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Excelsior University

191 Reviews

Salary Score

Bachelor's

 94

Master's

 47

Doctoral

N/A

62% of 191 students said this degree improved their career prospects
63% of 191 students said they would recommend this school to others
By the OnlineU team | Updated 3/6/2023

Excelsior University is a not-for-profit higher education institution located in Albany, NY. It offers 100% online associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. Founded in 1971, Excelsior was among the first institutions developing and offering fully online courses in the 2000s across a wide range of disciplines. These programs are designed to fit the busy schedules of working adults who want to continue their education. 

Fast Facts

Accreditation: Excelsior University is acredited by 6 agencies

Find an Online Degree:

Salary Score for Online Degrees at Excelsior University

Associate's Degrees

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities $5,250 $45,237 100
Business Administration, Management and Operations $8,389 $46,725 100
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $12,500 $63,613 72

Bachelor's Degrees

Psychology, General $12,501 $41,464 100
Business Administration, Management and Operations $12,500 $62,731 99
Criminal Justice and Corrections $14,500 $46,784 97
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities $8,334 $45,508 95
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other $17,242 $50,832 95
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $19,160 $77,505 88
Business/Commerce, General $15,625 $47,382 67

Master's Degrees

Criminal Justice and Corrections Not Reported $71,289 91
Business Administration, Management and Operations $25,360 $72,370 53
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other $27,332 $57,731 31
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing $27,333 $86,537 28

FAQs About Excelsior University

How Difficult Is It To Get Into Excelsior?


It's not difficult to enroll in Excelsior due to the school's open admissions policy. This means that it accepts 100% of applicants. 

Is Excelsior University Legitimate?


Yes, Excelsior University is legitimate. One of the leading indicators of legitimacy is whether it's an institutionally accredited school. Excelsior University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). This status shows that an independent organization officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Education regularly reviews the university's practices and policies to ensure they remain responsible and ethical. Being awarded accreditation means that a school meets high standards in delivering quality education. 

Importantly, OnlineU only includes accredited institutions on its sites. 

What Is Excelsior University Known For?


Excelsior University is known for its focus on adult learners and caters to their need for flexibility. It started by offering learning assessments and credit for work and life experiences completed outside of the classroom. By the 2000s, it became one of the first universities to develop and offer online coursework, which helped make higher education accessible to many.

What Happened to Excelsior College?


As of August 1, 2022, Excelsior College changed its name to Excelsior University in order to reflect its programs' breadth. The name change also shows that Excelsior offers graduate programs, which is especially important to students from other states and countries who may be used to different school designations. 

Which Degrees at Excelsior Provide the Highest Earnings for Graduates?


Online bachelor's degrees in nuclear engineering at Excelsior provide the highest earnings for graduates, with an annual median salary of approximately $107,800 based on College Scorecard data. Online bachelor's degrees in nursing offer the next highest earnings at around $77,400.

What Are the Admission Requirements for Excelsior?


Excelsior doesn't explicitly outline its admission requirements. In general, it appears applying may not require ACT or SAT scores. However, they require completing an application and sending high school transcripts or GED test scores. Individual programs may have other specific requirements.

Student Reviews

Student Reviews

Write a Review 

Bill Notice.

Reviewed: 5/25/2023

Degree: Liberal Arts

It is what it is. I started at Excelsior to become a Nurse. College misinformation and errors on my part meant I ran out of time. Not entirely Excelsior's fault. Excelsior does a great job when you are salvaging your abandon credits from other traditional colleges into something. Some classes I was able to use were almost thirty years old. (Obviously science and technical courses, not so much.) Some online courses with over 5-year-old textbooks that you can buy on EBAY for 5 bucks makes the course... Read More

Mary L Powell

Reviewed: 4/30/2023

Degree: Nursing

I graduated from Excelsior College years ago with an associated science in nursing. Yes, it required lots of studying time. One of the reasons many LPN doesn't do good because they fail to think on rn level, they want to continue lpn mentality. Yes at first it was difficult for me, I soon realized I had to move out of the practical nurse mode to thinking as registered nurse. I will always remember this school because it was where I started in the 90s. It open many doors for me. However, I pursued... Read More

Great experience

Reviewed: 3/19/2023

Degree: Nursing

I see a lot of negative reviews on this school for the nursing program, but I on the other hand loved it. Because I travel a lot, it was great to be able to access my classes on my own time from my own computer. The key to this school (especially the nursing curriculum) is to definitely learn how to take the initiative to study and learn the lessons on your own. This is not to say you are literally on your own, as the classes provide you with all needed materials and information, you just have to... Read More

FormerStudent

Reviewed: 11/28/2022

Degree:

Incompetent college. I've attended a variety of top tier, private, public, and other types of colleges over the years, but Excelsior has been the worst. Professors claim to use some arbitrary rubric, but grading is all over the map. Assignments are a complete waste of time. Though unqualified, professors are often arrogant. The capstone and cornerstone courses are pointless busy work, at best. Financial aid is a joke. They claim you'll get all sorts of aid, but undo that aid halfway through the semester,... Read More

Notgonnasay

Reviewed: 10/25/2022

Degree: Business

Overall I have had wonderful experience with Excelsior. I have been enrolled for a few years and it has been very flexible with my military career. Others have stated that they have had issues with Military TA but I have not had any issues personally. Additionally, instructors and advisors have always been easy for me to get in contact with. I did notice in this last class that the instructor seemed like a robot because he would respond to discussion questions with unrelated topics that didn't apply.... Read More

Valerie Gazzuolo

Reviewed: 10/21/2022

Degree: Nursing

I graduated with an associates degree in nursing in 1984. Then we had to come to Albany and do a 2 day test for clinical competency. I passed in the 2nd attempt and took my boards in New York. Scored high no problems. For me this program gave me the opportunity I could not get in Ohio. I decided on a well known college for my BSN and double Master's because at the time on-line school were not well thought of... I currently work as the ADON for a traditional college. I would recommend this school... Read More

Anonymous

Reviewed: 9/29/2022

Degree: Liberal Studies

The "teachers" at Excelsior "College" (and now they're calling themselves "University") are sometimes bots and people in the administration office cutting and pasting "feedback". I guess a lot of Excelsior students get their degrees paid for by someone else, so they don't care how low the quality of the "education" they're getting is but if you want to actually have an intelligent conversation with anyone, look elsewhere. You might have to do what I did and enroll at a brick and mortar campus with... Read More

Dawn Clark

Reviewed: 9/28/2022

Degree: Nursing

I graduated with my Associates Degree in Nursing in 2010. Excelsior allowed me the opportunity to bridge from Paramedic to RN and move forward with my career as at the time I was a single mother with 2 children working full time as a Paramedic. Since that time I worked as an ER nurse, travel nurse across the U.S. and have been a successful flight nurse for the last 10 years. I have obtained my CEN, CFRN and BSN which I received from University of Texas at Arlington. I would not have been able to... Read More

Excelsior treated me like garbage

Reviewed: 9/15/2022

Degree: Liberal Arts

Go to ANY other college. This excuse of an institution treated me, as a student, like absolute garbage. Their staff input my courses incorrectly and created an issue with my tuition assistance from the military. They refused to help me resolve the issue in any way. I repeatedly reached out to resolve the issue and was actively ignored. Instead, they demanded money from me that was owed by the military and harassed me to drive me into compliance. To be clear, i understand how to use militsry tuition... Read More

This will only cost you $$$

Reviewed: 9/15/2022

Degree: Nursing

I was initially excited about this program being it was flexible online instruction for the already working Nurse. However, one of my instructors (one that used to instruct the old CPNE's the school used to require), would fail people for very petty nick picky things that were not even part of the Rubric we were instructed to follow to a "T." We had to video ourselves completing a head to toe assessment. Shouldn't be that hard considering we are all already Nurses and do this every single day. So,... Read More

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