Earning Credit for What You Already Know
Thomas Edison State College does not award credit for life experience. Rather, we provide our students the opportunity to earn credit by demonstrating that they possess college-level knowledge, and we have several methods to help students do just that. These methods include:
- Testing (TECEP®): This is the College’s own credit-by-exam program. Students can earn credit by taking a final exam without taking a course. The College also accepts credit earned from other testing programs, such as CLEP and DSST.
- Prior Learning Assessment (PLA): For this method of earning credit, students are assigned to a PLA course mentor who has expertise in the specific course subject. With the mentor’s guidance, students develop and electronically submit a portfolio that articulates and proves they possess the subject matter knowledge that corresponds with the requirements noted in the PLA course description.
- Licenses & Certifications: Students may earn credit if they possess one of more than 60 licenses and certifications in a wide range of fields, from aviation and healthcare to law enforcement and business. Licenses and/or certifications must be current and valid.
- Military Training: Students with military experience may earn credit, depending on the military training documented in AARTS and SMART transcripts, transcripts from the Community College of the Air Force and the Coast Guard Institute or, for service members who left the military before 1986, a DD-214 form.
- Professional Training: Students may earn credit for professional training programs they have completed that have been evaluated by the College's Center for Academic Program Reviews or through the American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service or the National College Credit Recommendation Service.
At Thomas Edison State College, what matters is that you possess that college-level knowledge – not how you acquired it.
Learn more about earning credit at Thomas Edison State College
Admissions Video Guide
Transfer Your Credit
Have you attended college before? If so, you may be able to transfer credits earned at other regionally accredited colleges or universities. The College also offers a variety of other ways to earn credit - all designed around the needs of adult learners, like you.
