Alternate Credit Options

Alternate Credit Options

Alternate Credit Options

There are resources out there like Modern States' College Level Examination Program, Sophia Learning that offer a self-paced online learning environment to help you through some of your general education, or free elective credits. All you need to do is register with the websites, choose a course accepted by Rowan University, and obtain a transcript for it, and you can earn college credits for a fraction of the cost.

Modern States

Modern States is a non-profit offering free and open access to college-level courses.  The courses are designed to prepare students for the major “Advanced Placement” (AP)* or “College Level Examination Program” (CLEP)* tests offered by the College Board, including subjects such as History, Computer Science, Math, English and Economics.  Learn more at www.modernstates.org

CLEP (College Level Examination Program)

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams are designed to allow you to demonstrate your mastery of college level material in introductory subjects (and earn credit). CLEP offers 33 exams in 5 subject areas. CLEP exams are not specific to Rowan University; they are accepted by more than 2,900 colleges and universities and administered in more than 1,800 test centers, including the Rowan University Testing Center.

Mastery of college level materials may come from previous education, certification, work experience, and more, including foreign language skills.  

CLEP exams can be completed online, or at the Rowan University Testing Center.

Please visit the Office of the Registrar's non-traditional credit page for Rowan University's CLEP policies/equivalents.

 How To Earn Credits Using CLEP and Modern States

Course offerings from Modern States include Literature, History, World Languages, Science, Math, Business and more. Take one of these self-paced online courses and in just four easy steps you can earn college credits.

  1. Select a course from the Modern States website.
  2. Double-check to confirm that Rowan University accepts the credit for this course: https://sites.rowan.edu/registrar/transferring-credits/non-traditional-transfer-credits.html 
  3. After finishing the course, register for the associated CLEP exam: https://clep.collegeboard.org/
  4. Obtain a course transcript and send it to Rowan University.

For more preparation, Modern States offers CLEP-related study guides, and even a course centered around passing the CLEP and learning online with Modern States. This course can be found here: https://modernstates.org/course/passing-the-clep-and-learning-with-modern-states/

Online Options

With online learning platforms, you can take a variety of general education options for a low cost and at your own pace, and then transfer those credits to Rowan University.

How it Works

  1. Select an available course.
  2. Double check to ensure the offered credits will be accepted by Rowan University.   You can view equivalencies on the Transfer Credit Database.  (Please note that Rowan University does not accept all credits.)
  3. Work through the course at your own pace.
  4. Obtain your transcripts to transfer the credits to Rowan.

Recommended Options

Sophia Learning

StraighterLine

Study.com

Additional Options

Rowan University accepts transfer credits from a variety of educational institutions as well as learning services. The American Council of Education (ACE) offers a national guide of recommendations for courses and exams to be completed for college credits. This allows for students who need to meet prerequisite requirements and/or for those who have participated in a wide range of experiential learning outside of the classroom to still receive some college credits. Below is our current nomenclature list of the American Council of Education (ACE) approved Learning Services Rowan University accepts.

To view course equivalents, check out the Undergraduate Transfer Credit Equivalent Database.