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=== A === | === A === | ||
*''' | *'''Accreditation:''' Certification of competency in education. Understanding accreditation is ''critical'' to deciding your future degree path. | ||
*'''Acclaim''': Platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE; name was dropped in favor of unifying everything under Credly. | *'''Acclaim''': Platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE; name was dropped in favor of unifying everything under Credly. | ||
*'''Alt Credit''': Alternative credit. Credits taken from institutions that are NOT a college or university. Examples include | *'''Alt Credit''': Alternative credit. Credits taken from institutions that are NOT a college or university. Examples include Sophia.org and Study.com. | ||
*''' | *'''ACE''': American Council on Education | ||
*'''AOS''': Area of Study. The focus of a bachelors degree. | *'''AOS''': Area of Study. The focus of a bachelors degree. | ||
*''' | *'''AP''': Advanced Placement test. Available to anyone, not just high schoolers! | ||
=== B === | === B === | ||
*'''B&M''': Brick & Mortar; used in reference to classes taken at a college or university rather than from alternate credit sources. Usually applied to classes taken in-person, but can apply to online classes as well. | *'''B&M''': Brick & Mortar; used in reference to classes taken at a college or university rather than from alternate credit sources. Usually applied to classes taken in-person, but can apply to online classes as well. | ||
*''' | *'''Big 3''': Thomas Edison State University, Excelsior College, and Charter Oak State College | ||
=== C === | === C === | ||
*''' | *'''CLEP''': College Level Examination Program, a type of course equivalency test | ||
*''' | *'''Competency-based''': Instead of paying per-credit, these schools operate on a subscription-based model. Once you pay the fees, you may take as many or as few classes are you are able to complete during your "subscription period". | ||
*'''COSC''': | *'''COSC''': Charter Oak State College | ||
*''' | *'''Credly''': The new platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE. | ||
=== D === | === D === | ||
*''' | *'''DSST''': DANTES Standardized Subject Test, a type of course equivalency test | ||
=== E === | === E === | ||
*'''EC''': | *'''EC''': Excelsior College | ||
=== G === | === G === | ||
*''' | *'''GE''' - General Education; requirements that all all degree-seekers at a given school must complete. | ||
=== I === | === I === | ||
*'''IC''' | *'''IC''' InstantCert.com - Many of the forum members use IC flashcards to study for CLEP, Dante, & Excelsior exams. Also has ACE-recommended courses of its own. | ||
=== L === | === L === | ||
*'''LL: ''' | *'''LL: '''Lower-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 100-200 (freshman/sophomore) level | ||
=== N === | === N === | ||
*'''NA''': | *'''NA''': National Accreditation. Generally speaking you should avoid NA schools. | ||
*''' | *'''NCCRS: '''National College Credit Recommendation Service | ||
=== P === | === P === | ||
*'''PLA:''' Prior Learning Assessment - Some schools (and all of the Big 3) offer college credit by an evaluation of the knowledge a student has gained in prior learning, careers, employer training programs, military service, independent study. Credit is usually evaluated by a submission and review of a portfolio. | *'''PLA:''' Prior Learning Assessment - Some schools (and all of the Big 3) offer college credit by an evaluation of the knowledge a student has gained in prior learning, careers, employer training programs, military service, independent study. Credit is usually evaluated by a submission and review of a portfolio. | ||
*'''PUG''': Purdue University Global. A school that offers a number of popular competency-based degrees. | |||
=== R === | === R === | ||
*'''RA''': | *'''RA''': Regional Accreditation. Generally speaking, schools favor traditionally RA credits for transfer. | ||
=== S === | === S === | ||
*'''SL: ''' | *'''SL: '''Straighterline. Provides some courses for a fee. A source of some credits for the Big 3. | ||
*'''SDC: ''' | *'''SDC: '''Study.com. Provides some courses for a monthly fee. A source of LL and UL credits for the Big 3. | ||
=== T === | === T === | ||
*''' | *'''TECEP''': Thomas Edison Credit by Exam Program, TESU's credit by exam/course equivalency test | ||
* | *'''TEEX''' - Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, offers ACE-approved courses for free and for cheap. | ||
*'''TESU''': (formerly '''TESC''') | *'''TESU''': (formerly '''TESC''') Thomas Edison State University (previously Thomas Edison State College) | ||
=== U === | === U === | ||
*''' | *'''UExcel''': (formerly ECE/Excelsior College Exam), Excelsior College's credit by exam/course equivalency test | ||
*'''UL: ''' | *'''UL: '''Upper-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 300-400 (junior/senior) level | ||
*''' | *'''UMPI''' - University of Maine at Presque Isle. A school that offers a number of popular competency-based degrees. | ||
=== W === | === W === | ||
*'''WGU''': | *'''WGU''': Western Governors University is a school that is only open to US residents and US military members, plus select areas of Canada. They have a number of competency-based degrees available. | ||
Latest revision as of 01:46, 4 November 2021
Overview
Some of the terms and acronyms used on the DegreeForums can be confusing. Here is a list of those that are commonly used, but it is not exhaustive. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you're not familiar.
Terms
A
- Accreditation: Certification of competency in education. Understanding accreditation is critical to deciding your future degree path.
- Acclaim: Platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE; name was dropped in favor of unifying everything under Credly.
- Alt Credit: Alternative credit. Credits taken from institutions that are NOT a college or university. Examples include Sophia.org and Study.com.
- ACE: American Council on Education
- AOS: Area of Study. The focus of a bachelors degree.
- AP: Advanced Placement test. Available to anyone, not just high schoolers!
B
- B&M: Brick & Mortar; used in reference to classes taken at a college or university rather than from alternate credit sources. Usually applied to classes taken in-person, but can apply to online classes as well.
- Big 3: Thomas Edison State University, Excelsior College, and Charter Oak State College
C
- CLEP: College Level Examination Program, a type of course equivalency test
- Competency-based: Instead of paying per-credit, these schools operate on a subscription-based model. Once you pay the fees, you may take as many or as few classes are you are able to complete during your "subscription period".
- COSC: Charter Oak State College
- Credly: The new platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE.
D
- DSST: DANTES Standardized Subject Test, a type of course equivalency test
E
- EC: Excelsior College
G
- GE - General Education; requirements that all all degree-seekers at a given school must complete.
I
- IC InstantCert.com - Many of the forum members use IC flashcards to study for CLEP, Dante, & Excelsior exams. Also has ACE-recommended courses of its own.
L
- LL: Lower-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 100-200 (freshman/sophomore) level
N
- NA: National Accreditation. Generally speaking you should avoid NA schools.
- NCCRS: National College Credit Recommendation Service
P
- PLA: Prior Learning Assessment - Some schools (and all of the Big 3) offer college credit by an evaluation of the knowledge a student has gained in prior learning, careers, employer training programs, military service, independent study. Credit is usually evaluated by a submission and review of a portfolio.
- PUG: Purdue University Global. A school that offers a number of popular competency-based degrees.
R
- RA: Regional Accreditation. Generally speaking, schools favor traditionally RA credits for transfer.
S
- SL: Straighterline. Provides some courses for a fee. A source of some credits for the Big 3.
- SDC: Study.com. Provides some courses for a monthly fee. A source of LL and UL credits for the Big 3.
T
- TECEP: Thomas Edison Credit by Exam Program, TESU's credit by exam/course equivalency test
- TEEX - Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, offers ACE-approved courses for free and for cheap.
- TESU: (formerly TESC) Thomas Edison State University (previously Thomas Edison State College)
U
- UExcel: (formerly ECE/Excelsior College Exam), Excelsior College's credit by exam/course equivalency test
- UL: Upper-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 300-400 (junior/senior) level
- UMPI - University of Maine at Presque Isle. A school that offers a number of popular competency-based degrees.
W
- WGU: Western Governors University is a school that is only open to US residents and US military members, plus select areas of Canada. They have a number of competency-based degrees available.