PATHWAYS TO A COLLEGE DEGREE
Getting involved in higher education will strengthen your qualifications to meet life’s challenges. There are many pathways to reach your educational goals.
Traditional Higher Education
Attending a “brick and mortar” school to receive lecture style: classroom instruction. You may be a resident student or off campus.
College Credit for Highschool Coursework and Exams
AP (Advanced Placement)
Credit by Exam
Get credit for what you already know. You can “proficiency out” of taking college courses through testing. (Schools set passing scores and determine what exams are accepted.)
UNDERGRADUATE PROFICIENCY EXAMS
CLEP (College Level Education Program)
DSST (DANTES Subject Standardized Tests)
ECE (Excelsior College Exam)
LANGUAGE CREDENTIALING
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
DLPT (Defense Language Proficiency Test)
PRACTICE EXAMS
Peterson’s
AP, CLEP & TOEFL
Prior Learning Assessment
CAEL (Counsel for Adult and Experiential Learning)
There are no fewer than 263 colleges and universities who currently offer this option. Work (paid or volunteer), community activities, hobbies, travel, independent study, and some types of non-formal education may count toward college credit. Typically, a portfolio is used to document this life experience.
Distance Education
Correspondence Courses
Recorded Media
Computer Based Instruction on CD ROM or Networked
Courses via the Internet
Satellite Conferencing
MILITARY
Apprenticeships
USMAP(United Services Military Apprenticeship Program)
Used by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard to document service members training and skills learned while performing their military jobs.
Participating Trades
| Aircraft Mechanic | Machinist |
| Automobile Mechanic | Maintenance Electrician |
| Carpenter | Maintenance Mechanic |
| Computer Operator | Nondestructive Tester |
| Cook | Operating Engineer |
| Counselor | Plumbing & Hydraulic |
| Diesel Mechanic | Police Officer |
| Electronics Mechanic | Power Plant Operator |
| Equipment Operator | Refrigeration Mechanic |
| Fire and Rescue | Peripheral-Equipment |
| Fire Fighter | Welder |
Military Experience
ACE (American Counsel on Education) evaluates and assigns college level credit recommendations for each of the following:
Military Schools & Training
Occupations
Pay Grades
SOC (Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges)
These schools accept credit recommendations in lieu of college course work.
The highest result of education is tolerance.
Helen Keller
Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Malcolm Forbes
