Slow Economy Spurs Quick Degrees

Computerworld - Louis Drzewiecki, a senior data analyst at United Healthcare Corp. in Minneapolis, decided three years ago to pursue a master's degree. But there was a problem. He still needed to complete his bachelor's degree, and of the 100 units he had earned 12 years earlier, his local state college would only accept 30. So he took advantage of a regionally accredited program at Charter Oak State College in New Britain, Conn., where most of those credits transferred.

Drzewiecki also took an aptitude test at Charter Oak, which allowed him to get credit for a second semester of English. And he earned college credits for his certifications in Java, data file structures and discrete math. When Drzewiecki's credits were totaled, he needed just five courses to complete his bachelor's degree in computer science. And his bachelor's fully transferred to the state college, where he completed his master of science degree in January of last year.

With employers being more picky in today's tight job market, there's no time like the present to finish that degree, say hiring managers and recruiters. But, like Drzewiecki, students attending traditional universities are often faced with having to start over again.

Traditional four-year universities accept only a set amount of transferable credits toward bachelor's degrees. And while you can lobby for credits for professional training and work experience, such universities typically don't accept them. That's why a growing number of working students are turning to regionally accredited, adult-friendly universities that evaluate old college credits, technical and business certifications, work training and proficiencies and then apply them toward a degree.

"Our motto is, 'What you know is more important than where or how you learned it,' " explains Jerome Atkins, dean of technology and engineering at Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y.

How Life Credits Work 1. The student enrolls. 2. The student contacts a prior-learning assessment center and submits for review past credits, certifications, proof of proficiency in foreign languages or a portfolio of proficiencies. Some colleges, like the University of Phoenix, have agreements with corporations to accept workplace training courses for college credit. 3. The student is assigned an adviser. To prove competency, the student may be required to do the following: Take standardized equivalency tests, such as those for the College Level Examination Program and Defense Activity Nontraditional Education Support. (There’s an average fee of $50 for administrative costs.) Take college-issued proficiency tests. Write essays. 4. Experience is evaluated and credits are issued. 5. The student takes his remaining courses and finishes his degree.

But with so many adult learning programs to choose from, it's tough to match a particular college to your past experience and future goals, according to Peter Proehl, a counselor at Degree Consulting Services in Santa Rosa, Calif.