Cheap Sources of Graduate Credit

[huiwh1998]

Just curious, why do you need graduate credits?

[SophiaPrincess]

I graduated and am exploring my options within the US and abroad.

[Stonybeach]

Someone posted this awhile ago. It is $55 per credit hour. Its for those interested in teaching

https://www.isu.edu/onlinepd/#d.en.224873

Looks like they have a free $200 Credit. Can pick up a class for free.

https://www.isu.edu/onlinepd/200-credit/

I have done one course from there when I was trying to transfer towards a Masters in Education early on. ISU courses from the Albion Center are recognized as PDUs and were unfortunately not graduate level.

Thank you for the clarity. ISU is very misleading. They describe their Albion Center courses as "Courses are transcribed as graduate level, non-degree, semester credits." https://www.isu.edu/onlinepd/

ISU is not misleading! These are professional development courses for educators. Teachers often receive pay advancements in their school districts for furthering their graduate education. Usually, these pay advancements take place every 15 graduate credits earned. Example: A teacher with a master's degree can receive a pay bump to master's + 15 credits. They are graduate credits, although they cannot be applied to a degree at ISU! Other schools reserve the right to accept them or reject them. I had them evaluated at another school for transfer credit, and they were not accepted! It is possible that the requirement to teach a specific discipline at college may be satisfied with 18 graduate credits. Will these credits count? I don't know.

These courses are really meant for educators and not folks trying to earn transfer credits for another college's graduation requirements! I'm a certified instructor and adjunct faculty member, and I enjoy them for personal and professional development. I would like to know if anyone has experience with the 18-graduate credit requirements for teaching at the college level, and if these credits would potentially qualify.

[SophiaPrincess]

Someone posted this awhile ago. It is $55 per credit hour. Its for those interested in teaching

https://www.isu.edu/onlinepd/#d.en.224873

Looks like they have a free $200 Credit. Can pick up a class for free.

https://www.isu.edu/onlinepd/200-credit/

I have done one course from there when I was trying to transfer towards a Masters in Education early on. ISU courses from the Albion Center are recognized as PDUs and were unfortunately not graduate level.

Thank you for the clarity. ISU is very misleading. They describe their Albion Center courses as "Courses are transcribed as graduate level, non-degree, semester credits." https://www.isu.edu/onlinep

ISU is not misleading! These are professional development courses for educators. Teachers often receive pay advancements in their school districts for furthering their graduate education. Usually, these pay advancements take place every 15 graduate credits earned. Example: A teacher with a master's degree can receive a pay bump to master's + 15 credits. They are graduate credits, although they cannot be applied to a degree at ISU! Other schools reserve the right to accept them or reject them. I had them evaluated at another school for transfer credit, and they were not accepted! It is possible that the requirement to teach a specific discipline at college may be satisfied with 18 graduate credits. Will these credits count? I don't know.

These courses are really meant for educators and not folks trying to earn transfer credits for another college's graduation requirements! I'm a certified instructor and adjunct faculty member, and I enjoy them for personal and professional development. I would like to know if anyone has experience with the 18-graduate credit requirements for teaching at the college level, and if these credits would potentially qualify.

Perhaps we have a different opinion on misleading. Mint Berry Crunch, a very reliable member of the DF community, reported they are NOT graduate credits. You claim neither ISU nor another university would accept those credits towards a degree. There is nothing wrong with continuing education or professional development credits BUT ISU claims their Albion Center "Courses are transcribed as graduate level, non-degree, semester credits." https://www.isu.edu/onlinep  This suggests the courses earn semester credit hours but are not part of a formal degree program. 
Not misleading rather very misleading. This deception is compounded by the Albion Center failing to answer the phone or return my polite messages seeking clarification.

[Stonybeach]

Not misleading rather very misleading. This deception is compounded by the Albion Center failing to answer the phone or return my polite messages seeking clarification.

First of all, are you an educator who resides in the USA?
"The Albion Center for Professional Development at Idaho State University is providing all K-12 educators, including high school, middle school, and elementary teachers, administrators, and counselors nationwide, a $200 credit (no cash value) to use towards professional development courses in our catalog."
This clearly states the courses are for educators, etc. Not at all, "very misleading!" Educators are quite familiar with professional development. As far as leveraging those credits towards a graduate degree, unlikely! Just want to make that clear. I tried, and it was no bueno.

Anyway, my question still remains about using the 18 graduate credits towards teaching at a college.

[Heartstrings]

Why should it matter if you're an educator or not of you want to learn. There are plenty of places that offer education for professionals with a chance to earn continuing education hours that also offers the same classes to the general public. While I understand teaching can be difficult its not that hard to become one. This post is starting to sound elitist and kind of snobby.

[Stonybeach]

Why should it matter if you're an educator or not of you want to learn. There are plenty of places that offer education for professionals with a chance to earn continuing education hours that also offers the same classes to the general public. While I understand teaching can be difficult its not that hard to become one. This post is starting to sound elitist and kind of snobby.

If you want the $200 discount, it matters because it stipulates being an educator, school counselor, etc., to qualify. If you want to pay the $55 per credit, then I'm sure they will take your money. With that said, the application never asked for a copy of my license. Perhaps they should! It clearly says, "Idaho State University offers affordable, high-quality graduate-level, self-paced courses designed to help K-12 educators nationwide enhance their skills, renew their certification, and obtain salary advancement." How is this "very misleading?" More importantly, if someone gets these courses on another college's transcript for transfer credit, please advise.

[SophiaPrincess]

Previous comment deleted. No one should ever post in anger. I stand by every fact I stated, but my tone was unacceptably harsh. I apologize to the Degree Forum community in general and to Stonybeach in particular. I think the previous posts speak for themselves.


On a brighter note, the community has revealed there are more sources of inexpensive graduate credit than I realized. Nice to know there are graduate education options for every budget.

[Stonybeach]

My question to the audience deals with whether anyone has experience using these 18 graduate credits for teaching at college? Anyone?

[NotJoeBiden]

University of the Pacific, another large provider of professional development graduate courses say the following about them:

“These courses are not applicable for a degree at Pacific but can be transferred at the discretion of your institution. “

https://www.pacific.edu/education/profes...rs-courses

Teacher’s Learning Center who provides similar graduate professional development courses says they offer ones that can be transferred to the Colorado State University Pueblo

https://www.tlcgraduatecredits.com/calif...-teachers/

Members on the sister forum posted about many other offerings a few years ago and suggested you might be able to leverage these internationally.

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?thr...ses.60067/

In a few countries like Spain they have a strikingly similar system for graduate credits for medical workers, teachers, and other professionals. In those cases, graduate courses can be taken online for cheap and applied to titulo propio degrees, certificates, etc. I attached a provider below.

https://www.formacionalcala.com/es/

I suspect it is very dependent on the school and the program you apply to, as with any graduate credit. The difference with these is that they tend to not be “core” classes. At least at ISU, they are listed as an elective course in the catalog.