving the military each year, opportunity exists to ensure veterans make a smooth transition to the civilian workplace. On October 17, 2019, during the latest event in Excelsior College’s Nyquist Leadership Series, representatives from military- and veteran-focused organizations, businesses, higher education institutions, government agencies, and economic development organizations brainstormed ways to collaborate for the benefit of veterans and our communities.

The Veteran Workforce Collaboration, presented by Excelsior College in coordination with the Center for Economic Growth in Albany, New York, and the Mental Health Association of New York State, drew about 50 participants from New York’s Capital Region and beyond. Participants heard from panelists and participated in two breakout sessions to discuss topical issues related to transitioning servicemembers and veterans. Topics included:

Veteran workforce attraction
Improving resource and service coordination
Strengthening education-workforce partnerships
Service mental health and wellness in the workplace
Enhancing veteran training and retention programs
Making proper accommodations for veteran workers
Igniting communities to recognize and support servicemembers

Discussions centered around what is working well, where there is opportunity for improvement, and recommendations for actions. A common theme emerged from the breakout sessions: with more alignment and collaboration — as well as some improvements — transitioning servicemembers and veterans will have access to robust and helpful resources when they need them.

An informal network that relies on referrals already exists, but the challenge is in coordinating and publicizing the services available to transitioning servicemembers and veterans. “What we don’t have is a formalized network of some sort where everyone has access to those same services and those same resources,” said Keith W. Wilson, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and director of the northeastern United States and Europe for the Army’s Soldier for Life Program. Wilson facilitated discussions on igniting communities to recognize and support servicemembers.

During the event, speakers and participants brainstormed ways workplaces, government offices, educational institutions, and communities can support servicemembers, veterans, and their families.

Although this was a local event, the topics are relevant to communities universally and the takeaways could prove meaningful for others. “There are many resources available for veterans and sometimes accessing these resources can be confusing,” says James Lettko, chief operating officer of Excelsior College, who participated in the event and is a retired U.S. Army general. “This collaboration brought together many of the local and regional providers and afforded an opportunity to collaborate on the most effective way to communicate to veterans about available services and how to best serve their
needs.”

View highlights from the recent discussion.

The Nyquist Leadership Series explores New York State’s most pressing contemporary challenges through the eyes of prominent government, education, and industry leaders. The series honors the late Ewald B. “Joe” Nyquist, a civil rights leader and former New York State education commissioner who played a key role in efforts to desegregate New York schools. The “visionary author” of Excelsior College, Nyquist fought to extend quality educational opportunities to learners of all ages.

You’re More Creative Than You Think

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Caitlin Abram

How Embracing Your Innate Creativity Could Be Just the Lift You Need

For all its artsy, free-flowing connotations, “creativity” can be a little intimidating, especially when it comes to the workplace. In recent years, it’s become hard not to notice the word has grown into a trendy, business world, catch-all concept with experts touting the “creative economy,” “creative consultants” popping up all over the place, and people increasingly titling themselves “a creative” on their resumes.

Creative thinking and fostering a creative office atmosphere are becoming increasingly valued in the workplace — and for good reason. Creativity fuels innovation, innovation solves problems, and problem solving is a skill highly prized by employers. Not only can creativity help you be more successful at the job you already have, it can help you land that dream job as well.

Creativity is considered a “soft skill.” Soft skills, like time management, flexibility, and empathy, are personal attributes that relate to how well you work with other people. In comparison, hard skills are learned, measurable, technical abilities. In early 2019, the professional networking site LinkedIn looked at thousands of job postings and ranked the most sought-after hard and soft skills employers were seeking. Predictably, “cloud computing” and “artificial intelligence” were the top-rated hard skills, but the most in-demand soft skill was something a little more human: creativity!

Creativity is often mistakenly equated with having an artistic talent, like design or music, so you could be forgiven for thinking that calling yourself a creative person is a privilege reserved for those who work in offices with free soda, neon furniture, and scooters in the hallways. The truth is, you can be a creative thinker no matter what field you work in or the color of your office. Productive creativity is agile, resourceful, persistent, and not afraid of the unconventional. Does that sound like you? Then you’re probably more creative than you think. While we’re all born with an innate imagination and curiosity, that doesn’t mean that creativity doesn’t take a little work, especially for those of us who haven’t been challenged to think creatively before.

So how do you “do” creativity? It’s possible to practice and strengthen your creativity just like you would with any other skill.

While it may seem counterintuitive, creativity can actually thrive with a little structure. Putting constraints, either real or imaginary, around your brainstorming sessions forces you to find different solutions to problems and approach even ordinary tasks in new ways. A good way to get started is to run some thought experiments. For example, imagine you had $100,000 to spend on improvements to your company. How would you spend it? Or, try taking an everyday object and thinking of a new way to use it. If you’ve ever seen a child play, they’ll spin random games and stories out of seemingly nothing. They’ll forget about the new toy and instead play with the box it came in. Unplug and let yourself be bored, with no distractions, and you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with all by yourself. Think like a kid again and use what’s already around you to be inspired.

Don’t expect every idea to be great. In fact, expect a lot of them won’t be, but remember that nothing kills creativity faster that criticism. So, if you’re trying to think more open-endedly or are encouraging others to do the same, allow for some safe, “no comment” space to throw out ideas. There will be time to pick out the best bits and delve into details later, so keep things judgment-free to give your creativity space to roam unencumbered.

Everyone works differently, but in general, creativity doesn’t like a vacuum. Talking to and working with a variety of people with different perspectives encourages sharing and idea creation. If you’re leading a team, the more diversity present usually makes for a more creative group. Find a trusted colleague or friend to bounce ideas off of and you’ll be surprised what a difference a second or third pair of eyes and ears makes.

Still feeling stuck? Take a break and do something else that allows your mind to wander. Take a walk, get out of your chair, doodle. Take up a hobby outside of work and try something completely different than what you’re used to. If you work with your hands, try something that involves being still and exercising your imagination. If you sit at a computer all day, try something active. After all, sometimes your most creative ideas can happen when you least expect them to.

Q&A with Scott Dolan

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Excelsior Staff

Dean, School of Graduate Studies

Scott Dolan was named dean of the School of Graduate Studies in May 2019, after serving as associate dean of graduate studies. He joined Excelsior College in 2014 as director of assessment and program evaluation for all the degree programs in the former School of Business & Technology and was promoted to roles of increasing responsibility within the school, including associate dean for business. Photo: Mike Hemberger

How is graduate education changing?
It is pretty clear to me that the demand for graduate education is increasing, and I expect that to continue into the future. Data shows that a graduate education is a real differentiator. Only about 10 percent of people in the United States under the age of 29 have a master’s degree or higher, while nearly 20 percent of all jobs posted over the past year require a graduate or professional degree. This means a graduate degree is a distinction with great potential value and can unlock opportunities to well-paying careers.

How is Excelsior responding to challenges in graduate education?
First and foremost, we are developing our academic programs to meet the needs of our students and the mission of the College. We are focusing on increasing the access to and affordability of a graduate education. This means we need to continue to price our graduate programs competitively. This will allow us to serve our diverse student population, prepare them to be leaders in their field, and unlock opportunities to great careers. Education remains one of the key drivers of economic mobility, and in a society with increasing economic inequality, we are striving to be part of the solution.

Second, we are focusing on our strengths, which is meeting students where they are by leveraging our fully online delivery model. This gives us a significant competitive advantage over other institutions, which are often averse or wary of online education despite the increasing demand for it.

Third, we are committed to being agile and innovative. We know we need to invest more fully in different types of educational offerings, including certificates, badges, and non-credit offerings. We will be developing smaller “chunks” of learning to meet the demand of the market and our students, and we will look for ways to stack them into and on top of our full master’s degrees. Building smaller components of learning aligns with our innovative mindset and allows us to be more nimble and take some risks in adapting to emerging markets without assuming all of the costs associated with full program development.

And finally, we will provide students with co- and extracurricular learning opportunities through internships — both virtual and on the ground — and through student and professional associations. Our graduate students are career-oriented and are either looking for skills that can help them advance within their current career or are looking to change their career. Internships provide experiential learning opportunities, where they can take what they have learned in our courses and apply that learning to the context of tasks and jobs in the field. With our student associations, we are trying to build community with students, expose them to emerging trends within the profession, and help them to build their peer networks. From the literature, we know this impacts their success while in the program, but we also think these opportunities expand their professional networks and allow them to develop their professional identity and presence.

Taken as a whole, we are really trying to think of ways to develop programs that mirror the changes in the field itself.

What about the graduate programs sets up students for success in their careers and future endeavors?
Graduate programs are designed to help people assume positions of leadership in their fields. This means we are developing people to take their discipline forward and to operate at the forefront of their field. The problems and issues that we face in the world today simply cannot be solved without an open, agile coordination across sectors and disciplines. The world needs people who are comfortable with complexity, can think broadly, and work collaboratively to seek innovative solutions. And because the nature of work itself is dynamic and changing rapidly, the world needs people who are learning continuously. An advanced education shows a student is willing to adapt with the changes around them and will invest in themselves to be successful into the future.

What skills can a student expect to gain from the graduate experience?
We expect our master’s-level graduates to assume leadership positions, which will require them to communicate with and influence diverse sets of stakeholders, think critically and analytically, and make strategic, evidence-based, and ethically appropriate decisions. We want our students to graduate fully equipped to be highly ethical and effective leaders in their organizations and in their fields. Our work infusing these competencies into our program is really starting with our 6-credit interdisciplinary core but will evolve as we redevelop the curriculum for each of our programs.

You’ve said that graduate school changes a person. How did your graduate school experience change you?
It changed me in some really profound ways. It taught me that there is a community of people who are committed to searching for answers and truth, and that this community of people has mechanisms to hold each other accountable for our perspectives and statements about the world. This is no small statement, especially in a world where fact and truth are often questioned publicly.

It also taught me that searching for answers requires you to be a good critical thinker and analyst. To me, this means that you need to know how to ask good questions, and to learn that there are methods and processes for gathering information that can help you answer questions. It taught me that I also need to understand the limits of my own views, and to be courageous enough to question my own assumptions. Graduate education taught me that my world or personal orbit was small. It opened me up to a universe of new ideas and ways of looking at the world, which really makes me appreciate the diversity of worldviews. And finally, it provided me with a network of colleagues and friends who I still engage with today, albeit in different ways, but it gave me the support of a network of people who I can call on as needed.

Sonya Borden Earns Her Degree Through Partnership with Pizza Hut

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Jenna Kerwin

When Sonya Borden’s daughter graduated from college, Borden thought it was time she pursued her own college education. Borden, of Hudson, New Hampshire, is a restaurant manager for GC Pizza Hut, a franchise organization of Pizza Hut LLC. She has been with the restaurant company for 28 years, since she started as a hostess when she was 16 years old. She took advantage of Pizza Hut’s partnership with Excelsior College to earn her Associate in Applied Science in Business in 2018.

Secret to Success:
Sticking to a schedule

Biggest Help:
Daughter

Next Plans:
Pursue a dual BS/MS degree

With Pizza Hut’s Life Unboxed EDU program and the company’s partnership with Excelsior, she didn’t have any excuse not to earn a degree. Through the partnership, Borden was eligible for reduced tuition and fees, which saved her money and made earning a degree more feasible. Excelsior also awards credit for certain workplace training, so Borden came in with just under 70 hours of workplace training.

The option to study independently and earn credit by exam as well as receiving credit for workplace training were the main reasons she chose to attend Excelsior. “The online and at your own pace, the price … the fact that I was getting credit for my work experience through Pizza Hut and the training that they did, that was a big factor,” says Borden of the aspects that led her to choose Excelsior. “It really just made me decide that it was something I wanted to do.”

Borden faced some challenges when she first started the program. She had been out of school for a long time and had difficulty understanding the online format. She had help from her daughter, who was used to online learning environments, and spoke with her classmates and asked them for advice. She says, “Just having a good support system around you … it’s not easy, it’s difficult, but reach out to the resources that are offered to you; talk to an advisor, talk to some of your peers; use the things that are given to you to make it happen.”

“I was getting credit for my work experience through Pizza Hut and the training that they did.” –Sonya Borden

Time management was also difficult to master, but eventually, Borden learned to stick to a schedule. She developed a routine of fitting in assignments and studying after work and on weekends. She set up parameters to prevent distractions. She says when she retired to her basement to take a test or study, no one was allowed to bother her. She was determined to complete her degree so she could say she graduated college. She had instilled in her daughter the importance of education, so she wanted to also better herself by earning a degree.

Achieving her degree was an import milestone, one Borden encourages her coworkers to reach. She tries to inspire her younger coworkers to enroll in school and follow in her footsteps. She tells them about Excelsior’s programs and encourages them to sign up for the Life Unboxed EDU program. She thinks if they see she has successfully earned a degree, they will think they can too.

Borden is the first of her parents and siblings to earn a degree, and she says she feels accomplished to have earned it. Her original plan had been to attend college after high school, but life happened, and she thought she would never achieve that goal. Now she is happy her grandchildren can say their grandmother graduated from college. She says, “I want it to be natural, I want them to just think, you know, that’s what you do, you continue your education; that’s what you need to do.” – J.K.

Akila Sooriyabandara Is Going Places

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Caitlin Abram

Logging more than 29 hours on planes, trains, and automobiles, Akila Sooriyabandara has the distinct honor of being the student who traveled the farthest to attend Excelsior’s 48th Annual Commencement Ceremony in Albany, New York, in July 2019. However, Sooriyabandara’s truly epic trip from his hometown of Kadawatha, Sri Lanka, an island country located off India’s southern coast, almost didn’t happen at all.

Free Time Fun:
Music and the gym

Support System:
Mom and Dad

Secret to Success:
Sticking to a schedule

The 23-year-old information technology graduate had plans to bring his entire family with him to the United States but with only a few weeks to go before the big day, his VISA appointment at the U.S. Embassy was rescheduled. With time running out, Sooriyabandara was fortunately able to secure his own VISA, but his family’s paperwork did not come through in time and he was forced to make the long trip alone. Meeting up with an uncle located in Washington, DC, he made the final leg of his journey to Albany by car the day before the ceremony.

Sooriyabandara’s journey to Commencement actually started years earlier as a student at the American College in Sri Lanka where his professors recommended he continue his education at Excelsior, which was then an educational partner of the college. Interested in computers from a young age, he knew right away he would pursue a degree in technology and enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program in 2016. He had never taken online classes before and was nervous about navigating the distance and time differences. “Before this, I had never taken online courses. So this was a whole new experience for me. And it was quite challenging. But I really liked it.” He ended up relishing the new connections he made with his instructors and classmates. “They have discussions, where you had to discuss everything related to your classes. I got to meet the other friends who were in my classes. It was really nice,” he says.

“Before this, I had never taken online courses. So this was a whole new experience for me. And it was quite challenging. But I really liked it.” –Akila Sooriyabandara

In addition to exploring his talent for technology with his international classmates, favorite courses like Operating Systems and Computer Systems Architecture and Human-Computer Interactive Design showed him new ways of looking at the world—an ability that will be useful as Sooriyabandara is already pursuing a postgraduate degree in diplomacy and world affairs in Sri Lanka. With future plans to work in international relations as a diplomat, Sooriyabandara’s next adventure will surely include a focus on helping those less fortunate than him. “I like to help others by giving them something, or even just seeing them happy, it’s such a feeling you can’t describe,” he says.

He credits his parents with his success so far and although they were unable to join him at Commencement, they weren’t far from his thoughts on that day.

“I especially want to thank my mom and dad for making this dream come true. They believed in me when I wasn’t even believing in myself,” he says. “So all the credit goes to my mom and dad. And I want to thank Excelsior College, because it gave me the chance to do this degree.”

Rosendo Ramos Aspires for More than Degree Completion

Posted on February 7, 2020December 2, 2021 by Maria C. Sparks

When Rosendo Ramos began looking for a bachelor’s program in electrical engineering technology, he knew he wanted to enroll in an ABET-accredited program. He also knew he wanted to pursue his degree online. That was two factors in Excelsior’s favor. The third factor was a nostalgic one: Excelsior was the name of a junior college in Ramos’ native Puerto Rico, so when he heard the name in reference to an online ABET-accredited program in electrical engineering, it was memorable.

Former Career:
Missile Technician, U.S. Navy

Bucket List:
Teaching high school students

Degree Program:
BS in Electrical Engineering Technology

Ramos, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is a senior systems engineer for General Dynamics, an aerospace and defense company. He joined the company in April 2014 after retiring from the U.S. Navy, where he served 13 years as a missile technician on submarines. While in the Navy, he attended the University of Central Florida part-time when stationed in Florida and began learning about ABET accreditation while working at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit at Cape Canaveral.

When he enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology program in August 2017, Excelsior accepted 24 credits toward the degree. He is on track to complete his coursework for the bachelor’s degree in the spring 2020 term. “Excelsior College offers one of the finest programs in the country, and I consider myself fortunate to attend,” he says. “The program allows adults like me to continue our education with different options to accommodate work and school schedules.”

He has been able to fit coursework within his work schedule, which is typically 9-hour days with a day off every other week unless there is a project milestone to meet. That was the case recently, when he completed three consecutive days of working 6 a.m. to midnight. When the client is the U.S. government and the project is developing a replacement for the submarine now in use by the Navy, missing the milestone is not an option. “It’s part of your pride,” says Ramos. “At the same time, it’s a challenge.”

“I want to be the best in my field. I want my kid and grandkids to be proud of me.” – Rosendo Ramos

Challenges are something Ramos welcomes. He has four courses in addition to the capstone to complete, but the courses are not required for his degree. He’s taking them, he says, because it will help him determine what to focus on when he enrolls for a master’s degree. “I would like to get some base knowledge. Degree credit I don’t need, but intellectually, I need it,” he says.

Ramos enjoys his work. He started at General Dynamics as a nuclear safety engineer analyzing software and hardware requirements to evaluate modifications to ensure compliance with the Department of Defense and safety requirements. He says his degree plan was discussed as part of his interviews, and he’s had two promotions, first to a systems tester and then to his current position. “They know that I am not an engineer yet, but because of my experience in the Navy and the courses I’m taking, they gave me a real engineering position,” says Ramos, and adds that the company has tuition reimbursement and his yearly performance evaluation includes a discussion of what he’s doing to become a better professional.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology — and then a master’s degree — is central to that plan.

“I want to be the best in my field,” says Ramos, who is the first in his family to attend college. “I want my kid and grandkids to be proud of me.”

The Rex Reports Newsletter

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Jenna Kerwin

To maintain open communication with alumni and students in the early years of the College, the Rex Reports newsletter—Rex for Regents External Degree Program —began in spring 1976.

In the first issue, Director Donald J. Nolan called Rex Reports an “extra effort” meant to make communication between students, faculty, and administrators more seamless. Published four times a year, the newsletter contained information about degree options, test dates, student spotlights, alumni news, Commencement information, questions from readers, and news specific to the College.

Rex Reports lasted in its form for nearly 20 years before the inaugural issue of Live & Learn was published in winter 1995. Over time and as student communication shifted to email, Live & Learn moved from a newsletter to a printed magazine format. It began including more editorial content, like human interest stories and feature articles, and was mailed to students and alumni. Then, in fall 2014, Live & Learn became the magazine that many are familiar with today, Excelsior College Magazine. The magazine is shared with alumni, students, and friends of the College.

Together with the Life at Excelsior College blog, the magazine keeps members of the Excelsior community informed about the people, programs, and progress of the College.

Career Tools

Posted on February 7, 2020February 7, 2020 by André Foisy

General education career competencies prepare students for the future of work

Many adults go back to college to gain the knowledge and skills that will help them advance in their current career or start a new one. As students engage in their program of study at Excelsior College, requirements in the majors focus on helping students acquire the career-specific skills necessary to work in a chosen profession.

Career-specific skills, however, are no longer enough for working professionals.

To meet the needs of a rapidly changing workplace, professionals today are required to constantly update their skills and adapt to a changing landscape. To ensure graduates are prepared for the future of work, Excelsior College community members, including faculty, academic support staff, and students, developed general education career competencies. These competencies define cross-cutting skills in areas such as communication, problem solving, and ethical reasoning. By focusing on these transferable skills, the general education curriculum ensures graduates are lifelong learners positioned to meet the needs of a constantly changing workplace and environment.

There is uncertainty among employees and employers about what the future of work will look like, but the increased use of automation technology will continually impact the workforce. Jobs will not disappear but will instead shift, requiring workers to possess new sets of skills. In “The New Division of Labor: How Computers are Creating the Next Job Market,” authors Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane argue that workers of the future will need to be able to quickly process new information, solve unstructured problems, or perform non-routine manual tasks. The general education career competencies will help prepare learners to meet these kinds of challenges.

“[The Liberal Arts] system has striking advantages, preparing students for their multiple future roles in a much more adequate way than a narrow single-subject system.” – Martha C. Nussbaum, Distinguished Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago

The general education career competencies encompass seven areas: oral and written communication; mathematical and scientific problem solving; information literacy; cultural diversity and expression; global understanding; ethical reasoning; and professional presence and self-awareness. These areas reflect the most important soft skills employers seek in employees. In an article in Nurse Education Today, Andrew McKrie, faculty of nursing and midwifery at Robert Gordon University, emphasizes the importance of this foundational learning for nurses, stating that this liberal arts curriculum “can influence student nurses’ sense of discernment, enhance their own responsibility for learning, support ethical regard for others, provide different perspectives on human experience and contribute to a balanced curriculum.” Today’s graduates — regardless of their area of study — need career-specific skills to enter the workplace and transferable skills to adapt to change and uncertainty in their professions and lives.

Increasingly, these foundational skills are incorporated into coursework at Excelsior College. Written communication skills, for instance, are embedded across the Excelsior curriculum, including in the core requirements for a major. However, it is not possible for courses in the majors to cover all of the necessary foundational skills when the specialized abilities needed by students to enter and advance in these professions keeps increasing. By directly exposing students to these intellectually demanding competencies, students will be able to better learn them. By integrating these requirements in a way that complements majors, Excelsior faculty members will be able to best prepare students to transfer their knowledge across courses and to their future careers.

Focus on Professional Presence and Self-Awareness

One unique component of the new competencies is the focus on professional presence and self-awareness. Surveys of employers confirm these traits are important in the people they hire. For instance, Hart Research Associates conducts a survey for the American Association of Colleges and Universities on the extent to which graduates are prepared on key skills and abilities. In the 2018 survey, skills associated with professional presence and self-awareness were identified as some of the most important traits sought by employers.

Excelsior community members defined two specific competencies in the professional presence and self-awareness category that are most appropriate for our working adult students. One competency requires students to articulate the norms and conventions of their ideal career field. By requiring students to explain and reflect on these norms, the curriculum is designed to prepare them with the skills and attitudes needed for success in their specific fields. The other competency requires students to develop a career planning strategy that incorporates their strengths, interests, abilities, and values. Through creating individual strategies, students identify the next step in their development as professionals. The revised curriculum also makes students aware of the resources available to assist them on their journey.

Competencies Present from the Start

Undergraduate students will first encounter the general education career competencies in a new component of the curriculum — the Cornerstone course. The Cornerstone is an opportunity for students to chart their career trajectory and to reflect on their mindsets and ambitions. The course was created to help students begin with a strong start as online learners at Excelsior College, and it positions students to be lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers. Throughout the course, students learn through responding to questions without a clear right or wrong answer. Through engaging with these questions, students challenge their prior assumptions, consider society’s future dilemmas, and propose solutions to complex problems.

The Cornerstone is oriented thematically around questions about the future, says Mary Berkery, faculty program director for the Cornerstone course. “As part of that focus, the course looks at how the skills learned through general education prepare students for their academic and career futures and can positively impact society, she says. For example, one discussion asks students to consider the future value of higher education and the necessity of teaching concepts like cultural expression and global understanding.”

Once undergraduate students complete the Cornerstone course, they continue into other courses aligned with the general education career competencies and discipline-specific learning outcomes.

At the graduate level, there are nine competency areas incorporated into all programs and these competencies are steeped in general education. “We expect students to focus on their: 1) ethical decision-making; 2) ability to lead and influence; 3) oral and written communication; 4) strategic and analytical thinking; 5) technological literacy and aptitude; 6) innovativeness and entrepreneurial spirt; 7) professional-identity and presence; 8) financial acumen; and 9) awareness of global diversity and inclusion,” says Scott Dolan, dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

Near the end of their undergraduate or graduate studies, students complete a capstone experience. Capstones require students to apply their learning from earlier in their studies or lives. Students demonstrate their mastery of program learning goals and general education career competencies through the integration of what they have learned. Capstone experiences vary by program. In some programs, Capstones involve research projects requiring students to draw upon key skills related to critical thinking, oral and written communication, information literacy, and professional presence and self-awareness. In other programs, Capstones may consist of clinical experiences, requiring them to demonstrate clinical, technological, inter- and intra-personal communication skills, and the ability to integrate professional standards in this work. Regardless of the type of experience, Capstones are intended to foster deep learning and skill mastery.

Both the Cornerstone course and Capstone experiences provide students with the opportunities to engage in deep learning. The mix of general education and program-specific curriculum helps to ensure each of Excelsior’s academic programs effectively prepares students for career entry and advancement in a rapidly changing environment.

Andre Foisy is the executive director of institutional outcomes assessment at Excelsior College and president-elect of the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education.

Excelsior’s General Education Career Competencies

According to employers, career-specific skills (hard skills) are no longer enough for long-term success. Research indicates that cross-cutting skills in areas such as communication, problem solving, and ethical reasoning (soft skills) are necessary for career entry and advancement.

To best prepare students to excel in their careers and lives, Excelsior College has developed general education career competencies based on findings from employer-based research. These competencies are the foundation of the curricula in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Students encounter these competencies by meeting the requirements for general education and their program of study.

Oral and Written Communication

Communication serves many purposes in the workplace and in society – to inform, persuade, argue, educate, and entertain. The competencies in this area will help students speak and write effectively for a variety of audiences, use communication technologies appropriately, and apply the standard conventions of the context they are in.

Related skills: Oral presentation, technical writing, interpersonal communication, argumentative analysis, social media, conflict resolution, executive summaries, etc.

Mathematical and Scientific Problem Solving

To advance and succeed in an increasingly complex workplace, professionals require stronger quantitative and scientific reasoning skills than ever before. The curricula helps students develop the ingenuity, problem solving, scientific, and quantitative reasoning skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.

Related skills: Data evaluation, graph and chart analysis and creation, scientific reasoning, logic, critical thinking, big data, inference and prediction, etc.

Information Literacy

Everyone interacts with information daily, via websites, newspaper articles, television, social media, business communication, or scholarly writing. As students engage in their program of study, they learn to be a discerning and effective information consumer, communicator, and creator who can use information in an effective, ethical, and legal manner.

Related skills: Scholarly research, legal information use, evidence review, understanding bias and perspective, resource gathering, source analysis and evaluation, etc.

Cultural Diversity and Expression

This competency helps students develop a grounded understanding of the human condition and an appreciation of the variety of forms of human expression. In addition, this competency promotes a respect for cultural diversity, a desire for equity, and an awareness of social identity, for example, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, social class, religion, ability, and national origin.

Related skills: Cultural fluency, cross-cultural sensitivity, multicultural team building, emotional intelligence, inclusive communication, self-awareness, mindfulness, etc.

Global Understanding

To be effective thinkers and communicators, workers today need an understanding of the global forces that have shaped and continue to shape human behavior and interactions. Through this competency, students develop a better understanding of their own community and of complex and diverse global communities.

Related skills: International leadership, global civic engagement, international business communication and etiquette, cross-cultural sensitivity, contextualization, historical analysis, etc.

Ethical Reasoning

Employers need workers who can find innovative, ethical, and practical solutions to a wide variety of problems. Through this competency, students learn to reflect and analyze positions and issues from a variety of ethical perspectives.

Related skills: Ethical leadership, integrity, understanding and addressing bias, familiarity with legal and ethical guidelines, recognizing and upholding personal morals, comfort with ambiguity, etc.

Professional Presence and Self-Awareness

Successful workers are not only proficient in their roles, but also aware of their own strengths and interests, and able to exhibit the behaviors consistent with the rules, norms, and expectations of a professional setting. Surveys of employers confirm that professional presence and self-awareness are important competencies in the people they hire.

Related skills: Career management, ePortfolio creation and management, understanding job market trends, professional growth, short-term and long-term goal setting, personal branding, digital reputation management, business etiquette, emotional intelligence, etc.

By Jenna Kerwin

Frequently Asked Questions