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): In this program, students work with a mentor, who is an expert in a particular subject and corresponding college course, to develop an electronic portfolio that documents the student's mastery of the subject and demonstrates understanding of the key learning objectives in the course.
• 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 SMAARTS transcripts, transcripts from the Community College of the Air Force 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 or through the American Council on Education's 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