Category: Transfer Credit

Posted in ACE, Free Tuition, Self-Paced Learning, Sophia, Transfer Credit

Sources of Free College Credits

Posted on by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa

This fantastic list was put together by a couple members of the InstantCert forum community.  I encourage you to visit the forum if you’re considering distance learning boy1colleges for your teen- it’s the single best resource on the web.

As a homeschooler of high school students, here’s what you should know before you read on:

ALL (but one) of these freebies awards ACE credit.  As such, their transfer is very limited.  If your teen is several years away from high school graduation and selecting a target college, you may want to use these just for fun, and if he gets credit later- that’s a bonus.  You can bundle these together into high school electives too.  But, if you’re getting close to enrollment or you’ve already selected a target college, you’ll want to confirm that they accept ACE credit before investing too much time in these.

See my previous posts on colleges that accept ACE courses for college credit and setting up your teen’s ACE account.

The Institutes (2 college credits)

The American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (commonly referred to as “The Institutes”) offer a free ethics course that is ACE recommended for 2 credits.

  • 312N-H Ethics and the CPCU Code of Professional Conduct (2 credits) – an upper-level ethics/philosophy course that meets TESU‘s General Education “ethics” requirement. (it meets 2 of the 3 credit requirement – you might have to ask for an exception to be made for the last credit, but typically this is automatically granted. The 3rd credit can be made up as a general ed elective).

To signup, use the following link: http://www.theinstitutes.org/comet/learning_modules/cpcu_ethics.htm

Select the FREE option. You should not do the $5 option. The paid option is for “Continuing Education credit,” which is different than college credit. The free version is ACE approved for college credit.

National Fire Academy (2 college credits)

The National Emergency Training Center/National Fire Academy (NFA) offers two free courses that are ACE-recommended for 1 credit each.

  • Q0118 Self-Study Course for Community Safety Educators  (1 credit)
  • Q0318 Fire Service Supervision: Self Study (1 credit)

To signup, use the following link and find these two course codes in the list: Q0118, Q0318: http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/nfacourses/catalog/search?&&forget=true&courseCode=Q

After you are enrolled, use this login URL to take the classes: https://nfa.plateau.com/learning/user/login.jsp

Sophia – Developing Effective Teams (1 credit)

Sophia offers a number of paid ACE-approved courses that are fairly expensive. team2However, they do offer a free 1 credit course:

  • SOPH-0021 – Developing Effective Teams (1 credit)

You can sign up for the course at https://www.sophia.org/online-courses/developing-effective-teams

TEEX Cybersecurity (6 college credits)

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) offers three ACE-approved courses recommended for 2 credits each. These are DHS/FEMA funded and therefore free for the general public to take.

  • Cyber 101 – Cybersecurity for Everyone (2 credits)
  • Cyber 201 – Cybersecurity for IT Professionals (2 credits)
  • Cyber 301 – Cybersecurity for Business Professionals (2 credits)

To signup, use the following link and make sure you sign up for all classes under these three headings, there are multiple courses per heading: Cyber 101, 201, 301: https://teex.org/Pages/Program.aspx?catID=607

After you are enrolled, use this login URL to take the classes: https://my.teex.org

 

FEMA Independent Study (over 40 college credits)

  • NOTE: FEMA is NOT ACE evaluated for credit.  As such, FEMA IS courses are only acceptable as transfer credit at Charter Oak State College and two other small 2-year colleges.  IF you’re planning to attend COSC, you can fill the ENTIRE lower level elective requirement for an Associate’s of Science (30 cr) an Associate’s of Arts (15 cr) or bachelor’s degrees (30+) using only FEMA.  Cost:  $0 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency operates an online Independent Study program offering approximately 197 courses online for free. Only certain ones are acceptable as transfer credit at Charter Oak State College.

The current list of  FEMA courses worth college credit can be found here.

 

Posted in Transfer Credit

Will it transfer? That’s the wrong question.

Posted on by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa

I’m sure you’ve heard stories about students whose credit didn’t transfer for some reason or another. We’re going to look at “some reason or another” in this post!

road closed

This post is for parents worried about earning college credit while their teen is in high school.  If your teen is already out of high school and enrolled in college somewhere, planning transfer is easy:  call your college advisor.  They’ll tell you, and help you plan.

For high school parents, I know you want to ask “Will it transfer?” The problem is that for high school planning that’s the wrong question.  A high school student is years away from enrollment, thus it is impossible to “lock” your teen into a college policy in advance of them being a college student! In short, you can’t get any promises from a college until after your teen has enrolled at the college.  Once they are enrolled, they’re “locked” into that college’s academic catalog, and you can make decisions within that catalog’s policies.

Homeschooled high school students are earning college credit 2, 3, 4, or more years before it intends to be used!  This means you have to know how to spot the issues that derail successful transfer and avoid them with your teen.

Planning for future college admissions isn’t as hard when you think like a college employee instead of thinking like a homeschool parent!

Colleges differ widely in their acceptance of credit, but they’re predictably and boringly similar in how they disqualify credit from being transferred. The best question you must ask and the right approach to use as plan your teen’s homeschool for college credit journey is:

“Will this class be disqualified from transfer?”

By knowing and then avoiding classes that are commonly disqualified, you improve the likelihood of successful transfer a zillion-fold.  (Maybe not a zillion-fold, but a lot!)  I’m not going to tell you which courses are disqualifiable, I’m going to teach you how to assess this yourself and your family!

Use these 6 tests to see if the course is a good risk or a poor risk. If you can answer “yes” to each, you’re probably going to have a successful transfer. If you hit a “no” anywhere on this list…disqualification is likely.

1. Is the class offered through a university or college? If yes, proceed to #2.

WHY? Many businesses offer classes “for college credit,” through partnerships with specific colleges and the American Council of Education (ACE). Examples of these businesses include Straighterline, ALEKS, CollegePlus, Lumerit, Sophia, Coursera, Study.com, etc. If you’re not planning to attend a college on that business’ partnership list, stop now. These courses rarely, if ever, transfer elsewhere.

2. Is the university or college regionally accredited? If yes, proceed to #3.

WHY? Colleges that are NOT regionally accredited (RA) almost never transfer into colleges that ARE regionally accredited. Public community colleges and universities ARE always regionally accredited, so the likelihood that they’d accept an NON-RA credit in transfer is tiny. Non RA colleges can be legitimate schools with different accreditation, but strictly in the question of future transfer, only choose RA courses in high school. Check accreditation for any college here:  U.S. Department of Accreditation Database  If you find that the college is not regionally accredited, stop now.

3. Can regular college students pay for this course using federal financial aid? If yes, proceed to #4.

WHY? Though you won’t be using financial aid with your high school student, courses that don’t qualify for financial aid are probably professional development or continuing education programs, which almost never transfer. Dig deeper.  If the course doesn’t qualify, my advice is to stop now.  

4. Locate the name of the department offering the course. Is this course part of a degree program that leads to an award with the letters AA, BA, AS, or BS? If yes, proceed to #5.

WHY?  Those degrees/awards contain courses intended for transfer, specifically general education courses.  If this course is not part of a degree program, or it is part of a credential with a different name like Certificate, Diploma, Associate of Applied Science, Associate Occupational Science, or any degree with the word “Technology” in the title, transfer is unlikely.  The course you’re considering is possibly for career training, not college transfer.  If your teen’s ultimate goal is an Associate of Applied Science degree from the school you’re considering for dual enrollment, you’re probably ok.  If a transfer is planned, either into a different Associate of Applied Science degree program or a 4-year school, stop now. 

5. Is the course’s alpha-numerical 100 or higher? For instance, the number in ENG101 is 101.  ENG101 has an alpha-numeric higher than 100. If yes, proceed to #6.

WHY? The majority of colleges use 100-400 numbers to indicate level. Courses under 100 level (085, 060, etc.) are possibly “developmental” and not eligible for college credit. If the college uses this system, and the course is not at least 100 level, stop now.  A handful of colleges have their own system that looks nothing like this one.  If that’s the case, call and ask.  

100 and 200 are freshman/sophomore lower level. 300 and 400 are junior / senior upper level.  Community college courses generally have a good selection of remedial (under 100) courses but do not go higher than 200. Universities don’t always offer courses under 100-level, but can offer courses all the way through 600 (masters/doctorate).  

6. Does this course appear in the college’s list of approved general education courses?

If yes, congratulations! You’re as close to a sure thing as you can get. You’ve passed the test of 6 key dis-qualifiers.

jump

What now?  Proceed!   You’re as solid as you can be at this point.  I do have one final warning to those of you with very young teens who are taking college courses very early. Occasionally, some colleges (NOT the majority) will put “expiration dates” on hard sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) and technology (computer science, etc.).  It’s unlikely that you already have your teen’s target college selected at this point, so best bet is to choose non-science and technology courses now (English, social science, humanities, math) and wait for the 11th grade to take the hard sciences or computer courses.

 

Posted in Dual Enrollment, High School, Transfer Credit

Dual Enrollment Basics

Posted on by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa

Member question(s):  How does one go about starting dual enrollment?  I’ve seen posts of homeschoolers as young as 15 who are enrolled in dual credit classes, however, I am still not certain if there is an age limit for them to enroll?

This answer isn’t going to cover all of it, but it will give you the basics and get you pointed in the right direction.

First, let’s define dual enrollment:  it may be called something different in your state, but the general concept is that the student earns dual (double) credit for their work in one course. 

Example:  Your 12th-grade teen signs up at ABC Community College and takes English 101.  As the homeschool parent, you award them high school credit for their work (12th-grade English) and the college awards them college credit (English 101).  It’s double dipping!  2 birds with 1 stone!

Access to Dual Enrollment

There are several “levels” of dual enrollment access, and most of the time it depends on the state you’re homeschooling in. In the most restrictive states, there is no dual enrollment allowed for homeschoolers at all– you need a high school diploma/GED to take college classes. Keep in mind this is a standard college entrance policy, so this isn’t really doing anything wrong, but they are not lowering their admissions and granting access- so in other words, dual enrollment is a privilege being extended to students, allowing them to enroll in advance of meeting regular entrance requirements.  As such, not everyone gets this privilege.

Here are variations of privilege you’ll find as you search the public community college procedures in all 50 states:

  • It’s not allowed for high school students of any type.
  • It’s “allowed” if you’re in public/private school, but not homeschool.
  • It’s allowed for everyone, but you have to pay full tuition (Illinois).
  • It’s allowed, but the state tells you how many credits/courses you can take (Ohio).
  • It’s allowed, and the state provides a tuition waiver for reduced tuition.
  • It’s allowed, and the individual school decides if tuition is reduced. (South Carolina)
  • It’s allowed, and it’s free for all high school students. (Georgia, North Carolina)

Now, once you step outside of public community colleges, you’ll enter into the private school arena, where anything goes.  Private schools almost always charge full price tuition, however, some state programs extend their waivers to be used at private colleges (Ohio) but this is not the norm.  Even in states where dual enrollment has full access and is completely free (North Carolina) you won’t see this benefit extended to private colleges.

Age to Qualify

And yes, you guessed it, it differs greatly.  Most states that extend dual enrollment require the student to be in 11th or 12th grade.  Some exceptions exist, like our friends in Florida who can enter as early as 6th grade!  Expect the college to require a copy of your transcript and some type of test score- whether it’s the ACT, SAT, PSAT, or one of the college’s own tests (Accuplacer, Compass).  Not all states require test scores for entry (North Carolina, for example, only requires test scores for some programs) but it is generally the norm.

In every case, graduating high school ends your dual enrollment eligibility, and you’d switch over to a regular dual enrollment student if you continue at that college.  If you plan to attend a different college, you’d apply there as a regular incoming freshman.

Transfer Student vs Freshman Applicant

The word “transfer” has more than one meaning in college, which confuses the heck out of people, and rightfully so.

Parents want to know if their teen’s dual enrollment credit “will transfer” to a 4-year college later, and the answer is generally “yes.”  That definition of “transfer” is different than the definition of “transfer student.”

First, let’s talk about a transfer student.  A transfer student is a high school graduate that attended another college, accumulated some credit, and then applied to a different college.  While it “feels” like this includes dual enrollment students, (your teen did just graduate, they did attend a college, they did earn some credit, and they are applying to a different college) your high school graduate is not a transfer student as a result of accumulating college credit.  The distinction is when college credit was earned, and in the case of dual enrollment, it was earned pre-high school diploma.  Therefore, your student is not a transfer student.

This is always a hot question because transfer students don’t always have the same access to housing, scholarships, etc. as a freshman applicant.  As such, it’s a lazy answer for me to tell you “so check the college your teen is considering just to be sure.”  The problem with giving that canned answer is it undermines the parent’s confidence in using dual enrollment (which is amazing) and it implies that there are some colleges in both categories, and it’s a coin toss what will happen to their teen.  Let me put that fear to rest.

I would NEVER lie to you and tell you that I’ve looked up every college policy for dual enrollment every year for the past decade, and that and that I’m certain that you’ll never encounter an inconsistency from what I’m telling you- what I will tell you is that I spend a LOT of time digging into this question, and I’ve never found a single college that treats dual enrollment credit as transfer credit.  Not 1.  Ever.  So, while it’s true, that the unicorn may exist, I’ve never seen it.  Thousands of college policies, year after year, I’m still waiting to find an exception.  As such, if YOU find one, I want to know- I need to know! I want the readers to know.

A simple rule of thumb: 

classes taken pre-high school diploma:  dual enrollment

classes taken post-high school diploma:  transfer credit

Finding Dual Enrollment in Your State

Dual enrollment privileges and funding can change from year to year, and I don’t have a good resource list to share with you.  As fast as lists are written, changes occur, and lists are outdated (!)  Furthermore, when you do your own research, it isn’t enough to find out if your state offers dual enrollment, you need to find out if your homeschool student is eligible. Unfortunately, homeschoolers are not always eligible.

When I research dual enrollment, the BEST document that I start with was written by The Education Commission of the States and has a ton of good information.  (Start there)  It’s from 2015, and so it’s 2 academic years old at this point.  If an updated edition becomes available, I’ll post it here.  Here is the page for Alabama.  They have pages for each state:

Alabama
Program Basics
Statewide policy in place Yes
Definition or title of program Dual Enrollment
Where courses provided
  • At high school
  • At postsecondary institution
  • Virtual program
Postsecondary and/or secondary credit earned Both
Students may take developmental/remedial coursework for dual credit No
CTE component Yes. Students at two-year colleges may enroll in academic, career and technical or health science courses.

Local boards may elect to participate in the Early College Enrollment Program (ECEP), a dual enrollment program for career and technical education students in grades 11 and 12.

Students who do not have a minimum “B” average but who have demonstrated ability to benefit as documented by successful completion and placement identification on assessments approved by the department of postsecondary education are limited to pursuing career/technical and health-related courses.
Unique characteristics Private school and homeschool students may also establish dual enrollment agreements with postsecondary institutions.Students in grades 10-12 who do not meet the eligibility requirement of a “B” average in high school courses may be determined eligible to participate in dual enrollment “pending demonstrated ability to benefit as documented by successful completion and placement identification on assessments approved by the department of postsecondary education” (includes ASSET, WorkKeys, CPAT). Such students are limited to pursuing career/technical and health-related courses, and must have “a ‘B’ average in high school courses related to the occupational/technical studies, if applicable, which the student intends to pursue at the postsecondary level and” have an overall 2.5 grade point average.

The state department of education must work with districts with the lowest high school graduation rates to implement dropout prevention interventions. One of the interventions the department may implement is offering full course fee waivers to students eligible for free/reduced lunch who are enrolled in dual credit courses. The department must submit a written report to the legislature on the outcomes of dropout prevention strategies, and any planned modification of school system dropout prevention strategies and activities, based on the data compiled.

Homeschooling for College Credit Facebook State Groups

You should join your state’s group and try to connect with people in your state/community. This is how we can create the best and most up to the minute help for each other.  State groups range from small to large, active to quiet, so the best way to add to the body of knowledge is to invite others who may want to contribute to or benefit from discussing college credit options!  Find Your HS4CC State Group Here

No Dual Enrollment?

If you don’t have access to dual enrollment, you may be able to enroll your teen in a different state’s program.  The New Mexico Community College system is open to 11th and 12th-grade homeschool students, and their courses generally transfer back to your own state.  They are a popular choice since their system is the lowest cost in the country- about $50 per credit for out od state students.

Another popular option is DIY Dual Enrollment, which operates outside the college system entirely.  In this case, the parent provides curriculum and instruction, followed by a standardized exam like CLEP.  I have a lot to say about CLEP vs Dual Enrollment, so I made a short seminar for you on the topic:

 

Posted in ACE, Alternative Credit Project, edX, Saylor Academy, Straighterline, Study.com, Transfer Credit

The “REAL” ACE College List

Posted on by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa

Non-college-issued credit comes from many places:  Straighterline, ALEKS, Sophia, EdX, Saylor, Study.com, Lumerit/College Plus, Advanced Placement, CLEP, military training, licenses, certifications, and many, many others.  They are “worth” college credit because their curriculum or exam has been evaluated by a third party called ACE (American Council on Education) and has been determined to be worth a certain number of credits. As an example, ACE determined completion of Military Bootcamp is worth 6 college credits! Though other third party credit evaluators exist, ACE is the largest and oldest- frankly, they are the primary trusted evaluator in the United States.

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.  My estimation is that it is fewer than 50.

Some colleges will accept “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.

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.

What does it mean to be part of the ACE Network?

As I found out with my oldest son in 2013, it does NOT mean that the college will consider 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 by 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 have played out 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

edX partnership colleges (includes graduate level partnerships)

Saylor Academy partnership colleges

Straighterline partnership colleges

Alternative Credit Project partnerships

As you browse the lists, you’ll see that there is some overlap of schools, but there are many listings that appear only one 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).   

University of Maine at Presque Isle

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 111 West Congress Street, Charles Town, WV 25414 http://www.amu.apus.edu/
American Public University 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 5900 S. Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO 80120-1801 https://www.arapahoe.edu/
Argosy University 601 South Lewis Street, Orange, CA 92868 https://www.argosy.edu/
Ashford University 8620 Spectrum Center Blvd, San Diego, CA 92123 https://www.ashford.edu/
Baker College https://www.baker.edu/
Bastyr University 14500 Juanita Dr NE, Kenmore, WA 98028 bastyr.edu/
Bay State College 122 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116 http://www.baystate.edu/
Bellevue University 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/
California Southern University 3330 Harbor Blvd, Costa Mesa, California 92626 https://www.calsouthern.edu/
Capella University 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 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 (VT) 71 Clement Road, Rutland, VT 05701 https://www.csj.edu/
Colorado Northwestern Community College https://www.cncc.edu/
Colorado State University Global Campus 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 16000 East CentreTech Parkway, Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036 https://www.ccaurora.edu/
Community College of Denver 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 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 University 7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-5159 http://www.excelsior.edu/
Fayetteville State University 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 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/
Goodwin College
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 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 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 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 2401 South Main Street, Lamar, Colorado 81052 https://lamarcc.edu/
Liberty University 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 1000 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, New York 14623 http://www.monroecc.edu/
Morgan Community College 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
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 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 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 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 http://www.strayer.edu/
Sullivan University 3101 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40205 https://sullivan.edu/
SUNY Empire State College Two Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 https://www.esc.edu/
Tennessee State University 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 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 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 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 universitytreet, Presque Isle, ME 04769 http://www.umpi.edu/
University of Maryland University College 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783 http://www.umuc.edu/
University of Memphis Memphis, TN 38152 http://www.memphis.edu/
University of Phoenix 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 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 100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 900, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 https://www.waldenu.edu/
Western Governors University 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700,  Salt Lake City, UT 84107 https://www.wgu.edu/
Western Governors University-Indiana 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700,  Salt Lake City, UT 84107 http://indiana.wgu.edu/
Western Governors University-Missouri 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700,  Salt Lake City, UT 84107 http://missouri.wgu.edu/
Western Governors University-Nevada 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700,  Salt Lake City, UT 84107 http://nevada.wgu.edu/
Western Governors University-Tennessee 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700,  Salt Lake City, UT 84107 http://tennessee.wgu.edu/
Western Governors University-Texas 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700,  Salt Lake City, UT 84107 http://texas.wgu.edu/
Western Governors University-Washington 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!  

UPDATE:  My deepest gratitude to Amy B. for generously and painstakingly looking up all of these college’s addresses and websites!! I know how long projects like this take, and I am so thankful!!!!

 

Posted in Credit Laundering, Transfer Credit

Credit Laundering

Posted on by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa

Colleges are highly predictable in how they handle incoming credit, but people are exceptionally creative, and it doesn’t take long before a bright student tries to find a credit acceptance loophole.

The question is usually something like this “ABC College doesn’t accept CLEP credit, but XYZ College does.  Can I enroll at XYZ college, get CLEP credit on my transcript, and then just transfer over to ABC College with all my CLEP credit?”

or, another variation…

“ABC College doesn’t accept Straighterline credit. How does Straighterline credit appear on a transcript from XYZ?  Does it say ‘Straighterline’ on it?”

and still…

“My college doesn’t accept ACE credit, but if I can get it on a transcript from another college first, will I be able to use it then?”

These are all variations of the same idea:  credit laundering.  Credit laundering is a crafty term (if I do say so myself) I started using in 2008 to explain the concept of “washing” credit from one institution and presenting it as “new” credit to a different institution.  The short answer:  you can’t do it.

Since colleges are predictable, it pays to understand the concept of how transfer credit (especially non-traditional transfer credit) is evaluated for use.  Imagine every location you’ve earned credit from gives you an Easter egg. CLEP eggs are red, DSST eggs are blue, ABC Community College eggs are green, etc.

You can put your eggs into a basket and take them to any college. That college will look at each egg, accept/deny each egg individually, and put together a list of acceptable eggs on a transcript. The color of the egg never changes.

Every time you pick up your eggs and take them to a new school, they’re all in a basket together, but they retain their original colors, so the transcript each college writes for you is irrelevant.  Each new college decides which eggs will be accepted or denied, no matter how many times you’ve put them into a new basket.  Egg color never changes.  Except when…

The single exception is when an articulation agreement exists between one college (usually a community college) and a second college (usually a university). Upon completion of your degree at college 1, your eggs are all painted gold. The degree changed the color of the eggs.  College 2 now receives a basket of golden eggs, and they accept that basket as payment in full for your first 60 credits, no questions asked.

I’m sure you’re going to ask, so let me help you.   If college 2 isn’t in an articulation agreement with college 1, the paint washes off and you’re back to a basket of individually colored eggs.  (this is why “any AA” degree doesn’t transfer into “every” college or university)  In addition, if you didn’t complete the requirements of the agreement (leaving college a few credits short….) then you’re eggs haven’t been painted and you’re back where you started.  Finish your articulation agreement!

GoldenEgg