College credit that doesn’t come from a college? Yep! It’s a thing- but where can you use it? The ACE College List isn’t the best list to use. I have a “real” list that’s more accurate.
Non-college-issued credit comes from many places – we even have a list of 30 ways to earn college credit in high school, and most of them don’t come from a college. So what makes these non-college classes worth college credit?
Most of the time these classes are “worth” college credit because their curriculum or exam has been evaluated by a third party called ACE American Council on Education.
ACE is the largest and primary evaluator of workplace learning, military training, credit by exam (CLEP, AP) and every other kind of alternative credit in the United States. If you can find a college that accepts ACE credit, you can REALLY save some serious tuition costs. Some ACE credit is free, some are exceptionally low cost (under $10 per credit), and even the most expensive ACE credit is almost less than what you’ll pay for rack rate tuition at your local college. As such, knowing where you can use ACE credit is the million-dollar question.
Some colleges will accept “all ACE credit” – that is to say, if your credit appears on an ACE transcript, they will give you college credit. The number of colleges in this category is very small. The big thing to pay attention to in this category are the golden few who have guaranteed partnership agreements with colleges. My estimation is that there are fewer than 25 colleges who take “all” your ACE credit. If you’ve heard people talking about “The Big 3” they are in this category and used widely among homeschool families because you can DIY an entire degree at home these schools and they are Regionally Accredited (the gold standard) so they represent the best option to craft a degree from scratch DIY style:
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- Thomas Edison State University, NJ
- Excelsior College, NY
- Charter Oak State College, CT
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Some colleges will accept some “ACE credit” but don’t go so far as to say “all” and will consider, but not guarantee, acceptance. My estimation is fewer than 250 fall into this category. Colleges in this category will vary and may not have the right accreditation for many occupations.
2,000 colleges are part of the “ACE Network” which ACE publishes the list of colleges who will “consider” your work for college credit. In no way, shape, or form do 2,000 colleges award credit for ACE. Being in the network does not mean they award credit. In some cases, colleges appear on that list because they issue ACE credit for their own courses – that’s not the same thing!
What does it mean to be part of the ACE Network?
As I found out with my oldest son in 2013, being a part of the ACE Network does NOT mean that the college will review ACE credit for you- it might mean that they teach it! Our local community college is on the list, so imagine my surprise when they denied 27 of my son’s ACE credits in transfer (ALEKS math and Straighterline). I decided to probe deeper (they were on the list, after all!) and found that our local community college offered a carpentry course through the continuing education (non-credit) department, and successful completion of that course led to 3 ACE credits in carpentry. In other words, our community college was on the list because they taught a course that generated ACE credit, not because they awarded credit for ACE work. Yes, I appealed. No, he didn’t receive credit. Ouch.
RULE 1: Don’t assume colleges on the ACE Network list will award your teen college credit for their ACE courses.
As I appealed my son’s credit decision, I grew frustrated with advisor after advisor who didn’t know what ACE was or what kind of credit he’d earned. I shouldn’t have been too frustrated because I remember myself having advised students at the community college for about 10 years before I knew what CLEP was….or that we were a testing center. Eventually, when I found someone (the Registrar) who knew what ACE credit was, she was able to explain to me why our community college was on the list and told me all about the carpentry course. Scenarios have played out like this dozens of times among our membership. I frequently hear of parents being bounced around to 4-5 people just trying to find out if the college accepts Straighterline credit!
If you’re constantly told that they don’t know what ACE credit is, or if they accept it, or want you to “submit your transcripts first” before giving you information, you can ask if they award credit for military training. Military training usually appears on an ACE transcript, so even though your teen won’t have military training for evaluation, this could be a “clue” that ACE credit may be awarded. Again, we’re trying to predict based on an incomplete picture, but how colleges behave in one situation is usually a good indication of how they’ll do other things – so it’s worth asking if you’re out of options.
RULE 2: Don’t assume that college personnel are familiar with ACE credit. ACE credit is probably the least frequent type of credit they encounter. You’ll have to be patient and persistent.
As someone constantly tracking this type of information, I am so frustrated when I can’t share a “list” with our membership. Asking for a list is a frequent question, and frankly, there isn’t one. So, instead, I’ll share what I know- and you can work from there. I have found that several ACE credit sources have credit transfer partnerships with specific colleges. For example, Saylor Academy has partnership agreements with 20 colleges. Those 20 colleges have agreed (in writing) to accept Saylor’s courses for college credit. That list is a great list to use as a starting point- which is to say that if those 20 colleges accept Saylor courses, they probably will accept other ACE evaluated course provider’s courses! The Alternative Credit Project partnered with 40 schools, and Straighterline another 100+.
RULE 3: When one ACE credit source has a partnership agreement with a college, it is reasonable to infer that the same college will also accept other ACE credit sources.
If you visit each ACE provider’s website, you can find their partnership agreements. Here is a small sample of ACE providers:
Study.com partnership colleges
Sophia.org partnership colleges
edX partnership colleges (includes graduate level partnerships)
Saylor Academy partnership colleges
Straighterline partnership colleges
As you browse the lists, you’ll see that there is some overlap of schools, but there are many listings that appear on only one list. It is my observation, that if a college appears on any list above, you’ll have an excellent shot at getting them to accept your other sources of ACE credit- at the very least, you should try.
So, the following list is the list I created by merging all known partner college relationships with ACE credit providers I could find. In other words- this list, not the ACE Network list, is probably as close to any “real ACE list” as you’ll ever find, and it contains about 145 colleges (not 2,000).
RA = Regionally Accredited
NA= Nationally Accredited
| COLLEGE NAME | COLLEGE ADDRESS | COLLEGE WEBSITE |
| Alderson Broaddus University | 101 College Hill Drive, Philippi WV 26416 | http://ab.edu |
| American Business and Technology University | 1018 West St. Maartens Drive, St. Joseph, Missouri 64506 | http://abtu.edu/online/ |
| American College of Education | 101 West Ohio St., Suite 1200, Indianapolis, IN 46204 | http://www.ace.edu/ |
| American Intercontinental University | 231 N. Martingale Road, 6th Floor, Schaumburg, IL 60173 | http://www.aiuniv.edu/ |
| American Military University (RA) | 111 West Congress Street, Charles Town, WV 25414 | http://www.amu.apus.edu/ |
| American Public University (RA) | 111 West Congress Street, Charles Town, WV 25414 | http://www.apus.edu/ |
| American Sentinel University | 2260 South Xanadu Way, Suite 310, Aurora, CO 80014 | http://www.americansentinel.edu/ |
| Antioch University Midwest | 900 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387 | https://www.antioch.edu/midwest/ |
| Antioch University Online | https://www.antioch.edu/auonline/ | |
| Antioch University Santa Barbara | 602 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 | https://www.antioch.edu/santa-barbara/ |
| Antioch University Seattle | 2400 3rd Avenue, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98121 | https://www.antioch.edu/seattle/ |
| Arapahoe Community College (RA) | 5900 S. Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO 80120-1801 | https://www.arapahoe.edu/ |
| Ashford University | 8620 Spectrum Center Blvd, San Diego, CA 92123 | https://www.ashford.edu/ |
| Baker College | https://www.baker.edu/ | |
| Bastyr University (RA) | 14500 Juanita Dr NE, Kenmore, WA 98028 | bastyr.edu/ |
| Bay State College | 122 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116 | http://www.baystate.edu/ |
| Bellevue University (RA) | 1000 Galvin Road South, Bellevue, Nebraska 68005 | http://www.bellevue.edu/ |
| Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology | 41 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116 | http://www.bfit.edu/ |
| Berkeley College | Box 440, Little Falls, NJ 07424 | http://berkeleycollege.edu/ |
| Bethel College of Indiana | 1001 Bethel Circle, Mishawaka, IN 46545 | http://www.bethelcollege.edu/ |
| Bethel University | 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN 55112 | https://www.bethel.edu/ |
| Brandman University | 16355 Laguna Canyon Road, Irvine, CA 92618 | https://www.brandman.edu/ |
| Capella University (RA) | 225 South 6th Street, 9th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402 | https://www.capella.edu/ |
| Capitol Technology University | 11301 Springfield Road, Laurel, MD 20708 | http://www.captechu.edu/ |
| Cecil College | One Seahawk Drive, North East, MD 21901 | http://www.cecil.edu |
| Cedar Valley College | 3030 N. Dallas Ave., Lancaster, TX 75134 | https://www.cedarvalleycollege.edu/ |
| Central Michigan University | 1200 S. Franklin St., Mount Pleasant, Mich. 48859 | www.cmich.edu |
| Central Penn College | 600 Valley Rd., P.O. Box 309, Summerdale, PA 17093-0309 | http://www.centralpenn.edu/ |
| Charter Oak State College (RA) | 55 Paul Manafort Dr, New Britain, CT 06053 | https://www.charteroak.edu/ |
| City University of Seattle | 521 Wall Street, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98121 | http://www.cityu.edu/ |
| City Vision University | 3101 Troost Ave. Suite 200, Kansas City MO 64109-1845 | http://www.cityvision.edu/ |
| College of St. Josephs | 71 Clement Road, Rutland, VT 05701 | https://www.csj.edu/ |
| Colorado Northwestern Community College (RA) | https://www.cncc.edu/ | |
| Colorado State University-Global Campus (RA) | 7800 East Orchard Road, Suite 200 , Greenwood Village, CO 80111 | https://csuglobal.edu/ |
| Colorado Technical University | 231 N. Martingale Road, 7th Floor, Schaumburg, IL 60173 | http://www.coloradotech.edu/ |
| Community College of Aurora (RA) | 16000 East CentreTech Parkway, Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036 | https://www.ccaurora.edu/ |
| Community College of Denver (RA) | 1111 W. Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204 | https://www.ccd.edu/ |
| Concordia University Irvine | 1530 Concordia West, Irvine, CA 92612 | http://www.cui.edu/en-us |
| Concordia University St. Paul | 1282 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104 | https://www.csp.edu/ |
| CUNY City University of New York (RA) | 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031 | https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/ |
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids, Michigan | https://www.davenport.edu/ |
| DeVry University | 1200 East Diehl Road, Naperville, IL 60563 | https://www.devry.edu/ |
| Excelsior College (RA) | 7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-5159 | http://www.excelsior.edu/ |
| Fayetteville State University (RA) | 1200 Murchison Road, Fayetteville, NC 28301 | http://www.uncfsu.edu/ |
| Fisher College | 118 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116 | http://www.fisher.edu/ |
| Franklin Pierce University | 40 University Drive, Rindge, NH 03461-0060 | http://www.franklinpierce.edu/ |
| Franklin University (RA) | 201 S. Grant Ave., Columbus, OH 43215 | http://www.franklin.edu/ |
| Front Range Community College | 2190 Miller Drive, Longmont, CO 80501 | https://www.frontrange.edu/ |
| Goodwin College | One Riverside Drive, East Hartford, CT 06118 | http://www.goodwin.edu/ |
| Grace College | 200 Seminary Drive Winona Lake, Indiana 46590 | http://www.grace.edu/ |
| Grambling State University | 403 Main Street, Grambling, Louisiana 71245 | http://www.gram.edu/ |
| Granite State University | 25 Hall Street, Concord, NH 03301 | https://www.granite.edu/ |
| Great Bay Community College (RA) | 320 Corporate Drive, Portsmouth NH 03801 | http://greatbay.edu/ |
| Harrisburg University of Science and Tech. | 326 Market St, Harrisburg, PA 17101 | http://harrisburgu.edu/ |
| Herzing University | W140N8917 Lilly Road, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 | https://www.herzing.edu/ |
| Indiana Tech | 1600 E. Washington Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46803 | https://www.indianatech.edu/ |
| Indiana Wesleyan University | 4201 S. Washington St., Marion, IN 46953 | https://www.indwes.edu/ |
| Jefferson Community and Technical College (RA) | 109 East Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 | https://jefferson.kctcs.edu/ |
| John F. Kennedy University | 100 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523-4817 | https://www.jfku.edu/ |
| Kaplan University (RA) | http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/ | |
| Kendall College | 900 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, IL 60642 | https://www.kendall.edu/ |
| Lakeland University | W3718 South Drive, Plymouth, WI 53073-4878 | https://lakeland.edu/ |
| Lamar Community College (RA) | 2401 South Main Street, Lamar, Colorado 81052 | https://lamarcc.edu/ |
| Liberty University (RA) | 1971 University Blvd, Lynchburg, Va. 24515 | http://www.liberty.edu/ |
| Life Pacific College | 1100 West Covina Boulevard, San Dimas, California 91773 | http://lifepacific.edu/ |
| Lipscomb University | One University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204-3951 | http://www.lipscomb.edu/ |
| Lynn University | 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton, FL 33431 | https://www.lynn.edu/ |
| Martinsburg College | 341 Aikens Center, Martinsburg, WV 25404 | http://martinsburgcollege.edu/ |
| McNeese State University | 4205 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA | http://www.mcneese.edu/ |
| Mercy College | 555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 | https://www.mercy.edu/ |
| Monroe College | 2501 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, NY 10468 | https://www.monroecollege.edu/ |
| Monroe Community College (RA) | 1000 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, New York 14623 | http://www.monroecc.edu/ |
| Morgan Community College (RA) | 920 Barlow Rd., Fort Morgan, CO 80701 | http://www.morgancc.edu/ |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene University | 800 Martinsburg Road, Mount Vernon, Ohio, 43050 | http://mvnu.edu/ |
| National Louis University | 122 S. MICHIGAN AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60603 | https://www.nl.edu/ |
| New England College | 98 Bridge Street, Henniker, NH 03242 | http://www.nec.edu/ |
| New England College of Business | 10 High St., Ste. 204, Boston, MA 02110-1605 | https://www.necb.edu/ |
| New York Chiropractic College | 2360 State Rte. 89 Seneca Falls, New York 13148 | http://www.nycc.edu/ |
| Nichols College | 129 Center Road, Dudley MA 01571 | http://www.nichols.edu/ |
| Northcentral University | 2488 Historic Decatur Rd, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92106 | https://www.ncu.edu/ |
| Northeastern Junior College | 100 College Avenue, Sterling, Colorado 80751 | http://www.njc.edu/ |
| Northwestern Health Sciences University | 2501 W. 84th St., Bloomington, MN 55431 | https://www.nwhealth.edu/ |
| Northwestern State University | 175 Sam Sibley Dr, Natchitoches, LA 71497 | https://www.nsula.edu/ |
| Norwich University | 158 Harmon Drive, Northfield, VT 05663 | http://www.norwich.edu/ |
| Notre Dame College | 4545 College Road, South Euclid, Ohio 44121-4293 | http://www.notredamecollege.edu/ |
| Olivet Nazarene University | One University Avenue, Bourbonnais, Illinois 60914-2345 | http://www.olivet.edu/ |
| Otero Junior College | 1802 Colorado Ave. , La Junta, CO 81050 | http://www.ojc.edu/ |
| Pacific Oaks College | 55 W Eureka St. Pasadena, CA 91103 | https://www.pacificoaks.edu/ |
| Patten University | 2100 Franklin Street, Suite 350, Oakland, CA 94612 | http://patten.edu/ |
| Paul Smith’s College | 7833 New York 30, Paul Smiths, NY 12970 | http://www.paulsmiths.edu/ |
| Pikes Peak Community College (RA) | 5675 S Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 | https://www.ppcc.edu/ |
| Pillar College | 60 Park Place, Suite 701, Newark, NJ 07102 | http://www.pillar.edu/ |
| Pine Manor College | 400 Heath Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 | http://www.pmc.edu/ |
| Rasmussen College | 1415 West 22nd Street, Suite 400, Oak Brook, IL 60523 | https://www.rasmussen.edu/ |
| Red Rocks Community College (RA) | 13300 W. 6th Ave, Lakewood, CO 80228 | http://www.rrcc.edu/ |
| Regis University | 3333 Regis Boulevard, Denver, Colorado 80221-1099 | http://www.regis.edu/ |
| Rio Salado College | 2323 West 14th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281 | http://www.riosalado.edu |
| Saint Joseph’s College | PO Box 870, Rensselaer, IN 47978 | http://www.saintjoe.edu/ |
| Seward County Community College (RA) | 1801 N Kansas, PO Box 1137, Liberal, Kansas, 67905 | http://www.sccc.edu |
| Simpson University | 2211 College View Drive, Redding, CA 96003 | http://simpsonu.edu/ |
| Sinclair College | 444 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402 | http://www.sinclair.edu/ |
| St. Catherine University | 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105 | https://www.stkate.edu/ |
| Strayer University (RA) | http://www.strayer.edu/ | |
| Sullivan University | 3101 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40205 | https://sullivan.edu/ |
| SUNY Empire State College (RA) | Two Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 | https://www.esc.edu/ |
| Tennessee State University (RA) | 3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37209 | http://www.tnstate.edu/ |
| The Chicago School of Professional Psychology | 325 N Wells, Chicago, IL 60654-1822 | https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/ |
| Thomas Edison State University (RA) | 111 W. STATE ST. TRENTON, NJ 08608 | http://www.tesu.edu/ |
| Tiffin University | 155 Miami St, Tiffin, OH 44883 | http://www.tiffin.edu/ |
| Touro University Worldwide | 10601 Calle Lee, Suite 179, Los Alamitos, CA 90720 | http://www.tuw.edu/ |
| Trident University International | 5757 Plaza Drive, Suite 100, Cypress, CA 90630 | https://www.trident.edu |
| Trinidad State Junior College | 600 Prospect Street, Trinidad, CO 81082 | http://www.trinidadstate.edu/ |
| Truckee Meadows Community College (RA) | 7000 Dandini Boulevard, Reno, NV 89512 | http://www.tmcc.edu/ |
| Union College | 807 UNION STREET SCHENECTADY, NY 12308 | https://www.union.edu/ |
| Union Institute & University (RA) | 440 East McMillan Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45206 | https://myunion.edu/ |
| United States Sports Academy | One Academy Drive, Daphne, Alabama 36526 | https://ussa.edu/ |
| University of Baltimore | 1420 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201 | http://www.ubalt.edu |
| University of Bridgeport | 126 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604 | http://www.bridgeport.edu/ |
| University of Louisiana at Monroe | 700 University Avenue, Monroe, LA 71209 | http://ulm.edu/ |
| The University of Maine, Presque Isle (RA) | Presque Isle, ME 04769 http://www.umpi.edu/ | |
| University of Maryland University College (RA) | 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783 | http://www.umuc.edu/ |
| University of Memphis | Memphis, TN 38152 | http://www.memphis.edu/ |
| University of Phoenix (RA) | 1625 W. Fountainhead Pkwy, Tempe, AZ 85282-2371 | http://www.phoenix.edu/ |
| University of the Incarnate Word | 4301 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas 78209 | http://www.uiw.edu/ |
| University of the Potomac | 2070 Chain Bridge Rd, Suite G100, Vienna, Virginia 22182 | https://potomac.edu |
| University of Western States | 2900 NE 132nd Avenue Portland, Oregon 97230 | https://www.uws.edu/ |
| Upper Iowa University (RA) | 605 Washington Street | P.O. Box 1857, Fayette, Iowa 52142 | http://www.uiu.edu/ |
| Urban College of Boston | 178 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111 | http://www.urbancollege.edu/ |
| Utica College | 1600 Burrstone Road | Utica, NY 13502 | http://www.utica.edu/ |
| Walden University (RA) | 100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 900, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 | https://www.waldenu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | https://www.wgu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University-Indiana (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | http://indiana.wgu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University-Missouri (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | http://missouri.wgu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University-Nevada (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | http://nevada.wgu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University-Tennessee (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | http://tennessee.wgu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University-Texas (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | http://texas.wgu.edu/ |
| Western Governors University-Washington (RA) | 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 | http://washington.wgu.edu/ |
| Wilmington University | 320 N. DuPont Hwy, New Castle, DE 19720 | http://www.wilmu.edu/ |
| Wisconsin Lutheran College | 8800 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226 | http://www.wlc.edu/ |
*note- it may not seem like it, but this project took quite a bit of work – most providers used only college logos- not text (how crafty of them) so I had to hand write the list here for you. Remember, there is no incentive for businesses to “share” or “merge” lists because it is in their best interest for you to use their products and NOT those of their competitor!
Thank you so much for going through so much trouble!