07-22-2025, 03:44 PM
Subject: TRANSFERABLE College Credit by Exam, Portfolio PLA, Independent Study, etc. – Bonus Points for Engineering-Related Credits
TLDR: This first post is an insignificant drop in what I hope will become a vast, pristine pool of knowledge. If you’re thirsty now, you have a problem.
Greetings,
On July 16, 2025, “SophiaPrincess” started a thread called “Master List of Online Platforms with College Courses/Degrees” (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...es-Degrees). It is interesting, but it commingles college level learning with college credit awarding learning. As knowledge is irrelevant – only degrees proclaiming knowledge have any worth – it seems to me that a list of ways for an intelligent adult to earn TRANSFERABLE college credit by alternate means might be very useful. I might add that before posting this I conducted a search here for the phrase College Credit by Exam: almost all of the results were dated 2012 or older.
At this point I would like to make useful contributions to this thread to “prime the pump.” Sadly, I can’t.
· ETA (Electronic Technicians Association, https://www.etai.org/index.html) used to have a very few ACE reviewed certification exams – I know because I took two – but the exams are no longer credit reviewed, and the entire organization seems like a shell of its former self.
· One of the “big-three” (the worst of the big three, don’t ask me how I know) used to review the EIT/FE exam (Engineer-in-Training, renamed to Fundamentals of Engineering) for credit. This was fantastic, as passing the EIT/FE is of considerable value just on its own and awarding it the heaps of college credit it represents was a fantastic bargain. Needless to say, they don't any more. Ditto their former custom certification review for credit.
· There was once an organization that preformed portfolio-based PLAs with the intention that they be used by colleges, but they are long gone.
· Ohio University, back when they cared about distance education, would theoretically allow one to take exams for college credit even beyond the exams for college credit they normally offered. As regards the bespoke exams, I know this was “more honoured in the breach than th' observance” as far as electrical engineering was concerned, and I know not whether or how frequently it was ever done. My strong but unverified opinion that this is not now done at all.
If anyone knows of any colleges, reputable institutions, whatever, that will award transferable college credit for portfolio-base PLA, independent study (of an ordinary nature), etc. do speak up!
Bonus: anyone knows of any institutions that will award transferable credit for merely passing the EIT/FE (rather than using passing the EIT/FE as fodder for a portfolio review) I will award you a fantastic bonus: I will either kiss you or promise never to kiss you. ;-) You're welcome.
TLDR: This first post is an insignificant drop in what I hope will become a vast, pristine pool of knowledge. If you’re thirsty now, you have a problem.
Greetings,
On July 16, 2025, “SophiaPrincess” started a thread called “Master List of Online Platforms with College Courses/Degrees” (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...es-Degrees). It is interesting, but it commingles college level learning with college credit awarding learning. As knowledge is irrelevant – only degrees proclaiming knowledge have any worth – it seems to me that a list of ways for an intelligent adult to earn TRANSFERABLE college credit by alternate means might be very useful. I might add that before posting this I conducted a search here for the phrase College Credit by Exam: almost all of the results were dated 2012 or older.
At this point I would like to make useful contributions to this thread to “prime the pump.” Sadly, I can’t.
· ETA (Electronic Technicians Association, https://www.etai.org/index.html) used to have a very few ACE reviewed certification exams – I know because I took two – but the exams are no longer credit reviewed, and the entire organization seems like a shell of its former self.
· One of the “big-three” (the worst of the big three, don’t ask me how I know) used to review the EIT/FE exam (Engineer-in-Training, renamed to Fundamentals of Engineering) for credit. This was fantastic, as passing the EIT/FE is of considerable value just on its own and awarding it the heaps of college credit it represents was a fantastic bargain. Needless to say, they don't any more. Ditto their former custom certification review for credit.
· There was once an organization that preformed portfolio-based PLAs with the intention that they be used by colleges, but they are long gone.
· Ohio University, back when they cared about distance education, would theoretically allow one to take exams for college credit even beyond the exams for college credit they normally offered. As regards the bespoke exams, I know this was “more honoured in the breach than th' observance” as far as electrical engineering was concerned, and I know not whether or how frequently it was ever done. My strong but unverified opinion that this is not now done at all.
If anyone knows of any colleges, reputable institutions, whatever, that will award transferable college credit for portfolio-base PLA, independent study (of an ordinary nature), etc. do speak up!
Bonus: anyone knows of any institutions that will award transferable credit for merely passing the EIT/FE (rather than using passing the EIT/FE as fodder for a portfolio review) I will award you a fantastic bonus: I will either kiss you or promise never to kiss you. ;-) You're welcome.