Excelsior University is an online, accredited, not-for-profit learning institution founded in 1971. Based in Albany, New York, Excelsior provides accessible and innovative educational opportunities to adult students. Excelsior initially achieved its mission by helping adult learners find flexible and affordable pathways to degree completion through the assessment of prior learning and the aggregation of credit earned through classroom education and relevant workplace and military experience. It soon added credit by examination, and students could study independently and take exams to validate their knowledge. Thirty years later, Excelsior was among the first institutions to develop and offer online courses. With nearly 200,000 alumni, Excelsior University has grown into the largest online university based in New York state. More than 50 years since its founding, the student experience remains at the core of Excelsior’s mission.