New to this and overwhelmed..

[susitna1]

First, I want to thank all the people posting here. There is an incredible amount of information on this site and each time I visit, I learn something new.

I formerly worked in law enforcement and recieved 62 college credits for training that I attended. The credits are from two community colleges. I believe that the credits would be considered vocational credits (not sure if that is the right term). I also have some FEMA credits but can't remember the courses or how to access those credits.

A few years back I wanted to enroll in college and get my degree. I found out that none of the credits would transfer because they were considered vocational (I don't know if that was specific to that school only). I was pretty frustrated and put off attending at the time.

I am now ready to get a degree and thankfully I found this site. I am trying to find out if TESC or the other schools often mentioned on this site would transfer the credits I have towards a degree and if anyone has had success with this in the past. From what I have read it appears they would but I wanted to hear from people who have done this if it was an easy process.

I am just beginning my journey and want to get as clear of a path to take as possible.

Thanks

[sanantone]

TESC will not transfer the college credits granted to you for training at the two CCs. TESC will do its own evaluation of your training and certifications and determine how many and what credits they will give you, if any. If you took degree-level, college courses for credit at the community colleges, I think TESC is the best place to transfer them since TESC will give UL credit for CC courses as long as their course descriptions match UL credits in TESC's PLA database.

If none of the Big 3 or any other school will grant you credits for past training, you can always do PLAs (prior learning assessments/portfolios) through LearningCounts.org. They're pretty cheap if you get the max of 12 credits for each portfolio.

You can request a FEMA transcript to go to any school at the link below. FEMA will automatically send you a copy when you do.
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/downloads/tranrqst1.pdf

[LaterBloomer]

Welcome, Susitna1. If you have the money, I would recommend applying to all of the Big 3 and have your transcripts (including FEMA) sent to them. If you're simply after a degree - as opposed to a specific degree with a specific major - see which one accepts most of your credits. That way, you'll at least know where you stand. What happens if the worst happens, and they don't take any of them? Not to worry. As you've seen, this forum is a font of information. You'll learn some folks go from no credits to a degree in a year or less. (I hate those people!) The rest of us just start taking exams. Before you know it, you'll have a degree. Good luck.

[merolpn]

COSC may take them as part of a portfolio assessment. Take a look at it. I would think that the other schools have some mechanism to award credit.

Charter Oak State College - Lifelong Learning Credit Portfolio