Credit for Prior Learning: Ways to save time & money

Traditional and International Transfer Credit

Trident will review and consider students' prior coursework from any institutionally (formerly known as regionally/nationally) accredited institution or international credits for transfer with appropriate international credential evaluation by a recognized agency for transfer. Where permitted by third party institutions, Trident will request these transcripts on a student’s behalf. Students may refer to www.naces.org to select an evaluation agency. International credit will be posted to the undergraduate student’s permanent record only if applied to meet degree requirements.

Stackable Programs and Dual Credit Courses

Stack your degree programs and transfer courses from one Trident program into the next. Options are available for associate to bachelors, bachelors to masters, and masters to doctoral programs. Take classes that can earn credit at two-degree levels. Options are available for both bachelors to masters and masters to doctoral programs.

Military Credit Transfer and Annual JST Evaluation

Trident grants undergraduate credit for military education as recommended by the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services. This is in accordance with transfer credit policies at Trident. Students may request evaluation of military credit by submitting official JST’s to the Office of Admissions.

Trident will automatically request an updated Joint Service Transcripts (JST) each year on the student’s behalf and may apply eligible credit if it fulfils remaining graduation requirements at Trident University International. A student’s JST should be kept up to date.

Articulation of Military, Law Enforcement, and Professional Training

Trident University recognizes course work completed at accredited institutions and carefully evaluates all traditional academic credit to provide maximum transfer of eligible credit into the student’s program of study.

Beyond traditional academic credit, Trident faculty also independently assess credit from select law enforcement academies and military service schools to recognize the learning that occurs through these trainings to maximize credit. Trident University faculty will conduct individualized reviews of professional training, certification, licensure, and apprenticeship learning for credit.* Credit may be awarded if the learning is equivalent to a required Trident course on the student’s degree plan.

Trident may award credit for professional training and learning programs with credit recommended in the ACE Credit National Guide or National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS). Students are required to submit the Prior Learning Assessment Submission form and official documentation of the completed training program to the Office of the Registrar.

Trident also has several articulation agreements with other institutions and has standard credit evaluations for many of the training programs completed in military schools.

Challenge Exams – Test out of select courses!

Trident University challenge exams are a series of online exams students can take to earn proficiency credit, if successfully passed, toward an undergraduate degree. The challenge exam is an opportunity for undergraduate students to demonstrate college-level learning through course-related institutional examination. The exams test students on similar outcomes and objectives taught in the respective Trident courses. There are no fees to attempt the exam and no penalty if the student does not pass the exam. All exams will be taken by the student through MyTLC portal.

*The ability to reduce time in school and/or reduce tuition towards the full cost of a degree program depends on the number of Trident Challenge exams successfully passed. Trident Challenge exam credits are non-transferable. Not all programs are eligible for a reduction in time and money. Courses eligible are subject to change. Students should not rely on potential challenge exam savings or eligibility when making an enrollment decision.

College Level Testing

Students can complete their path to graduation sooner! With 8-week sessions beginning every four weeks, bachelors and masters students have the option to take courses in overlapping sessions. Quality is not compromised and flexibility is still built in. Begin your academic journey with Trident Today!

Trident’s Fastrac10 and Fastrac12 are structured course pathways for select masters programs which may allow students to successfully complete a degree in as few as 10-12 months. In the 10-month track students will take two courses per session and in the 12-month track students will take two courses three out of the six sessions.

At Trident, most courses offered are four credit hours. A credit hour is the amount of work required to earn a course credit and is based on a 50-minute hour of active learning. As an example, an 8-week session requires 18.75 hours of coursework per week to meet the 150 hours requirements for a 4-credit hour course.

Accelerate Your Path to Graduation

Trident grants undergraduate credit for military education as recommended by the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services. This is in accordance with transfer credit policies at Trident. Students may request evaluation of military credit by submitting official JST’s to the Office of Admissions.

Trident will automatically request an updated Joint Service Transcripts (JST) each year on the student’s behalf and may apply eligible credit if it fulfils remaining graduation requirements at Trident University International. A student’s JST should be kept up to date.

Prior Learning Assessment

Trident may award undergraduate and graduate credit for professional training and certifications. Students may submit the request for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) during the admissions process. For questions or assistance contact an Admissions Advisor at admissions@trident.edu.

Trident may award doctoral credit for professional experience in the discipline. Students may submit an experiential portfolio for assessment to the appropriate Doctoral Studies Director. The request can be submitted during the admissions process using the Doctoral PLA Request Form. For questions or assistance contact an Admissions Advisor at doctoraladmissions@trident.edu.