Avoid the College Network!

[The College Network]

Pass rate of 80% is unbelievable. I had to spend about $700 for book and a next $350 for more books, the books excelsior recommend their students to study before taking the exams. I intend on finding some legal recourse in the matter. Its not right, and not fair....I've to pay $14k for material that cant even help me pass my exams.....UNFAIR. And to all of you, deal directly with Excelsior, and find ways of Clepping your pre-requisite courses without the college network. Or like the rest of us you have a $14k (more or less) debt over your head, and still have to spend more out of pocket.

Dear pmedic2rn,

As previously recommended, please contact our Customer Care Unit. Ask to speak to the manager. Her name is Heather. We do not want you to feel as if you have wasted your time or your money. Remember, your purchase includes the assistance of Academic Support. Take advantage of it and give us a call. Let's see if we can work together to get you back on track.

Sincerely,
Rick
The College Network

[Glorificous]

Rico, you should talk to your customer care staff. They were not helpful at all when I called. I tried to find out who I could contact to talk about improving the writing of the study materials and they wouldn't give me another number. Not only that, but the person I spoke with completely blew me off.

I am not someone who had trouble passing the exams. I got A's. But I was SO frustrated with the amount of time it took to decipher TCN's texts that I kept buying other textbooks. As I said in my first post, the materials that TCN gives out are only aimed at passing tests, when the goal should be to produce a knowledgeable nurse who can think on his/her feet, and solve problems that do not present them self in a multiple choice format.

At one point I got so frustrated with the materials that I started actually marking it up and editing it for conciseness and clarity.

If anyone else has luck with finding some justice with the College Network, please let me know.

[The College Network]

Rico, you should talk to your customer care staff. They were not helpful at all when I called. I tried to find out who I could contact to talk about improving the writing of the study materials and they wouldn't give me another number. Not only that, but the person I spoke with completely blew me off.

I am not someone who had trouble passing the exams. I got A's. But I was SO frustrated with the amount of time it took to decipher TCN's texts that I kept buying other textbooks. As I said in my first post, the materials that TCN gives out are only aimed at passing tests, when the goal should be to produce a knowledgeable nurse who can think on his/her feet, and solve problems that do not present them self in a multiple choice format.

At one point I got so frustrated with the materials that I started actually marking it up and editing it for conciseness and clarity.

If anyone else has luck with finding some justice with the College Network, please let me know.

Glorificous,

All complaints about the materials are logged and passed on to the appropriate party. If you would like to provide me with your email address so that I can locate your account, I would be more than happy to have someone from our Customer Care Unit contact you and address your concerns. My guess is that you initially spoke to an Academic Advisor regarding your concerns and I think our Customer Care Unit may be better equipped to satisfy your concerns.

The materials are written by PHDs and subject matter experts in their respective fields. The materials are also subject to a rigorous editing process. As a matter of fact, we have an entire department dedicated solely for that purpose.

Our materials are designed for the purpose of passing the exams required by the school. It is the school/degree-granting institution that designs the curriculum and is charged with the task of producing a knowlegeable nurse who can think on his/her feet.

I am glad to see that you have had success on your exams. And again, I would be more than happy to see that your concerns are addressed to your satisfaction.

Sincerely,
Rick
The College Network

[pmedic2rn]

Only way to find some sort of justice is to speak to the local congressman/politician. Thanks to the college network I am going to have to spend another fortune on books. Their literature is flawd!!!!!!!! The best way to pass the exams is to do the following, have Excelsior mail you the manual (publication request) for the particular exam, example Health Differences, and buy the books that they recommend to study from. In the manual (publication request) there is a break down, of what to study from what book. This is the only way to be successful in passing the exams. I prefer taking directions from Excelsior, since it is their exam thats being taken than having any more dealings with the college network. The college network aims to condense the material (inappropriate material) and does not adhere to the way Excelsior writes their exam. For example, with Excelsior they tell you that 30% of the exam is based on Oxygenation and what chapters from what books to read. When you take the exam, and get your score its exactly as it was said. You see the breakdown, for example if 30% of the exam was based on Oxygenation and for the exam you passed 25% it counts towards the rest of your grade. The college network doesnot do this, the college network makes useful binders of information that isnot even pertinent to what is going to be on the exam. AGAIN, the college network isnot affilitated with Excelsior. Your best bet is to deal directly with Excelsior instead of a non-authentic, knock-off, imitation 3rd party fraudulent College Network. Now, some of the material they produce were somewhat good to know, but not good enough to pass the exam. Their degree of material is unacceptable. So if you want success deal directly with Excelsior. If you want a few tricks to also deal with the pre-requisite courses without dealing with the college network I figured some out.

[The College Network]

Only way to find some sort of justice is to speak to the local congressman/politician. Thanks to the college network I am going to have to spend another fortune on books. Their literature is flawd!!!!!!!! The best way to pass the exams is to do the following, have Excelsior mail you the manual (publication request) for the particular exam, example Health Differences, and buy the books that they recommend to study from. In the manual (publication request) there is a break down, of what to study from what book. This is the only way to be successful in passing the exams. I prefer taking directions from Excelsior, since it is their exam thats being taken than having any more dealings with the college network. The college network aims to condense the material (inappropriate material) and does not adhere to the way Excelsior writes their exam. For example, with Excelsior they tell you that 30% of the exam is based on Oxygenation and what chapters from what books to read. When you take the exam, and get your score its exactly as it was said. You see the breakdown, for example if 30% of the exam was based on Oxygenation and for the exam you passed 25% it counts towards the rest of your grade. The college network doesnot do this, the college network makes useful binders of information that isnot even pertinent to what is going to be on the exam. AGAIN, the college network isnot affilitated with Excelsior. Your best bet is to deal directly with Excelsior instead of a non-authentic, knock-off, imitation 3rd party fraudulent College Network. Now, some of the material they produce were somewhat good to know, but not good enough to pass the exam. Their degree of material is unacceptable. So if you want success deal directly with Excelsior. If you want a few tricks to also deal with the pre-requisite courses without dealing with the college network I figured some out.

Dear pmedic2rn,

I would guess you are speaking of the content outlines provided by Excelsior. We use those to prepare our materials. Our authors and subject matter experts review the content outlines and cover those topics extensively to be sure that all the necessary information is provided to pass the exam.

Also, you are correct that we are not affiliated with Excelsior for the ASN program, but we do have a collaborative agreement for their BSN program.

It is not necessary to purchase additional materials. I again ask that you provide me with your contact information or call 1-800-634-1443 and ask to speak to Heather, Customer Care Manager. It is my earnest intent to provide support and assistance.

Sincerely,
Rick
The College Network

[Lvnguy]

Only way to find some sort of justice is to speak to the local congressman/politician. Thanks to the college network I am going to have to spend another fortune on books. Their literature is flawd!!!!!!!! The best way to pass the exams is to do the following, have Excelsior mail you the manual (publication request) for the particular exam, example Health Differences, and buy the books that they recommend to study from. In the manual (publication request) there is a break down, of what to study from what book. This is the only way to be successful in passing the exams. I prefer taking directions from Excelsior, since it is their exam thats being taken than having any more dealings with the college network. The college network aims to condense the material (inappropriate material) and does not adhere to the way Excelsior writes their exam. For example, with Excelsior they tell you that 30% of the exam is based on Oxygenation and what chapters from what books to read. When you take the exam, and get your score its exactly as it was said. You see the breakdown, for example if 30% of the exam was based on Oxygenation and for the exam you passed 25% it counts towards the rest of your grade. The college network doesnot do this, the college network makes useful binders of information that isnot even pertinent to what is going to be on the exam. AGAIN, the college network isnot affilitated with Excelsior. Your best bet is to deal directly with Excelsior instead of a non-authentic, knock-off, imitation 3rd party fraudulent College Network. Now, some of the material they produce were somewhat good to know, but not good enough to pass the exam. Their degree of material is unacceptable. So if you want success deal directly with Excelsior. If you want a few tricks to also deal with the pre-requisite courses without dealing with the college network I figured some out.

Hi PMEDIC2RN, Sorry you have had such a bad experience. I have been thinking about going the TCN route; Have you followed the tcn guy's advice and contacted them the way he recommended? I am very interested in the results if you have. Also, I live in california and they will not accept Excelsior, but I was thinking of using their books and then transfering the results to Indiana State University. California will accept ISU credits towards BSN. Any ideas how to start doing that? How does one know what Excelsior courses to study to get credit at ISU? Thanks. I am sure in the end you will make it to BSN.

[cali510]

Hi PMEDIC2RN, Sorry you have had such a bad experience. I have been thinking about going the TCN route; Have you followed the tcn guy's advice and contacted them the way he recommended? I am very interested in the results if you have. Also, I live in california and they will not accept Excelsior, but I was thinking of using their books and then transfering the results to Indiana State University. California will accept ISU credits towards BSN. Any ideas how to start doing that? How does one know what Excelsior courses to study to get credit at ISU? Thanks. I am sure in the end you will make it to BSN.

Be aware that you can do the ISU program in CA without going through TCN, so you can save a lot of money. The TCN produced modules to study for the ISU tests that you want to test out of can be purchased elsewhere but can be difficult to find. They can be found used on ebay as well as from students who are finished with them by looking on forums such as this one or on yahoo groups. You would need to contact ISU directly to find out what tests can be used to meet their course requirements. But don't be put off by their advisors who will try to get you to call TCN instead of answering your questions.

[The College Network]

Hi PMEDIC2RN, Sorry you have had such a bad experience. I have been thinking about going the TCN route; Have you followed the tcn guy's advice and contacted them the way he recommended? I am very interested in the results if you have. Also, I live in california and they will not accept Excelsior, but I was thinking of using their books and then transfering the results to Indiana State University. California will accept ISU credits towards BSN. Any ideas how to start doing that? How does one know what Excelsior courses to study to get credit at ISU? Thanks. I am sure in the end you will make it to BSN.

Dear Lvnguy,

ISU refers potential students to contact TCN because we have an exclusive partnership to promote and produce CSMs (Customized Study Materials) for their LPN to BSN program.

Once enrolled, your previously completed course work would be evaluated and you would be notified of the remaining courses required to complete your degree. You would also be provided with ongoing support and instruction in completing all the phases of the program. Up to 67 semester hours toward this degree may be earned through transfer or test-out, so if you have previously completed college course work this may be a good option for you.

Sincerely,
Rick
The College Network

[dentex10]

Well....I just made an appt to speak with a 'program advisor'. I'm beginning to wonder if I should call and cancel, now that I've read all of the comments about The College Network. The lady on the phone said it would be through Excelsior...I'm confused. Are they one in the same?

[The College Network]

Well....I just made an appt to speak with a 'program advisor'. I'm beginning to wonder if I should call and cancel, now that I've read all of the comments about The College Network. The lady on the phone said it would be through Excelsior...I'm confused. Are they one in the same?

Denise,

The College Network and Excelsior College are not one and the same. The College Network is an educational services company that provides materials and support to assist you in passing equivalency examinations.

Excelsior College is the degree-granting institution. Essentially, you are earning your degree from Excelsior College with the assistance of the materials and academic support of The College Network.

The Program Advisor will be able to answer all these questions for you, but if you have any in the meantime feel free to ask.

Sincerely,
Rick
The College Network