Common Terms

Overview
Some of the terms and acronyms used on the DegreeForums can be confusing. Here is a list of those that are commonly used, but it is not exhaustive. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you're not familiar.

A

 * Accreditation: Certification of competency in education. Understanding accreditation is critical to deciding your future degree path.
 * Acclaim: Platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE; name was dropped in favor of unifying everything under Credly.
 * Alt Credit: Alternative credit. Credits taken from institutions that are NOT a college or university. Examples include Sophia.org and Study.com.
 * ACE: American Council on Education
 * ALEKS: Math training tool, ACE approved for college credit.
 * AOS: Area of Study. The focus of a bachelors degree.
 * AP: Advanced Placement test. Available to anyone, not just high schoolers!

B

 * B&M: Brick & Mortar; used in reference to classes taken at a college or university rather than from alternate credit sources. Usually applied to classes taken in-person, but can apply to online classes as well.
 * Big 3: Thomas Edison State University, Excelsior College, and Charter Oak State College

C

 * CLEP: College Level Examination Program, a type of course equivalency test
 * Competency-based: Instead of paying per-credit, these schools operate on a subscription-based model. Once you pay the fees, you may take as many or as few classes are you are able to complete during your "subscription period".
 * COSC: Charter Oak State College
 * Credly: The new platform for sharing and transferring courses certified by ACE.

D

 * DANTES: Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education (See DSST).
 * DEAC: (formerly DETC) Distance Education Accrediting Commission (née Distance Education and Training Council), a type of National Accreditation
 * DSST: DANTES Standardized Subject Test, a type of course equivalency test

E

 * EC: Excelsior College
 * ECE: (Now known as UExcel) Excelsior College Exam, Excelsior College's credit by exam/course equivalency test
 * FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency. College credit may be available for some students going to Excelsior

G

 * GE - General Education; requirements that all all degree-seekers at a given school must complete.

I

 * IC InstantCert.com - Many of the forum members use IC flashcards to study for CLEP, Dante, & Excelsior exams. Also has ACE-recommended courses of its own.

L

 * LL: Lower-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 100-200 (freshman/sophomore) level

N

 * NA: National Accreditation. Generally speaking you should avoid NA schools.
 * NCCRS: National College Credit Recommendation Service

P

 * PF: Penn Foster, a nationaly accredited, non-degree-granting school that provides some transferrable courses. Your mileage may vary. Penn Foster no longer has individual courses available. You must complete an entire degree/certificate through them.
 * PLA: Prior Learning Assessment - Some schools (and all of the Big 3) offer college credit by an evaluation of the knowledge a student has gained in prior learning, careers, employer training programs, military service, independent study. Credit is usually evaluated by a submission and review of a portfolio.
 * PUG: Purdue University Global. A school that offers a number of popular competency-based degrees.

R

 * RA: Regional Accreditation. Generally speaking, schools favor traditionally RA credits for transfer.

S

 * SL: Straighterline. Provides some courses for a fee. A source of some credits for the Big 3.
 * SDC: Study.com. Provides some courses for a monthly fee. A source of LL and UL credits for the Big 3.

T

 * TECEP: Thomas Edison Credit by Exam Program, TESU's credit by exam/course equivalency test
 * TEEX - Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, offers ACE-approved courses for free and for cheap.
 * TESU: (formerly TESC) Thomas Edison State University (previously Thomas Edison State College)
 * "The Big 3": Thomas Edison State University, Excelsior College, and Charter Oak State College

U

 * UExcel: (formerly ECE/Excelsior College Exam), Excelsior College's credit by exam/course equivalency test
 * UL: Upper-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 300-400 (junior/senior) level
 * UMPI - University of Maine at Presque Isle. A school that offers a number of popular competency-based degrees.

W

 * WGU: Western Governors University is a school that is only open to US residents and US military members, plus select areas of Canada. They have a number of competency-based degrees available.