Common Terms

Overview

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

Terms

A

• Accreditation: Certification of competency in education. Understanding accreditation is critical to deciding your future degree path. Because this is a US-based forum, accreditation is typically discussed through the lense/in context of the United States education system.
• Acclaim: Former name of parent company of Credly. See Credly entry below.
• 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. Traditionally associated with advanced high school students, these exams are technically available to anyone, not just high schoolers (though it's often more difficult for non-high school students to find AP accommodations)

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 University, and Charter Oak State College

C

• CLEP: College Level Examination Program, a type of course equivalency test
• CBE: CBE is a frequent abbreviation for two terms with different meanings:
  • Competency-Based Education: See Competency-based, below. In degreeforum posts since about 2020, CBE most often means Competency-Based Education.
  • Credit By Examination: Course equivalency credit from tests such as CLEP, DSST, or institutional challenge exam.
• Competency-based: Instead of paying per-credit, these schools typically 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". A major example is Western Governors University. Note that some programs have competency-based aspects to their curriculum while charging per credit rather than per period of time subscribed. An example of this second type is Rasmussen University.
• COSC: Charter Oak State College
• Credly: The platform for sharing and transferring courses/transcripts 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 exams-for-credit

E

• EC: See EU below
• ECE: (Now known as UExcel) Excelsior College Exam, Excelsior University's former credit by exam/course equivalency tests
• EU: (formerly EC) Excelsior University (previously Excelsior College) [not to be confused with the European Union]

F

• 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 - Offer "flashcards" to study for CLEP, DSST, and TECEP exams. IC is the host of the DegreeForum. Have offered some ACE-recommended courses of their own.

L

• LL: Lower-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 100-200 or 1000-2000 (freshman/sophomore) level

N

• NA: National Accreditation. Regionally accredited credits and degrees are sometimes accepted where nationally accredited credits and degrees are not.
• NCCRS: National College Credit Recommendation Service

O

• OD: OnlineDegree.com, a source of cheap NCCRS-recommended credit courses.

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.
• TESC: See TESU below
• TESU: (formerly TESC) Thomas Edison State University (previously Thomas Edison State College)
• "The Big 3": Thomas Edison State University, Excelsior University, and Charter Oak State College

U

• UExcel: (formerly ECE/Excelsior College Exam), Excelsior University's defunt credit by exam/course equivalency tests
• UL: Upper-level credit - Courses/exams accepted at the 300-400 or 3000-4000 (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.