Tag: College Level Examination Program and Prior Learning

Bypassing College through CLEP

Ever dream of becoming a nurse without actually going into semester coursework? Well, you don’t need to dream further. The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is there for you. This is a standardized test where a college-level assessment is given to those students who have not taken college courses.

Administered by the College Board, the College Level Examination Program has thirty-six subject areas on its test as a mechanism for those students to get by with the conventional college program. CLEP has more than 1,700 sites at its disposal across the US, including community colleges, universities and even technical schools.

Almost 3,000 colleges are granting credits through CLEP. These institutions usually grant credit to students who have at least qualified for a college degree, which are about 60 students out of a possible 80. These qualifying offer depends on the site and the exam given. If you have obtained a nursing education outside a traditional classroom, perhaps an online associate degree, CLEP is perfect for you. And even those through home study, job experience or cultural involvement, this test will give them a kind of leverage for them to get that desired degree. This particular program is also available for those students outside of the US, and has their sights of studying further in the country.

CLEP is not just an exam per se, it also provides students to show their skills on a subject of their choosing, and to somehow get through an undergraduate study. More and more students are availing of this said program because it is convenient, not to mention it saves a lot of time. And also because the costs involved are much cheaper than going into that customary coursework. So if you are planning on pursuing a nursing degree with less hassle, CLEP is the way to do it.

College Level Examination Program and Prior Learning

Prior learning has been around for years, disguising itself in the form of College Level Examination Program or CLEP exams or military credits. But it’s just now recently that it has burst upon the scene of the modern college experience. Now, with hundreds of universities offering prior learning programs, its rivaling web based programs in terms of how busy adult learners are acquiring college degrees. Human resources staff is poised to matter in their organization by promoting prior learning evaluation as a feasible option for members looking to return to school and continue on with the organization as a college graduate.

CLEP logoPrior studying evaluation (PLA) is a means by which adults get credit for the experiences they have had while gainfully employed or through military programs. It turns years of sales experience, a company-mandated computer training course, or even a skill mastered eventually into college credit, thus lessening the cash a college student spends on college studying. The fewer classes a college student has to register for, the less cash is needed. From an economic standpoint, a semester’s value of credit adds up after factoring in tuition, books and travel time to campus. In a nation stuck by education and student loan debt, this is an inviting perk to a non-traditional college student looking for a cheaper way to get a degree.

Another major player in PLA is the aforementioned CLEP. This has the potential to give a college student with multiple credit hours. Common College Level Examination Program exams include general education, like the entry-level math programs. For learners who work in a technical field, this could be a quick 3 hours earned. Also at an advantage are multilingual adults. A steadily growing Hispanic population in the country means an increase in the number of adults who are fluent in both Spanish and English. CLEP exams could offer these multilingual adults the opportunity to get all their language requirements. Schools can be finicky when it comes to transferring prior college credits, with many science and math credits stuck with an expiration date. College Level Examination Program bypasses assists here as well: if the college student still can demonstrate mastery in a class credit score does not transfer, there is still an opportunity to get that class credit.