The following is excerpted from The Edupunks' Guide, a complimentary ebook
by Fast Company senior author Anya Kamenetz. You can download the PDF hither and a plain-text ereader version here. For more on edupunk, watch the DIY U video here.

An edupunk is someone who doesn't want to play past the old college rules. Maybe you take interests that don't fit the bookish mold. Possibly you're in a remote location. Perhaps yous have a family, a chore, or other responsibilities and you lot tin't take on life equally a full-fourth dimension student. Peradventure you lot love new technology and new ways of learning. Or maybe you're but a rebel! In any instance, you need to know how to play the system. Hither are 7 ways to earn higher credit without taking a college class, and seven ways to acquire material for college credit without taking a college form.

seven Means to EARN College Credit Without Taking A College Course

1. ACE CREDIT Toll: $45

The American Council on Teaching is a merchandise association representing all accredited U.S. colleges. Their Credit Recommendation Service translates approved forms of military and workplace training into recommendations for college credit. Eighteen hundred institutions around the country accept ACE credit; the list includes country universities likewise every bit customs colleges.

2.   CLEP Exam Cost: $77

The Higher Lath runs the College Level Test Plan. They give 33 separate tests, covering entry-level college subjects in English, business organization, history, math, science, and strange languages. The ninety minute exams are administered at testing centers on computers, so you can run into your score immediately after y'all finish. CLEP credits are accepted at 2900 colleges nationwide.

3.  DSST exam Cost: $80

DSST
exams, targeted specifically at military machine personnel, are at present commonly
taken by civilians also. They can be administered at war machine
installations besides every bit local college campuses via the Net or on
paper. DSST offers 38 exams in various bailiwick areas, unremarkably less
general than CLEP subjects. Examples include: substance abuse, health,
public speaking, Vietnam war history, and intro to globe religions.
Designed to allow students to become college credit (usually, per ACE
recommendations, upwards to 3 baccalaureate or upper-baccalaureate credits)
for previous learning experience exterior traditional classroom settings,
including on-the-chore learning experience.

4.    Excelsior
College Test Toll: $95-$275

Excelsior is a public online college located in New York Country that's been an innovator in evaluation, cess, and accreditation for non- traditional learners. The higher has developed l-1 of its ain examinations to accolade class credit in a variety of subjects from "Juvenile Malversation" to "Global Population." These ECEs (Excelsior Higher Examinations) are accustomed in turn for college credit at hundreds of other universities.

v.  LearningCounts.org Portfolio Cost: $500 for the 6-week portfolio grade

Learningcounts.org is a new initiative for DIY learners by the
nonprofit Council for Developed and Experiential Learning (CAEL). It's a
national service for Prior Learning Assessment. Y'all can call the
organization and talk to someone who will walk you lot through all the
possibilities for earning college credit for something you already know.
Y'all can then submit a portfolio that shows your prior learning in order
to earn ACE credit straight for something yous already know.

6. UExcel Test  Cost: $85
A new plan, UExcel offers seven dissimilar examinations roofing the content of typical low-level higher courses—calculus, psychology, political science, college writing, physics, and statistics. Administered at Pearson VUE testing centers.

7. WGU Assessment  Cost: $2,890 for unlimited assessments per six-month term

At WGU, you can earn your whole college degree by passing tests. They formed as a private nonprofit in the 1990s, when the governors of nineteen Western states decided to take advantage of the Internet to aggrandize educational access to rural students across the region. Today they have 12,000 online students in all 50 states. (The state of Indiana launched its own dissever chapter of WGU in the spring of 2011.) WGU offers fully accredited available'due south and master's degrees in teaching, IT, business, and nursing.

Bonus: seven Ways to Larn College Fabric for College Credit Without Taking A Higher Class

  1. Professional certification (eg. Microsoft certification or insurance industry exams)
  2. On-the-job training
  3. Military training
  4. Volunteer work
  5. Travel (especially in a foreign language)
  6. Life experience
  7. Apply of open courseware/participating in open up learning