Question about credit awarding and transfers

[theonlyski]

Waiting on word back from the school, but figured I would ask the group. Say I have some professional licenses or certifications which a regionally accredited college accepts for credit award. Is it possible and if so, how does the process work to get the credits awarded then transfer them to another school? Is there usually some sort of requirement that the credits be used at that school for a degree or are they issued and mine to do with what I please upon the official evaluation?

Thanks!

[jsd]

If one college awards credits for a certification but a second college doesn't, it is very unlikely that simply having the first college's transcript sent to the second college will "trick" them into awarding you credit as well.

We refer to this as credit laundering and in general, it almost never ever works. The first college is likely to indicate on their transcript that the credit was awarded, not taken as a class. the second college will understand this.

[theonlyski]

Interesting. I've never heard of that term. I was just trying to figure out a way to use some pretty good certifications to skip a CLEP or other type of test out and it would likely cost me more for the PLA than it would cost me to just take the test.

Thanks!

[jsd]

The term is pretty specific to the forums since the question arises often enough, I think coined by cookderosa

[cookderosa]

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!

[theonlyski]

Jennifer,

Thanks for that information. Looks like taking the test is just going to be easier than trying to find a way to game the system to my advantage in this case.

Thanks again!

[dfrecore]

Jennifer,

I wish there was a "love" button instead of just like, because that's what this explanation deserves! cheersmate

[Synicaal]

Jennifer,

Thanks for that information. Looks like taking the test is just going to be easier than trying to find a way to game the system to my advantage in this case.

Thanks again!

To give you another example, I took a few CLEP test and had the information sent to HVCC (Hudson valley community college). They accepted Sociology and Psychology and they are currently on my HVCC Transcript. I have sent that transcript to TESU and I DID NOT get credit awarded for them at TESU because they show up as transfer credit. Most schools will want direct transcripts to award credit. I still need to send in my CLEP transcript to TESU and they will then award those credits because TESU also accepts the credits they just want the original source before awarding the credits.

[cookderosa]

Jennifer,

I wish there was a "love" button instead of just like, because that's what this explanation deserves! cheersmate

Awww shucks.

[cookderosa]

Jennifer,

Thanks for that information. Looks like taking the test is just going to be easier than trying to find a way to game the system to my advantage in this case.

Thanks again!

Sometimes that turns out to be the case. I had a situation with my first associate's degree. I tried for YEARS and couldn't make it fit into a degree (granted, I hadn't found this forum yet, and my knowledge was zero compared to now...but still) without enrolling in either a program that cost a fortune or had the wrong accreditation. In short, it was FASTER and CHEAPER for me to ignore my previous credit and start from scratch than to chase down one of the very few options in front of me at the time. I was soooo ticked off that my degree didn't receive the credit I thought it should- but I didn't know about such things, and assumed *like 99% of us* that the rigor of the courses, prestige of teachers, etc. were factors. Ha! Big fat zero. So, in short, once I got over myself and just started new, I earned a full associate's degree in about 6 months, then wrapped up the remaining credits for my BA in 12. All in, it took me 18 months for an AA and BA doing it the way I learned here instead of the insanity I would have had to pursue just to use my prior credit.

If there are options to use prior credit, do it. But sometimes, it's a case of cutting your line and just going forward.

Since no one asked yet, what are your certifications and prior classes? Here is a database/list that you can look through. If anything you have is in there, you'll get credit *somewhere* for them. ACE CREDIT | The National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training