Can a School find out about past colleges?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Mollydog, Jul 29, 2017.

Loading...
  1. Mollydog

    Mollydog New Member

    I'm applying to a community college for a completely different degree than having obtained in the past. Due to frequent moves (ex-husband's jobs) and college transfers I didn't disclose having attended other colleges/obtained degrees.

    I'll be paying cash for this degree, so no financial aid to apply for, but now wonder if I'm doing wrong by this school. I remember one university admissions officer rolling her eyes over the numerous transcripts she had to review in order to accept my application. That's when I decided to not offer up all the schools.

    What are the consequences to me or the school for not disclosing previous education?
     
  2. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    With the experience that lower ranking public universities and community colleges do not check your past colleges. However, top ranking universities/colleges do check your educational background. I used to use Thomas Edison State College (AKA Thomas Edison State University) as credit bank, and I did not disclose when I applied to Southern Methodist University and Georgetown University. I was asked for the transcript prior offering the admission, and I was why I did not disclose. I told them I did not attend TESC, only using it as credit bank from non-traditional credit sources.
     
  3. guyfawkes

    guyfawkes Member

    Interesting. I wasn't aware that schools were able to find out about attendance to other educational institutions. Is it through looking at one's past financial aid that they are able to find out?
     
  4. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

    there's the student clearinghouse that colleges can use to find out about your college history. also, most college transcripts show previous credits you've done on their transcripts IF you transferred them in. you can't really hide those.

    so yeah, technically colleges can find out about your past colleges. will they do it - i'm not too sure.
     
  5. Darkwaters

    Darkwaters Member

    Could you elaborate on this "credit bank" idea. I'm curious how you used it, and which non-traditional sources you're meaning.
     
  6. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    The question wasn't directed to me, but Tekman probably means sources like DANTES and CLEP.
     
  7. Darkwaters

    Darkwaters Member

    So he took his DANTES "credits" and turned them into actual college credit through Thomas Edison. Then he could transfer them again from Thomas Edison to another institution? I'm just curious how exactly you'd use this since I actually have extensive DANTES credit which I've never done anything with.
     
  8. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I am not sure if the service is still available at Thomas Edison State College/University anymore. I was serving active duty in the United States Marine Corps, I took a lot of CLEP, DANTES, IT Certifications, and Military training courses (most colleges/universities consider these are non-traditional college credit sources). Then I submitted them to TESC for credits (TESC credit bank services) without a degree, it was FREE for the active military member at the time. I think civilian could use the same service at the time with a little fee, then I transferred those credits to Troy University to complete Bachelor degree with remaining 60 credits in 24 months.
     
  9. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Excelsior, TESU, and COSC offer credit bank services to everyone for a fee. Your transcript will state the origin of the credit. If a school doesn't accept DSSTs directly (they're no longer called DANTES and are now owned by Prometric), then they also won't accept them off another school's transcript. The exceptions are state laws that require credits to transfer from one public college to another public college within the state, if a school has some kind of articulation agreement or accepts block transfers for associate's degrees, an agreement to accept the credit evaluations of certifications or training from other colleges (EC, TESU, ESC, and COSC have this kind of agreement), or if a school has a policy of waiving all the general education requirements for a second bachelor's degree.

    People used to use Fort Hays State University to hide the origin of Straighterline credits because a lot of colleges won't accept non-military, ACE credits other than CLEP and DSST, but FHSU started listing the origin of the credits on the their transcripts a few years ago.

    If you received financial aid from a school, then your information is likely with the National Student Clearinghouse. I believe schools can also voluntarily report information to them even if you're not receiving financial aid. Most schools will only look for omissions when there is a problem with a student. This happened to a student at Columbia University a year or two ago. There was also a state school that checked for omissions after having issues with a student. Western Governors University is not a ranked school, but they will make you turn over everything when applying for an undergraduate program. They required transcripts from ACE and schools where I only took a challenge exam or PLA as a non-matriculated student for pass/fail credit. Now that I have NCCRS credits, they would likely require transcripts directly from Davar Academy even though it's not a school.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 29, 2017
  10. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    If so then that wasn't through the credit bank.
     
  11. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    Possible denial of diploma. Improbable but possible.

    Should that come up then plead ignorance and produce a full transcript.
     
  12. Mollydog

    Mollydog New Member

    Thanks for the replies. I just figured sending my high school transcript, taking the assessment exam, and enrolling would be quicker, easier, and less expensive than going through the process of sending transcripts from 12 schools. Yes, 12. There were many, many moves and online learning 25+ years ago was so different than it is today otherwise I would have pursued that path.

    I don't care whether my core curriculum has to be retaken and probably not a bad idea, either.
     
  13. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Since it was so long ago you may not get a lot of credits to transfer but the flip side of that is that they're not going to hold any bad grades against you either. It's a pain to collect all the transcripts but at least you won't have to worry about it anymore. Good luck.
     
  14. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    Depends on the situation. For my situation, Troy University did not accept every single credit from CLEP and DANTES. Also, Troy University did not accept any IT certifications as college credits. I used TESC college to transfer because I want to utilize one institution, some school do not follow ACE credit recommendation. However, the most school requires accepting credits from other institutions under Accrediting Agency regulation and policies.
     
  15. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    Well, correct me if I'm wrong but your credits transferred from TESC and not the TESC credit bank, correct? IOW, all would have been the same with or without your using the credit bank?
     
  16. Mollydog

    Mollydog New Member

    Thanks. I didn't start out to do the wrong thing. If I had a bad grade then it was a very long time ago. I'd rather redo my program than rehash anything else.
     
  17. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Aren't transcripts often cumulative -- i.e. a more recent one will list credits (and degrees) earned elsewhere? I transferred from School A to School B after my junior year, and my School B transcript shows the number of credits earned by the identified-by-name School A.
     
  18. Mollydog

    Mollydog New Member

    They are; however, anytime I transferred the school required an official transcript from every school even if I took one class or didn't finish one semester. They wouldn't accept a cumulative transcript. This school asks for them all as well.
     

Share This Page