Jim Harrington '06

Jim Harrington, '06, has had the kind of broadcasting career that many of his peers would envy. It includes stops at CBS Radio flagship WCBS-FM in New York and serving several years as the program director at KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, the nation's first commercial broadcaster.

Harrington also ran his own marketing and video production business for 10 years before returning to broadcasting, and is a published novelist. His resume lacked only one thing: a college degree. Like most Thomas Edison State College students, Harrington used a wide range of credit-earning options to earn his degree, including transferring credits earned at other regionally accredited institutions, completing online courses, and demonstrating his college-level knowledge through the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program.

"I love the idea of the PLA," said Harrington, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. "The College is saying to students, ‘we do understand that you've learned a lot in the real world, and if you can prove to us you really understand the subject, then we can give you credit for that knowledge.'"

How Jim earned his degree:

Transferred credits	5 courses	17 credits
Online courses	3 courses	12 credits
Prior Learning Assessment courses	31 courses	93 credits
Total		122 credits