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As you probably already know, we’re huge fans of the NCCRS and the nontraditional pathways students can use to save huge amounts of money on college.

Utilizing non-traditional coursework is one of the biggest secrets to lowering the cost of higher education.

In fact, I cover all of the top secret ways working adults can save money on their education in another article here which includes NCCRS credit recommendations as well as a number of other great strategies.  Definitely check that out!

Now I will admit, I’m biased when it comes to the NCCRS. I’ve gotten to personally know the people in that organization and the mission of what they do…I love them. Which is why here at OnlineDegree.com, we took the difficult path to get our college-level courses recommended for Credit by the NCCRS, thus giving our students the ability to receive credit at over 1400 universities across the country in their network…for free.

Yep, free. You could receive over 44 units of credit through our free courses saving a bunch of money and time. We’re on a mission to make higher education more affordable for everyone, and this is a big part of that. Feel free to get started here.  We don’t just provide courses, we help you figure out the various ways to save non-traditionally at universities across the country.

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List of Universities Accepting NCCRS Credit Recommendations

Without further ado, here’s a list of the universities and colleges that have expressed their willingness to accept the NCCRS recommendations where you could get credit:

What is NCCRS?

The organization has been around since 1973, originally as PONZI, but changed to NCCRS after.  NCCRS (National College Credit Recommendation Service) works nationwide as part of the state education board of New York and evaluates training and education programs offered outside of the traditional college classroom setting to translate them into college credit equivalencies.   They play a huge role in nontraditional credit acceptance.  The organization works with college faculty evaluators and subject matter experts to conduct extensive evaluations of education and training programs offered by corporations, unions, religious organizations and proprietary schools. NCCRS strives to help working adults and other students earn credit for learning acquired outside of the college classroom.

What is an NCCRS credit recommendation?

NCCRS Credit Recommendations are the actual guidance that universities or colleges can reference on how to accept this prior learning for credits toward a student’s degree. For example, if a student arrived from OnlineDegree.com with a completed History course, it explains how the institution could apply this as credit toward the student’s degree. These recommendations are usually comprised of the the following:

  • The total of college units that the college should award or consider satisfied from the course taken (e.g. 3 semester units)
  • A course summary of the learning outcomes the student should have once completing the course
  • Guidance on what types of prerequisites or coursework these units could satisfy at the university towards the student’s degree once they enroll (e.g. Undergrad vs Graduate, upper division vs lower division, History vs Economics , etc.)

To put it simply, its the helpful guidance for the university to provide you the best possible credit for what you’ve taken.

Will the 1400 Schools Guarantee Credit?

It’s never a guarantee…the decision to ultimately grant credit always belongs to the college or university and will depend on a number of factors like whether a course fits into your degree program, how many total units you’re transferring in (since some schools have caps), etc. However, these colleges and universities who do participate have indicated their willingness to consider the NCCRS credit recommendations when you complete the courses.  That’s a big deal!

Is there a way to know or feel more secure about the credit acceptance?

Yep! One way is to make sure the organization who offers the courses has taken the recommendations one step further to help you receive credit.

For example, at OnlineDegree.com our mission is to make college more affordable and accessible for everyone. Anyone can register and take our courses, for free.

Here’s the main difference though:

In addition to the NCCRS credit recommendations our courses have received, we’ve taken the added steps of coordinating direct partner articulations with universities across the country to ensure our students have the best opportunity to receive credit (boom!) We work directly with individual colleges to pre-organize the course mapping (including a formal agreement of accepting our courses) so students have more certainty of the course acceptance.

Is it a lot of work for OnlineDegree.com to get those articulations?  Oh yeah.  But, we want that added benefit for our students.

You can see all of the great schools we’ve organized this process with here. The list is growing constantly as we continue to work with more universities. Oh, and we also organize tuition discounts on our student’s behalf to help you save even more money and time.

You could say we’re incredibly passionate about helping people go after their dreams. We know that earning a degree can help you make positive changes in your life and start earning more money for your family. We’ve taken the necessary steps – and will continue to do so – to ensure that every individual has access to higher education.

 

 

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About the Author
Grant founded OnlineDegree.com with a purpose-driven mission: make college accessible and affordable for everyone. After graduating college with an overwhelming amount of debt, he was determined to change how students embark on their education. He's a frequent speaker and author in higher education, and has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Business Insider, American Express, AOL, MSN, Thrive Global, Reader's Digest, Inside Higher Ed, Evolllution, EducationDive, and nearly 100 radio shows and podcasts.