If you already possess college-level knowledge in a subject area, perhaps there's a credit-by-exam option available to fit your degree requirements. If you have the knowledge, plus a sense of the practical application of that knowledge, perhaps portfolio assessment is a wise route for you. If you wish to learn independently, perhaps there's an open course you can take and an associated exam that will match nicely. It's worth investigating.

Todd Siben, Assistant Director, Portfolio Assessment

Stephen Phillips, assistant director, Assessment Strategies

Thousands of students have earned tens of thousands of college credits through prior learning assessment (PLA). So, why not you? Read 17 Common Questions Everyone Has About PLA, Answered.

Exams, Portfolios and Open Courses

Learn more about these unique and cost effective ways to earn credit

By Todd Siben, Assistant Director, Portfolio Assessment and
Stephen Phillips, Assistant Director, Assessment Strategies


As a Thomas Edison State University student, you're probably already familiar with online courses. There's a syllabus, a textbook, discussion boards with fellow students, written assignments and interaction with a mentor throughout. Once you complete the course successfully, you earn 3 credits toward your degree.

But what you may not know is that online courses are only one method of earning credit.

Let's say you need to satisfy a civic engagement general education course requirement in your bachelor's degree program. There are certainly courses that you can take or transfer which would fulfill that requirement. However, if you already have some knowledge and experience in that area, or if you're good at studying independently, the University has some unique and cost-effective options:

Credit-by-Exam: This method of earning credit is ideal for students who have some prior knowledge on a topic and can demonstrate that knowledge in a comprehensive final exam. If you pass the exam, you earn 3 or more credits. The College Board's College-Level Examination Program (CLEP®) features more than 30 exams in a variety of subjects using this method of earning credit. For example, you could fulfill your civic engagement general education course requirement by taking the CLEP exam for American Government (POS-110)

The University also has its own comprehensive final exams, called the Thomas Edison Credit-by-Examination Program, or TECEP®. The cost to you is two hours of your time and less than $120. In this example, you could take the Comparative Politics (POS-282) TECEP® exam to complete your civic engagement general education course requirement.

Portfolio Assessment: Are you someone who has a lot of knowledge in this or another area, but doesn't prefer to take exams? Another option to consider is portfolio assessment. A portfolio assessment gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your prior knowledge and experience in the context of a college course. Using this method of earning credit, you're responsible for compiling evidence of your knowledge (work products, essays, letters of recommendation, etc.) that prove that you understand the material being covered in a particular course. You also need to write a narrative that references your evidence and explains why it's applicable to the course you're challenging. This may be an option if you have the appropriate background to articulate the application of this knowledge. In the case of your civic engagement course requirement: have you run for office, served as a guest political lecturer or blogged about elections and candidates? Have you worked in a polling center or participated in organizing a fundraising event? Experiences like these, combined with some knowledge or study can lead to credit. Check our Portfolio Database for courses that match with your expertise.

Open Courses: What if you don't have the experience or the college-level knowledge necessary for prior learning assessment, but you are still looking for an alternative to a traditional online course? Maybe you would prefer a course that not only gave you complete flexibility in completing assignments and assessments at your own pace, but was also entirely free? The University has teamed up with the Saylor Academy, a nonprofit educational foundation offering free, self-paced courses online, to offer students an affordable pathway to credit. Students simply log in to the Saylor Academy website and begin learning. Once you have completed one of the 25 Saylor courses that have been evaluated for credit by TESU, take the appropriate TECEP® exam and earn credit.

The University has committed to using Open Educational Resources to provide affordable pathway to degrees. One example is the Open Course Option for the University’s Associate in Science in Business Administration (ASBA) degree program. This open course option to earn an ASBA degree combines CLEP, TECEP®, portfolio and open courses to dramatically reduce your tuition cost.

If you would like more information on this degree program, or Open Education in general, email Stephen Phillips, assistant director in the Center for the Assessment of Learning. He searches the world of open courses looking for opportunities to couple or connect free courses to the University’s cost-effective programs, exams and portfolio opportunities.

Just about every requirement in every undergraduate degree program can be completed by a course, exam or a portfolio.

If you already possess college-level knowledge in a subject area, perhaps there's an exam available to fit your degree requirements. If you have the knowledge, plus a sense of the practical application of that knowledge, perhaps portfolio assessment is a wise route for you. If you wish to learn independently, perhaps there's an open course you can take and an associated credit-by-exam option that will match nicely. It's worth investigating.

Visit our Earning Credit for What You Already Know web page to learn more.

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