How should we change the way we account for college credit?

College degrees are still largely awarded based on time served rather than learning achieved.

Many students, believe that the credit hour is a standardized currency and assume that their credits will transfer from one school to the next. Colleges routinely reject credits earned at other colleges.

Excelsior College uses learning, rather than seat time, to award credits and degrees. For less than $10,000, students can earn a bachelor’s degree by using free online courses and materials and demonstrating their mastery of the subjects on exams designed by experts from across the country.

New Hampshire University created a $5,000 entirely competency-based associate degree program.

You should always be able to use CLEP exams to `test out` of any required class and get credit hours for it as well.

Many more people would get college degrees if they only needed to learn what they don't already know.

A system base on seat time rather than on learning no longer makes sense in an era in which college costs are skyrocketing and nontraditional students have become the majority.

Its a lot costlier to obtain a credit hour than in the past.

Many people struggle to pay for college.

Schools should give credits for certificates that are earned.

The credit hour was originally used to measure the output of a college professor.

It typically takes 120 credit hours to earn a bachelor’s degree.