Why UIndy?

[James Paden]

I'm considering attending UIndy for my Bachelor's in Business (and possibly even an MBA, we'll see how things go). I'm currently the Director of Technology for a local e-commerce network as well as an e-commerce consultant, but I've decided to go school and get a degree.

What are some of the best reasons to pick UIndy? What are some of the cons? Thanks!

James Paden
[e-mail]

[Bob Burchfield]

I hear the Testing Administrator is pretty easy to work with.

[James Paden]

That is a good point. But sometimes there's problems with screens being upside down. It's very difficult to take a test that way.

[Bob Burchfield]

On a more serious note, James has discovered one of the best ways to accelerate the time it takes to finish a degree at UIndy (or most other colleges and universities, for that matter): the College Board's CLEP exams, and Prometric Testing's DSST exams. If you take a CLEP or DSST exam and pass it, you don't have to take the equivalent course, and you get the credit hours towards the total number of hours that you need to graduate. There are about 70-75 exams between the two companies. See http://sal.uindy.edu/testlist.php

At UIndy, more than 60 adult learners in the past decade have completed at least 26 hours by testing. That's enough to have sophomore standing without taking any courses at UIndy. TWO of them have over 60 hours of testing credit--JUNIOR standing! CLEP exams are $82; DSST exams are $92. Compare that to the price to take just one 3.0 credit hour course.

If you are taking classes at any college or university around Indy, you can walk in to our testing center (with proper ID), take an exam, and have the score report delivered directly to your institution from the College Board or Prometric. We offer walk-in testing Mon-Thu 11-5 and Fri 10-2:30. A day-by-day proctor's calendar is available online at http://sal.uindy.edu/testdates.php.

This is a GREAT way to save time and money as you work on your degree. If you take 10 exams and pass them, you would have spent between $820 and $920 on these 10 exams. That's the equivalent of one year of college. Have you priced a year of college lately? This ought to get your attention!

[James Paden]

Excellent comments, Bob. While I'm still waiting confirmation from Ivy Tech on my proposed outline, as it stands now, I will graduate from Ivy Tech this coming summer with an Associates of Science in Business Admin.

I will have completed my degree in TWO PART-TIME semesters. I will have taken 4 actual courses (probably all online) plus 1 life skills 8 week course (also online).

This may complicate my transfer to another institution due to all the CLEP/DSST tests I will be taking (16-17 tests) because some universities will not award credit for all of those tests (UIndy will), but it gets me an associates degree with very minimal costs in just two semesters while still working full time. Granted, I still have to study for and pass all the tests, but I was homeschooled in high school and enjoy learning that way.

More students should be aware of the opportunities to save time and money through these tests. Obviously, it's not normally in the universities' best interests to market these tests :-)

[Bob Burchfield]

I have a different view than others about whether it is in the best interest of the university to market these exams. IMHO, if I can do something good to help you save time and money, that word might just get around. And if it does, the dividends come later.