College credit for CAP courses

[Mitchell 1969]

(This is a slightly modified post from another thread, posted as a wider topic).

The American Council on Education offers a service where non-university courses can be evaluated for college credit. They have evaluated a number of professional courses and military courses. They issue transcripts and their credit recommendations are generally accepted by accredited schools. Several courses have been evaluated that might be of interest to CAP members. With college credits ranging from $50 to $600 per unit, depending on schools, this could be a money saver and a time saver. (ACE transcripts are either free or dirt cheap).

Now, the bad news. ACE evaluates and recommends based on what they see at the time. So, this recommendation only applies to people who took courses within the posted date ranges.



CAP Officer Course has been evaluated by ACE and recommended for college credit. This is a serious no-joke benefit, worth, conceivably, from $200 to $1500 or better depending on school and applicability to one's major. From the ACE site:

<<Credit Recommendation: In the lower-division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 2 semester hours in communication skills and 1 in leadership. In the upper-division baccalaureate degree category, 2 semester hours in military history (10/07)(10/07).>> (For graduates from January 2002, when they evaluated it, to the present).

CAP IG Course has an ACE credit evaluation, for courses taken June 2012 to the present:

<<Credit Recommendation: In the upper-division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in organizational leadership (10/12)(10/12).>>

(Several other CAP courses are listed, particularly ES and Public Affairs, either with no credit, or with expired dates, not applicable to new enrollees, but possibly available to people who completed the courses earlier).

Air Command and Staff College gets substantial graduate credit recommendations, as does
Air War College - BUT - be very careful about dates and "resident" vs "non-resident."

Here is the url for ACE military search page. Easiest way to find CAP courses was to just search on "patrol." Searching on "Squadron" or "Command" got a lot of irrelevant results. Be careful of the start and end dates, make sure they match yours.

http://www2.acenet.edu/militaryguide/CourseSearch.cfm

[jhighman]

Excellent. See also http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/CAP_Professional_Development_Course_592A4F141DCE9.pdf which will show you detailed breakdowns of most of the PD catalog, including SLS, CLC, RSC, NSC, UCC and others. I like that you've equated this to a cash value as it really proves how wonderful it is to have this option. I for one used it to shave three credit hours off my BS degree, so it really helped me out in terms of time and money both (not to mention not having to delay my graduation by one more term)

[DrJbdm]

Also keep in mind, depending on the school, the credits that are awarded by the school will probably fit into the free electives category. Almost none of them will fit into the general education or the major courses required for your degree plan. Again, this highly depends on the school. I know of several schools that have transcribed some of these credits and all of them have placed those credits into the free elective category. Having said all that, every hour you can shave off of the 120 to 127 hours needed for a bachelors degree is a money saver!

ACSC and AWC while both are recommended for huge numbers of graduate credit, I do not know of any schools that have awarded more then six hours and for many it was either none or three hours towards a masters degree. It's best to simply just think of those as graduate certificate programs and not towards something that will lead to a cheap and quick masters degree.

[Mitchell 1969]

Also keep in mind, depending on the school, the credits that are awarded by the school will probably fit into the free electives category. Almost none of them will fit into the general education or the major courses required for your degree plan. Again, this highly depends on the school. I know of several schools that have transcribed some of these credits and all of them have placed those credits into the free elective category. Having said all that, every hour you can shave off of the 120 to 127 hours needed for a bachelors degree is a money saver!

ACSC and AWC while both are recommended for huge numbers of graduate credit, I do not know of any schools that have awarded more then six hours and for many it was either none or three hours towards a masters degree. It's best to simply just think of those as graduate certificate programs and not towards something that will lead to a cheap and quick masters degree.

As you said, it depends on the school. One must shop around if the idea is to start with these credits and build on them. It's a different deal if one is adding these to credits already earned and applied to a degree, with the USAF ones to be just added on.

There is also another potential use - some professions (teaching, for example), give pay incentives for additional units beyond a degree level which are not enough or in the right categories to grant the next highest level degree. My wife got advanced pay as a "Bachelors plus" and my daughter is getting it now as a "Masters Plus" - no requirements other than units, regardless of where they lead.

[RNOfficer]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

[THRAWN]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

Interesting. Be wary of diploma mills, though. If you use the Google to look for "design your own Masters program", you can find a long list of potential schools.

[Mitchell 1969]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

Interesting. Be wary of diploma mills, though. If you use the Google to look for "design your own Masters program", you can find a long list of potential schools.

Yes, be wary of unaccredited schools. Also, be wary of schools which claim to be accredited, but where the accrediting body itself is pretend. "Regionally accredited" schools tend to be required for further progress in academia, whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military). It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Meanwhile, here is a private school, regionally accredited (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges) offering some generous credit standing for graduates of ACSC. Better yet, it even specifies that it is for the correspondence or distance learning program. They will award 15 graduate units (out of 33 required) for the Masters in Organizational Leadership, or 15 (out of 36) for the Master of Public Administration. Then, to sweeten the deal, they give 25% off the remaining tuition for military and veterans (I'm not saying that CAP members are veterans. But many are - if the shoe fits, get the discount).

https://www.regent.edu/military/docs/USAF%20ACSC%20Advanced%20Standing%20at%20RegentU.pdf

[stillamarine]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

Interesting. Be wary of diploma mills, though. If you use the Google to look for "design your own Masters program", you can find a long list of potential schools.

Yes, be wary of unaccredited schools. Also, be wary of schools which claim to be accredited, but where the accrediting body itself is pretend. "Regionally accredited" schools tend to be required for further progress in academia, whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military). It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Meanwhile, here is a private school, regionally accredited (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges) offering some generous credit standing for graduates of ACSC. Better yet, it even specifies that it is for the correspondence or distance learning program. They will award 15 graduate units (out of 33 required) for the Masters in Organizational Leadership, or 15 (out of 36) for the Master of Public Administration. Then, to sweeten the deal, they give 25% off the remaining tuition for military and veterans (I'm not saying that CAP members are veterans. But many are - if the shoe fits, get the discount).

https://www.regent.edu/military/docs/USAF%20ACSC%20Advanced%20Standing%20at%20RegentU.pdf

Actually it's the opposite. Regionally accredited are more acceptable than nationally. I found that out the hard way when I went back to school. Few thousand bucks down the drain and couldn't transfer the credits.

[Mitchell 1969]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

Interesting. Be wary of diploma mills, though. If you use the Google to look for "design your own Masters program", you can find a long list of potential schools.

Yes, be wary of unaccredited schools. Also, be wary of schools which claim to be accredited, but where the accrediting body itself is pretend. "Regionally accredited" schools tend to be required for further progress in academia, whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military). It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Meanwhile, here is a private school, regionally accredited (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges) offering some generous credit standing for graduates of ACSC. Better yet, it even specifies that it is for the correspondence or distance learning program. They will award 15 graduate units (out of 33 required) for the Masters in Organizational Leadership, or 15 (out of 36) for the Master of Public Administration. Then, to sweeten the deal, they give 25% off the remaining tuition for military and veterans (I'm not saying that CAP members are veterans. But many are - if the shoe fits, get the discount).

https://www.regent.edu/military/docs/USAF%20ACSC%20Advanced%20Standing%20at%20RegentU.pdf

Actually it's the opposite. Regionally accredited are more acceptable than nationally. I found that out the hard way when I went back to school. Few thousand bucks down the drain and couldn't transfer the credits.

"Quite the opposite" of WHAT? I never said anything contrary to what you wrote.

All three of my statements are true:

1)  regionally accredited schools  "...tend to be preferred for further progress in academia."

2)  whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military).

3) It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Please describe how "the opposite is true" for any of those.

(The whole thing is silly, really, as it comes down to a combination of snowberry by those in academia, particularly operators of regionally accredited schools believing that they are best, despite many nationally accredited schools being as good or better, with all of them accredited by non-governmental entities which have, in turn, been granted accrediting authority by the same federal government agencies).

[Eclipse]

Pro Tip: If the school is advertised between Maury and Ellen, and / or 50% or more of the advertising discusses grants and loans vs. curriculum,
ask more direct questions about accreditation.

"Guaranteed placement after graduation" is also a red flag.

[SAREXinNY]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

Interesting. Be wary of diploma mills, though. If you use the Google to look for "design your own Masters program", you can find a long list of potential schools.

Yes, be wary of unaccredited schools. Also, be wary of schools which claim to be accredited, but where the accrediting body itself is pretend. "Regionally accredited" schools tend to be required for further progress in academia, whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military). It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Meanwhile, here is a private school, regionally accredited (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges) offering some generous credit standing for graduates of ACSC. Better yet, it even specifies that it is for the correspondence or distance learning program. They will award 15 graduate units (out of 33 required) for the Masters in Organizational Leadership, or 15 (out of 36) for the Master of Public Administration. Then, to sweeten the deal, they give 25% off the remaining tuition for military and veterans (I'm not saying that CAP members are veterans. But many are - if the shoe fits, get the discount).

https://www.regent.edu/military/docs/USAF%20ACSC%20Advanced%20Standing%20at%20RegentU.pdf

Actually it's the opposite. Regionally accredited are more acceptable than nationally. I found that out the hard way when I went back to school. Few thousand bucks down the drain and couldn't transfer the credits.

"Quite the opposite" of WHAT? I never said anything contrary to what you wrote.

All three of my statements are true:

1)  regionally accredited schools  "...tend to be preferred for further progress in academia."

2)  whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military).

3) It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Please describe how "the opposite is true" for any of those.

(The whole thing is silly, really, as it comes down to a combination of snowberry by those in academia, particularly operators of regionally accredited schools believing that they are best, despite many nationally accredited schools being as good or better, with all of them accredited by non-governmental entities which have, in turn, been granted accrediting authority by the same federal government agencies).

I can't speak for other States, but here in NY only regionally accredited schools are recognized for state or local government jobs.  I personally know someone who was hired, but then let go right before he started because they found out his college degree was from a nationally accredited but not regionally accredited school.

If it ain't regional, it ain't worth it.

[stillamarine]

I was searching for another and found Mountain State University (a private school despite its name) would give an online MA for completing ACSC or AWC (distance or B&M)

But, I found that Mountain State has permanently closed!  http://mountainstate.edu/

They had a "design your own Masters program". Maybe available elsewhere. I would look for a marginal school that needs the cash if you want to get a whole masters from one of these.

Interesting. Be wary of diploma mills, though. If you use the Google to look for "design your own Masters program", you can find a long list of potential schools.

Yes, be wary of unaccredited schools. Also, be wary of schools which claim to be accredited, but where the accrediting body itself is pretend. "Regionally accredited" schools tend to be required for further progress in academia, whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military). It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Meanwhile, here is a private school, regionally accredited (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges) offering some generous credit standing for graduates of ACSC. Better yet, it even specifies that it is for the correspondence or distance learning program. They will award 15 graduate units (out of 33 required) for the Masters in Organizational Leadership, or 15 (out of 36) for the Master of Public Administration. Then, to sweeten the deal, they give 25% off the remaining tuition for military and veterans (I'm not saying that CAP members are veterans. But many are - if the shoe fits, get the discount).

https://www.regent.edu/military/docs/USAF%20ACSC%20Advanced%20Standing%20at%20RegentU.pdf

Actually it's the opposite. Regionally accredited are more acceptable than nationally. I found that out the hard way when I went back to school. Few thousand bucks down the drain and couldn't transfer the credits.

"Quite the opposite" of WHAT? I never said anything contrary to what you wrote.

All three of my statements are true:

1)  regionally accredited schools  "...tend to be preferred for further progress in academia."

2)  whereas "nationally accredited" is quite acceptable for US and local government and many business job requirements (including military).

3) It's always best to decide why you need it, determine future applications and then pick the school, rather than be surprised and disappointed down the road.

Please describe how "the opposite is true" for any of those.

(The whole thing is silly, really, as it comes down to a combination of snowberry by those in academia, particularly operators of regionally accredited schools believing that they are best, despite many nationally accredited schools being as good or better, with all of them accredited by non-governmental entities which have, in turn, been granted accrediting authority by the same federal government agencies).

I can't speak for other States, but here in NY only regionally accredited schools are recognized for state or local government jobs.  I personally know someone who was hired, but then let go right before he started because they found out his college degree was from a nationally accredited but not regionally accredited school.

If it ain't regional, it ain't worth it.

^^^ What he said. Only regionally accredited schools are accepted by our personnel board as well. We had a bunch of officers that couldn't get the 5% pay bump because the school they got it froms like Virginia College. Bunch of nursing students from there couldn't get jobs either.

[Mitchell 1969]

I'll concede. I don't know how it is in every state. I do know that I've run across people who were TOLD "only regionally accredited counts" in a number of states, only to learn that was just the personal opinion of an HR clerk who "assumed" that anything else meant diploma mill. Meanwhile, an actual look at the applicable code or policy revealed otherwise.

Your mileage may vary. Caveat emptor. Ya gotta shop around. Do your homework. Etc. etc. etc.

Side note - I'd love to watch a local or state government official in NY, which supposedly only accepts regionally accredited schools, tell a Cambridge PhD or Oxford D.Phil. that he can't work a state job because his degree isn't "regionally accredited." (They are actually unaccredited. The accrediting means in the UK is via Crown Charter. Oxford and Cambridge don't have such charters, as they were awarding degrees before the charters were started).

[RRLE]

Another check to consider is whether or not the college is eligible for federally guaranteed student loans, whether you want one or not. If it isn't, then stay away from it. This is easy to check. Go to the FAFSA site and click the School Code Search button.

There are a very few colleges that are legit but may not be there due to the college's philosophy. I didn't check but I think Hillsdale College is one of them.

[THRAWN]

Pro Tip: If the school is advertised between Maury and Ellen, and / or 50% or more of the advertising discusses grants and loans vs. curriculum,
ask more direct questions about accreditation.

"Guaranteed placement after graduation" is also a red flag.

Drat. I was so looking forward to that Master's Associate Degree in Culinary Auto Repair with a minor in Diesel Engine Driving...