Most of us understand the feeling of wanting to get credit for our hard work. When it comes to online courses, it’s no different. Luckily, organizations like the American Council on Education (ACE) help make sure that classes you take online can still count toward your degree or help you land your dream job. But what is ACE Credit? And how does it work? We’ll take a deep dive into the details with this ACE credit guide for StraighterLine courses and more.
What is ACE Credit?
ACE Credit is issued by the American Council on Education (ACE). ACE is one of the nation’s leading authorities on issues of higher education, and they evaluate nontraditional forms of learning to offer recommendations for transfer credit. They’ve reviewed over 35,000 courses. ACE recommendations outline credits and course equivalencies for courses students may have taken elsewhere and are trying to transfer to a certain college or university. These recommendations not only help students earn college credit, but they can also help students gain advanced college placement, bypassing introductory or general education courses. ACE evaluates a number of different nontraditional learning opportunities including courses, exams, and other learning experiences occurring outside the traditional classroom, including the military. All StraighterLine courses have been recommended for credit by ACE. Once you have successfully completed a StraighterLine course, you are eligible to receive an ACE Transcript for credit transfer purposes.
What is an ACE transcript?
ACE provides an official ACE Transcript (also called an ACE Working Transcript) that includes credit recommendations for students who have earned experience through nontraditional means such as workplace training, exams, certifications, courses, or other learning experiences. The transcripts are designed to enable recipients to earn college credit and satisfy degree requirements, or verify skills. The ACE Transcript is the main tool in transferring credits earned at StraighterLine to one of our partner institutions.
Schools That Accept ACE Credit
All of StraighterLine’s courses have received ACE recommendations for credit, and we partner with 150+ colleges and universities where we can guarantee the transfer of your credit from StraighterLine’s courses toward your degree. Some of our partner colleges include:
- Berkeley College
- California Institute of Arts & Technology
- Charter Oak State College
- Franklin University
- Lesley University
- Lynn University
- New England College
- Southern New Hampshire University
- Strayer University
- SUNY Empire State College
- Western Governors University
But in addition to those 150 partners, the list of colleges that accept ACE credit numbers over 2,300. No matter which college you choose to continue pursuing your degree, it’s important to reach out to a student advisor or a registrar to check about how your credit will transfer. In most cases, academic deans, department chairs, or chief academic officers will be the ones making decisions about credit transfer. Whether a school will accept your transfer credit may depend on a number of different factors:
- Each institution’s transfer credit policies and procedures
- How your experience/learning relates to the courses the institution offers
- Your selected program of study
Much of the transfer credit you’ll receive from ACE recommended courses depends entirely on the school you’d like to transfer to, so make sure to peruse the full list of colleges that accept ACE credit as you plan out your academic journey!
How Does ACE Credit Transfer Work?
Whatever college you choose as your next step towards your degree, the process of transferring credits is easy. The first step in the transfer process is to get a copy of your ACE Transcript. Much of the rest of the process depends on the specific procedures or policies of your college or university of choice. Here are a few useful steps to add to your checklist if you’re thinking about transferring credit:
- Research and identify your academic institution of choice. Consider if it meets your academic needs and interests.
- Research your chosen institution’s policies on transfer credit.
- Verify that your chosen institution will accept ACE recommended courses by reaching out to an advisor or someone at the registrar.
- Start the transfer process early, along with your application to the institution. Prepare all necessary documents, including transcripts.
At StraighterLine, we make it easy to start the transfer process through our online student portal. Plus, if you’re planning on transferring credit to one of our 150+ partner colleges or universities, you can do so directly without an ACE Transcript, based on the course equivalency guide created directly with each school. Check out our ACE Credit Transfer Checklist or watch the video below for a detailed step-by-step walkthrough of how to transfer credits for StraighterLine courses!
Use This ACE Credit Guide to Explore StraighterLine Course Options Today
With hundreds of StraighterLine courses recommended for ACE credit, you can get a jumpstart on general education or degree requirements for a number of different educational pathways. With courses in business, technology, the humanities, and more — all accepted by nearly 2,000 institutions — you have the freedom and flexibility to build your degree, at your pace.
