I have found a couple of universities that allow such a thing, there accredited but not with the u.s. d.o.e., I wonder if there are universities that can offer the same thing but are accredited by the d.o.e. in any way...........
Of course, the USDOE doesn't accredit schools. I would suppose you are referring to acccreditation BY USDOE-recognized agencies. No, one should not expect to earn an entire degree by life experience. That policy, combined with unrecognized accreditation, is certainly millish. Rich Douglas
It depends on what you mean by the phrase "degree based on life experience". Some degree mills figure that if you claim to be a manager on your resume, then you must deserve an MBA. No university accredited by a Dept. of Education recognized accreditor will do that. But most degree programs, both distance education and campus based, will let you challenge classes. That means that they give you the opportunity to demonstrate that you already know the material, usually by examination, but sometimes in applied fields by submission a portfolio of your work. The credit by examination/portfolio process is intended to make you actually demonstrate that you have competencies in all the material that is normally covered in regular classes. So yeah, if you learned things during the course of your life experiences, there are plenty of programs that will give you the opportunity to turn that knowledge into college credit. But you will have to demonstrate to somebody that you really do have the knowledge, though.
Dale Berne of Berne University once told me that the RA's permit one degree to be awarded per year on life experience only. Is this true, I haven't any idea but thought I share the statement. Regards, Wes
My observation is that there are few real shortcuts in education. If there were more, universities would forego revenues, which is not in their interest. While all universities have lofty mission statements, they are in busines to make money and to sustain themselves into perpetuity. Of course, transferring credits from one accredited school to another has always been possible. "Testing out" of a course requirement is becoming increasingly universal option. But gaining acceptance for a portfolio of life experiences is more often possible at nontraditional schools, particularly at the undergraduate level. Unfortunatley, "degree mills" tend to put a heavy emphasis on this approach, which has cast a pall over it in general. At the graduate level, one way to get credit for life experience is to submit evidence of professional certifications. For example, in MBA programs, if an applicant can submit evidence to Admissions of a CPA or CMA in good standing, almost all business schools will waive the accounting requirements.
As already noted the US DOE approves accrediting bodies but does not accredit. The regionally accredited standby's that will assess your "life experience" and determine if you have college level learning are: Excelsior http://www.excelsior.edu Thomas Edison http://www.tesc.edu Charter Oak http://www.cosc.edu For example the assessment of college level learning at Excelsior is based on: 1.) Official transcripts from regionally accredited institutions 2.) Offical test scores from Excelsior College Examinations and other qualified exam programs that have been evaluated, such as AP, CLEP, GRE, etc. 3.) An official evaluation of foreign credentials. 4.) Military education documents for programs that have been ACE evaluated. 5.) Official verification of business/industry training evaluated for credit by ACE or the New York National Program on Noncollegiate Sponsored Education 6.) Documentation of the completion of special sources of education as reviewed by Excelsior faculty -- such as Microsoft Certification examinations. The Excelsior College Examinations can be a unique experience. I met a gentleman who was able to get his liberal studes degree with a concentration in Jewish Studies through an Excelsior examination that was devised by the faculty. John
Re: Re: degree based on life experience If he refers to honorary doctorates, it's absolutely true (except that I think some schools probably award two or more per year). Cheers,
