Advanced Standing for Bachelor of Professional Studies Students

Bachelor of Professional Studies students enrolled in the Audrey Cohen School for Human Services and Education with extensive professional experience and previous education may, after completing the first two Purposes or semesters, apply for the Advanced Standing Option. In this rigorous process, students must document that they are able to relate the required bodies of knowledge to their workplace experience in accordance with the College’s requirements. The Advanced Standing Option enables the validation of prior college credits and work experience and may lead to exemption from one to three Purpose areas. Interested students should consult the Advanced Standing Handbook available from the Admissions Office and the Advanced Standing description in the Program-Specific section of this Handbook. A student cannot combine transfer credits within a Purpose with admission into the Advanced Standing Option.

The Advanced Standing Option

The Advanced Standing Option at The Audrey Cohen School for Human Services and Education is designed to recognize and document the extensive professional experience and previous education of the truly exceptional student. The College’s system of education is used as the framework for this documentation and assessment. The candidate for the Advanced Standing Option is that unusual individual with a broad, documented, professional background correlating to one or more Purposes in the undergraduate Human Services curriculum. The student accepted into the option will be required to validate his or her knowledge and practice for a particular Purpose or Purposes using the College’s System of Education. Criteria for acceptance are very stringent.

Students who enter the College under one of its articulation agreements from two year accredited institutions of higher education, where up to 64 credits have been earned around a specific human service configuration and have been accepted by MCNY, or receive 64 transfer credits because their previous educational experience conforms to the articulation agreements, are not eligible to participate in the Advanced Standing Option.

Criteria for determining eligibility for the Advanced Standing Option at The Audrey Cohen School for Human Services and Education include the following:

• A student must be matriculated at the College in order to apply for the Advanced Standing Option
• A student must have completed the Self Assessment semester and the Developing Professional Relationships semester before applying
• All students accepted into the Advanced Standing Program for III and IV must enroll in the math courses in Skills III and Skills IV. Tuition will be assessed.
• A student who has not taken the equivalent of Purpose 6 Statistics, or who cannot demonstrate the required knowledge base in statistics, and is admitted to Advanced Standing for “Community Liaison” is required to enroll in the Skills Dimension Class – Purpose 6 Statistics. The regular tuition charge will apply for that course and will be additional to the tuition charge for Advanced Standing.
• A student who has not taken the equivalent of Purpose 7 Accounting, or who cannot demonstrate the required knowledge base in Accounting, and is admitted to Advanced Standing for “Supervision” is required to enroll in the Skills Dimension Class – Purpose 7 Accounting. The regular tuition charge will apply for that course and will be additional to the tuition charge for Advanced Standing. Additional information on Advanced Standing is available on the MCNY website: advancedstanding@metropolitan.edu.

Validations through the Advanced Standing Option

ONE PURPOSE

A student seeking to validate and gain exemption from 1 Purpose through the Advanced Standing Option must have:

• At least 5 continuous years of employment are required in human services. Of the 5 years, 3 years of full-time human service employment must be documented in the area(s) related to the Purpose from which the student is seeking exemption
• Satisfactory grades (“C” or better) in all components of the College curriculum completed to date
• In-service training and staff development directly relevant to the Purpose for which the student is seeking exemption through Advanced Standing must be documented
• The ability to document his or her human service performance in the Purpose(s) in accordance with the objectives and criteria defined in the College’s Handbook for Advanced Standing. Such an individual may seek one exemption selected from one of the following Purposes: Working Effectively with Groups, Teaching and Communication, Counseling, Community Liaison, and Supervision

TWO PURPOSES

A student seeking to validate and gain exemption from a maximum of 2 Purposes through the Advanced Standing Option must have:

• A total of 6 years full-time employment and experience are required in each area in which exemption is being sought. Of the 6 years, at least 5 continuous years must be in human services. In addition, 3 of the 6 years must be full-time, documented, and in human services
• A minimum of 15 external College credits in courses and or fieldwork related to the Purpose(s) from which the student is seeking exemption. These courses must have been completed at an accredited institution of higher education, and the student must have earned a grade of “C” or better in each course
• Satisfactory grades (“C” or better) in all components of the College curriculum completed to date
• In-service training and staff development directly relevant to the Purpose(s) for which the student is seeking exemption must be documented
• The ability to document his or her human service performance in a specific Purpose(s) in accordance with the objectives and criteria defined in the College’s Handbook for Advanced Standing. Such an individual may seek exemption from a maximum of 2 semesters selected from the following Purposes: Working with Groups, Teaching and Communication, Counseling, Community Liaison, and Supervision

THREE PURPOSES

A student seeking to validate and gain exemption from a maximum of 3 Purposes must have:

• A total of 9 years full-time employment and experience are required in each area in which exemption is being sought. Of the 9 years, at least 5 continuous years must be in human services. In addition, 3 of the 9 years must be full-time, documented, and in human services
• At least 30 external College credits in courses and or fieldwork related to human services and the Purpose(s) from which the student is seeking exemption. These courses must have been completed at an accredited institution of higher education, and the student must have earned a grade of “C” or better
• Satisfactory grades (“C” or better) in all components of the College curriculum completed to date
• The ability to document his or her human service performance for the Purposes from which exemption is sought in accordance with the College’s Handbook to the Program for Advanced Standing. Such an individual may seek exemption from a maximum of 3 Purposes selected from: Working Effectively with Groups, Teaching and Communication, Counseling, Community Liaison, and Supervision

Process for Application and Acceptance into the Advanced Standing Option

Application for Advanced Standing can be made in any semester after the student has completed the first two Purposes in the Human Services curriculum.

In order to be approved for the Advanced Standing Option in the forthcoming semester at the College, an applicant must do the following during the current semester:

Send the following via email to the Coordinator of the Program AdvancedStanding@metropolitan.edu:

• An e-copy of your resume
• An attached note, indicating which Purpose(s) you wish to exempt
• A writing sample of academic work you have done at Metropolitan College of New York
• The names of two of your Constructive Action professors and the campus where they teach
• The application must be completed and submitted to the Coordinator no later than the 9th week of the current semester. It is suggested that applicants retain a copy of all documents
• If further discussion is necessary, the Coordinator of the Program will schedule an individual interview. Otherwise, all transactions will take place in the e-environment (email, online)
• Within two weeks of the application, the applicant will receive an e-letter from the Coordinator approving or rejecting him or her for Advanced Standing
• To register for the Advanced Standing Option your copy of the letter from the Coordinator must be presented to the Registrar

Given the above process and timetable, the student who is approved to enter the Advanced Standing Option will be able to register prior to the start of the next semester and incur no penalties for late registration.

Grading Policies for the Advanced Standing Option

A student enrolled in the Advanced Standing Option at the College will receive an overall grade for each Purpose validated in the option. A grade of “C” is the lowest acceptable grade for any Purpose validated in this option.

Tuition for Advanced Standing

For the current tuition rate for the Advanced Standing Option, please refer to the Fees and Expenses insert in the Catalog or contact the Bursar’s Office. Tuition is subject to change. Students who do not complete their Advanced Standing Option documentation in the initial semester will be charged a maintenance fee of $100 in each of the 1 or 2 additional semesters needed to complete the requirements.

Deadline for Completion of Advanced Standing

A student will generally have one year in which to successfully document exemption from one or more specified Purposes. At the end of that period, if successful completion has not been achieved, the student must enroll in the normal course-work load, paying the normal tuition rate. Academic Progress and Advanced Standing Depending on eligibility, a student may seek exemption from one, two or three Purposes through the Advanced Standing Option. At this time, the total credits represented by the Purpose(s) that the student is seeking to document through Advanced Standing – either 16, 32 or 48 credits – as the student enters the designated credited program, are calculated as part of the “credits attempted” and the grade point average for that term. Therefore, if a student fails to complete the documentation process for the Advanced Standing in that semester, eligibility for continued financial aid may be affected. Please see the Registrar for changes and or updates on this policy.

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