8 Online Colleges That Offer Credit for Work Experience 2026

<p>Online colleges that offer credit for learning experiences allow students to apply what they know toward their online degree to finish their coursework faster. Below, we've highlighted several online colleges that award credits for work and life experience. </p> <h3 id="section---1.CharterOakStateCollege">1. Charter Oak State College</h3> <p>Charter Oak State College is a public online college headquartered in New Britain, CT. It offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in fields like business, criminal justice, education, and healthcare. </p> <p>The college offers multiple alternate ways that students can earn credit for their degrees. These include credit for professional training, industry credentials, and standardized exams, as well as the opportunity to earn credit through a portfolio project. </p> <h3 id="section---2.ColumbiaCollege">2. Columbia College</h3> <p>At Columbia College, students can earn undergraduate and graduate degrees online. Subject areas include communications, computer science, humanities, and project management. </p> <p>This nonprofit private school is based in Columbia, MO. It allows students to earn credit for work and professional experience, including industry training programs and professional certifications, and through prior learning assessments. </p> <h3 id="section---3.ExcelsiorUniversity">3. Excelsior University</h3> <p>Excelsior University offers online associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in fields like business, criminal justice, information technology, and healthcare and nursing. The nonprofit online school is headquartered in Albany, NY. </p> <p>The university provides multiple ways for students to earn credit toward their degree programs, such as professional and workplace training, military training, and professional certifications. It also allows students to earn prior learning credits through standardized exams. </p> <h3 id="section---4.FranklinUniversity">4. Franklin University</h3> <p>Undergraduate and graduate programs are available online through Franklin University. Areas of study include business administration, education, information systems, and psychology. </p> <p>Franklin, located in Columbus, OH, is a private nonprofit university geared toward adult learners. It offers credit to undergraduate students for professional training, industry certifications, professional licensure, and more. </p> <h3 id="section---5.HerzingUniversity">5. Herzing University</h3> <p>Herzing University is a nonprofit private school headquartered in Milwaukee. It offers online associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; these range in fields like behavioral health, human resources, information technology, and legal studies. </p> <p>The university allows students to earn credit hours from previous coursework, training, work experience, or military experience. It also accepts credit from CollegeBoard examinations, DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSSTs), and more. </p> <h3 id="section---6.NationalUniversity">6. National University</h3> <p>Through National University, students can earn undergraduate and graduate degrees online. Areas of study include business, criminal justice, healthcare, and technology. </p> <p>National University, based in San Diego, is a private nonprofit originally launched to meet the needs of military service members. Today, it accepts a wide range of nontraditional students and offers prior learning credit for exams, professional certifications, military service, and work experience. </p> <h3 id="section---7.UniversityOfMarylandGlobalCampus">7. University of Maryland Global Campus</h3> <p>The University of Maryland Global Campus offers online programs from the associate degree through the doctoral level in fields like education, healthcare, information technology, and liberal arts. The Global Campus is the online branch of the public University System of Maryland. </p> <p>UMGC's ''Fast Paths to Credit'' system gives students multiple ways to apply credit toward their college degree. Not only does this include credit for industry certification and professional training, but also allows you to earn credit through your current workplace. </p> <h3 id="section---8.UniversityOfMassachusettsGlobal">8. University of Massachusetts Global</h3> <p>Undergraduate and graduate degrees are available online through UMass Global. Areas of study include business, education, humanities, and technology. </p> <p>The school is a private nonprofit affiliate of the public University of Massachusetts system and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, CA. Students here can earn credits for work experience through prior learning assessments, portfolio projects, professional training, and more. </p> <p>Additionally, several of the university's undergraduate degrees are available in its self-paced, competency-based MyPath format. Students take an assessment to determine their current level of knowledge on a subject, then receive a custom curriculum that they work through at their own pace. </p> <h2 id="section---OurSelectionCriteria">Our Selection Criteria</h2> <p>To choose the programs for the list above, we focused on: </p> <ul><li><b>Accreditation</b>: All schools listed are regionally accredited. </li><li><b>Type</b>: We looked only at four-year public or private nonprofit schools. </li><li><b>Online options</b>: Each school above offers a variety of online degrees to students. </li><li><b>Credit for work experience</b>: We narrowed down our list by focusing on schools that allow students to apply their work experience toward their degrees. </li></ul><h2 id="section---UnderstandingHowLifeExperienceQualifiesForCollegeLevelCredit">Understanding How Life Experience Qualifies for College-Level Credit</h2> <p>Colleges will often offer credit when a student can prove that they've already learned course material through work and life experience. There are several ways students can prove this. </p> <p>Industry certifications or professional training programs are a great way to show you know the material without needing to take prior learning assessments. By passing these certificate, licensure, or training programs, you inherently prove you know your stuff. </p> <p>Additionally, there are numerous exams that you can take that prove you have the knowledge necessary to skip specific college classes. These include exams like: </p> <ul><li>Advanced Placement (AP) exams </li><li>College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests </li><li>DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSSTs) </li></ul><p>Some colleges also allow you to prove your knowledge through a portfolio, like the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Portfolio program. In a portfolio, you showcase your competency in a specific area. </p> <h2 id="section---HowCanStudentsEarnCollegeCreditForWorkExperience">How Can Students Earn College Credit for Work Experience?</h2> <p>Various programs and organizations allow students to earn credit toward their higher education by assessing their knowledge gained through work and life experience. These include: </p> <ul><li>_CollegeBoard:<b> offers Advanced Placement exams and CLEP exams in multiple subjects </b></li><li><b>Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES):</b> offers DSSTs in multiple subjects to military service members </li><li><b>Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL):</b> offers a portfolio program and credit for prior learning (CPL) exams </li><li><b>American Council on Education (AC):</b> offers a guide for how to translate non-college courses into college credits </li></ul><p>Additionally, many colleges will accept specific types of training or certifications for credit, though often these are only good toward specific programs. For example, having an RN license can earn you credit toward a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN), but not toward, say, a business degree. </p> <p>Learn More: <a href="https://learn.org/articles/work_life_experience_college_credit.html">How To Use Work &amp; Life Experience for College Credit</a> </p> <h2 id="section---HowManyCreditsCanITypicallyEarnFromWorkExperience">How Many Credits Can I Typically Earn From Work Experience?</h2> <p>The number of credits you can earn from work experience will vary greatly depending on the school you choose, the major you choose, and the type of work experience you have. For more information about earning credit for work experience, contact your college or university's academic advisors. </p> <p><a href="https://learn.org/articles/online_colleges_that_accept_transfer_credits.html">Online colleges that accept transfer credits</a> can often accept up to 90 credits. However, this often includes previous college experience, not just work experience. </p> <h2 id="section---ExploreOnlineBachelorSDegreesToday">Explore Online Bachelor's Degrees Today</h2> <p>Find colleges that accept work experience for credit by exploring the online programs featured on Learn.org. Contact individual schools to learn more about admissions, enrollment, and transfer policies.</p>