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Earning and Transferring Credits

Colleges and universities often , grant credit for a wide range of prior learning, including standardized proficiency examinations, portfolio assessment of experiential learning, local challenge examinations, assessment by a panel of experts, correspondence courses, and courses offered in your workplace. They now recognize that learning takes place in many environments and not just in the classroom.

The concept of granting college credits for learning, regardless of where it was gained, is not new. Many very famous European universities have granted credits and degrees for centuries based on the knowledge a student demonstrates on examinations and not on the amount of time spent in a classroom.

Many students do not need to enroll in a degree or certificate program but do need to consolidate their academic records for employment, continuing education, or professional certification purposes. Credit banks provide the means for certifying college-level credits accumulated at various institutions without enrolling in a degree program. Credit earned for examinations, experiential learning, and extra institutional learning can be consolidated at a credit bank as well. There is no guarantee, however, that the credits you have been granted elsewhere will be accepted by a credit bank. Those credits accepted by the credit bank will be consolidated on a single transcript with the name of the college or university that operates the credit bank, even though you may not have taken a single class at that school. There is, of course, a fee for this service, which can range anywhere from $75 to $335. Contact one of the following sources for more information:

  • Excelsior College Credit Bank
    7 Columbia Circle
    Albany, NY 12203-5159
    Phone: (518) 464-8500 or (888) 647-2388
    Fax: (518) 464-8777
    Web page: http://www.excelsior.edu
  • Thomas Edison State College Credit Bank
    101 West State Street
    Trenton , NJ 08608-1176
    Phone: (609) 984-1150 or (888) 442-8372
    Fax: (609) 984-8447
    Web page: http://www.tesc.edu
  • Charter Oak State College
    Credit Banking
    55 Paul Manafort Drive
    New Britain, CT 06053-2142
    Phone: (860) 832-3800
    Fax: (860) 832-3999
    Web page: http://cosc.edu
Did You Know?
  • 16.7 million the projected number of students enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities this fall. This is up from 12.1 million a quarter-century ago.
  • $8,019 is the per-pupil expenditure on elementary and secondary education nationally in 2003. The District of Columbia ($13,328) spent the most among states or state-equivalents, followed by New Jersey ($12,202), New York ($12,140), Connecticut ($10,372), and Vermont ($10,322).
  • $10,660 is the average tuition, room, and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year; that is double the corresponding figure in 1990.
  • Distance learning or distance education is becoming more and more popular. With time constraints, fuel prices and pricing, distance education is certainly a no-brainer for those seeking additional education or degrees