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Experience Matters
Earn Credit for What You Already Know
At Thomas Edison State University, we recognize that you possess college-level knowledge, no matter how you acquired it. Whether that experience comes from work, life or military experience, we can formally evaluate and apply your prior learning experience as credits toward a degree program. Students at TESU earn an average of 38 credits toward their degrees by leveraging prior learning. The University also offers an array of credit-by-exam options as an alternative to taking standard courses.
Begin earning the credit you deserve today.
I want to earn credit for:
Students with military experience may earn credit, depending on the military training documented in Joint Service Transcripts (JST), 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.
Students may earn credit for professional training programs they have completed that have been evaluated by the University's Office of Professional Learning Reviews, a member of the Consortium for the Assessment of College Equivalency (CACE), the American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service or the National College Credit Recommendation Service.
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.
This option enables students to take open, online courses offered by the Saylor Foundation at no cost and then apply what they learned in those open courses by successfully completing a portfolio assessment, TECEP® exam or other credit-by-exam program aligned with the open course.
Students can earn credit by taking a final exam without taking a course. The University’s own credit-by-exam program is TECEP®. TESU also accepts credit earned from other testing programs, such as CLEP® and DSST®.
Many adult students are surprised to find that they come to Thomas Edison State University with knowledge in multiple subject areas that they can apply toward their degrees. There are several options for developing a portfolio that can help you earn college credit.
For undergraduate students, the best way is to take PLA-1000 (Introduction to Prior Learning Assessment) and PLA-2000 (Introduction to Portfolio Assessment), in which students learn about the options for getting their learning assessed, as well as how to develop a portfolio for undergraduate credit.
Graduate level prior learning assessment allows graduate students the opportunity to earn graduate credit for graduate level knowledge acquired through work, through corporate, military or industry training, through workforce development programs, in-depth professional research and other learning experiences.
Is PLA Right for You?
Take our self-assessment to learn if you are a good match for earning credit for college-level knowledge you have acquired outside the classroom through prior learning assessment.
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 University also offers a variety of other ways to earn credit – all designed around the needs of adult learners, like you.
- Going Back to College
- Earning Credit for What You Already Know
- Finish Your Degree Anytime, Anywhere
- Ways to Earn Credit
- edX MicroBachelors Programs
- Put Your Degree to Work
- Transfer Pathways
Toni M. Terry, BA
"I am 67 years old, soon to be 68, and to be able to say I did this at this day in my life is just gratification for my own self."