Name: Reginald G. Pugh

Age:  38

Profession:  US Army (E-8) First Sergeant

Accomplishment: B.S. in Liberal Studies; Excelsior College – Sept. 2003

Future Goals: Masters Degree in Liberal Studies (one that offers the lowest cost but quality service and perhaps portfolio assessments).

My Steps to Success

Utilized the conversion of my military training to college equivalent courses with Excelsior (then Regents College). Had taken a couple of general CLEP exams and have enough credits for an Associates in Applied Science degree, conferred October 1999.

Took a break from it all, and returned to school in 2002. I was browsing the web and came across BA in 4 Weeks. From there it was all or nothing.  To save time and money, I realized the proficiency exam route was a more economical way to obtain upper level credits.

Enrolled in Excelsior in October 2002 with a little over 90 credit hours. Needed mostly upper level classes to complete the requirements.

BA in 4 Weeks helped me in focusing, I began taking these exams:

·          DANTES Civil War and Reconstruction Dec 2002 - 3 upper level credit hours

·          DANTES Drug and Alcohol Abuse: March 2003- 3 upper level credit hours

·          ECE Word Population May 2003- 3 upper level credit hours

·          ECE  Foundations of Gerontology: June 2003- 3 upper level credit hours

·          ECE Organization Behavior: July 2003-- 3 upper level credit hours

·          OTHER military classes/courses

Sent in an evaluation of my job performance at the next higher level and obtain more upper level credits in Human Resource Management.

I would go online to BA in 4 Weeks for updates (DAILY) and look at the success stories and what Mr. Miller had to add to make it a smooth process. That provided motivation and momentum to complete the degree. I would go to the Big 3 websites and look at the courses and credits they offered or accepted. As BA in 4 weeks updated the resources for studying in preparation for the exams, I would note and compare with the Excelsior College postings.

Again, my focus was on completing the requirements at Excelsior for the type of degree I needed to pursue. In the military, at my position, a degree is like GOLD!

In the business world when we exit it is a necessity for good employment. I have 12 months till I retire from the US Army and I need a job. A bachelors degree and my current security clearance level is my ticket to success. If I  coupled this with my years of experience and discipline, I would be very marketable. Perhaps after this is posted I will get emails from head hunters and hired at an income level that I desire, six figures would be extremely nice <smile>!

v/r

Reginald Pugh