Front Range Community College and the other 12 colleges in the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) are now accepting a pool of about 60 online courses for credit from students seeking a degree or certificate from six popular national online learning organizations.
The online education providers include: Pearson, Straighterline, Sophia, JumpCourse, Saylor and Ed4Online.
The acceptance of credits was facilitated by the American Council on Education (ACE) through their Alternative Credit Project™, a national groundbreaking initiative to boost the ability of millions of nontraditional learners to gain a college degree. Find FRCC details here.
CCCS institutions were the only community colleges selected by ACE to join four-year colleges and universities in the first phase of this project.
Low- or no-cost, lower-division general education online courses were chosen to participate in the Alternative Credit Project. A statewide group of CCCS faculty evaluators determined that these 60 courses, out of a set of more than 110 put forth by ACE, will be accepted at the system’s institutions as equivalent to specific CCCS courses as each achieves the same outcomes.
CCCS, along with the 39 other colleges, universities, and systems taking part in the project, have agreed to grant credit for these courses, which include disciplines such as business, critical thinking and writing, foreign language, humanities, mathematics and natural and physical sciences.
“The Colorado Community College System is committed to offering high-quality and affordable higher educational opportunities to all Coloradans,” said CCCS President Dr. Nancy McCallin. “We believe these alternative credits will offer additional pathways to help students complete their degrees in a timely, affordable manner. With 74 percent of all new jobs requiring a college education in the future, this alternative credit project will aid students in their pursuit of higher education.”
ACE President Molly Corbett Broad said, “This is an important step for an initiative that already has significantly increased our body of knowledge about the most effective ways to increase the number of Americans able to earn a college degree or credential by using education, training and life experiences gained outside a formal classroom.”
Deborah Seymour, ACE assistant vice president for education attainment and innovation, said “Nontraditional students who often are balancing multiple family and career demands now know where they can turn to take courses that will help them reduce the time and expense required to gain a postsecondary degree or credential at a number of outstanding institutions.”
About Front Range Community College
FRCC offers nearly 100 degree and certificate programs from locations in Boulder County, Larimer County, Westminster, and Brighton, and online.
FRCC is a member of the Colorado Community College System, the state’s largest system of higher education. CCCS serves more than 162,000 students annually. The system oversees career and academic programs in the 13 state community colleges and career and technical programs in more than 160 school districts and six other post-secondary institutions.
