Welcome to Homeschooling for College Credit’s College Credit Guide. This page was developed using Jennifer Cook-DeRosa’s 30 Ways to Earn College Credit annual guide.
There are well over 30 different ways you can earn college credit in high school. The type of college credit you use depends on your teen’s goals, learning style, budget, and future college acceptance policy.
Each category below contains information pages for specific types of credit, if you would like to learn how to use that type of credit in your homeschool program.
Categories of College Credit
There are really only 2 types of college credit: traditional and alternative. Traditional college credit comes from a regionally accredited college or university and will generate a letter grade on a college transcript. All other types of college credit should be viewed as alternative college credit and differ greatly in price, format, and transferability.
Alternative College Course List (Master List)
Directly at Colleges & Universities
You can earn college credit directly from a college or university during high school. This is typically called “dual enrollment,” but a college may also name its program something else. When looking to enroll directly with a college or university during high school, it is strongly recommended that you seek out colleges that are Regionally Accredited (RA). RA colleges are those accredited by one of the regional accrediting bodies. The Department of Education no longer uses the category filter “Regionally Accredited” and has lumped many different types of accreditation together; however, RA remains the gold standard and the main factor when considering whether or not your college credits can transfer later and you will qualify for a license in many professions.
BEST PRACTICES: College credit earned from a regionally accredited college is the safest and most transfer-friendly type of college credit.
What is Dual Enrollment (aka Dual Credit, Concurrent, Early College)?
Winter Break, Minimesters, Accelerated Terms
Arizona State University (Universal Learner)
Credit Laundering to RA Colleges & Universities
Credit laundering is a term that explains when alternative college credit is “laundered” into regionally accredited college credit. This is incredibly rare. Only four companies (see list below) allow you to credit launder successfully. Note that sending alternative credit to a college that accepts that type of credit is not credit laundering.
Wescott Courses Credit laundering to UMassGlobal
Veritas Press / Scholars Academy Credit laundering to Cairn University
Classical Conversations Plus Credit laundering to Southeastern University
IEW Christian Halls Credit laundering to Southeastern University or Donnelly College
Credit by Exam (Advanced Placement, CLEP, DSST)
Credit by Exam is potential college credit earned by passing a standardized test. Credit by Exam is reevaluated by your new college every time you change colleges.
BEST PRACTICES: Exams worth college credit should follow a regular high school course. High school credit is not tied to the exam, but potential college credit is.
Advanced Placement Exam (AP) Accepted at 85% of all colleges
College Level Exam Program (CLEP) Accepted at 76% of all colleges
DSST/DANTES Exams Accepted at 50% of all colleges
ACE Credit (Straighterline, Sophia, Studycom, etc.)
When a non-college entity wants to sell courses worth college credit, it employs a third-party evaluator for approval. The largest evaluator in the USA is the American Council on Education (ACE). ACE was founded in 1918 and is a national nonprofit organization. Only about 20% of colleges publish that they accept ACE courses. To improve acceptance, companies partner directly with colleges to create credit acceptance programs. There are approximately 250 providers of ACE credit. The providers below all have partnerships with colleges and allow direct enrollment by high school students.
- ACE evaluations of courses are done in 3-year cycles.
- The HS4CC 2025 ACE College Credit Watch List identifies the courses set to expire this year.
- This type of credit requires creating an account with Credly, to “hold” it until you’re ready to use it.
BEST PRACTICES: Use ACE credit only when you are certain that your degree will come from one of the company’s partner colleges.
Penn Foster College’s ACE courses <– no longer approved
SeeMore Impact Labs -formerly CSM Learn
Special Credit (Christian Leaders Institute, Coopersmith, Law Shelf, MOOC)
Credit programs in this section have very specific procedures to follow, limitations, or are part of a special relationship. This is a unique category that requires careful planning to use. Credit in this category is unstable because there are many conditions that must be met for it to count towards a degree.
BEST PRACTICES: Use this credit during 12th grade+ and only when you have a solid target college.
Christian Leaders Institute (for use at Liberty University ONLY)
MOOCs (edX, Coursera, Hillsdale College, Christian Leader’s College)
Prior Learning Assessments (PLA)
TECEP® Exams – Thomas Edison Credit by Exam Program
Coopersmith Career Consulting (for use at Excelsior University)
Not Recommended (Out of business, lost accreditation, etc.)
Companies or products in this category may have gone out of business, lost college credit recommendation, are not transferable, or have other issues.
Abbott STEM Internship Program (closed)
Accelerated Practical Training Institute (college credit expired)
Alternative Credit Project (closed)
American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (college credit expired)
AICPC/The Institutes (expired)
Angelicum Academy/Good/Great Books (college credit expired)
American Dream Academy (closed)
BAin4Weeks (closed in 2008)
BeUnbound (college credit no longer available)
College Plus (closed)
Collegis Education (closed)
Distance Learning Systems Indiana, Inc. (reseller)
Ed4Credit (closed)
EdAssist Solutions Education Network (reseller)
Excel Education Systems (college credit expired)
Faith Builders Educational Program (college credit expired)
FEMA Independent Study (no longer accepted)
FreeCLEPprep (no longer being updated)
Google IT Support Certificate (closed to under 18)
InstantCert Credit Courses (closed)
Institutional Challenge Exams (challenging transfer)
iStudySmart (reseller)
JumpCourse (college credit expired)
Literature Institute (college credit expired)
Lumerit (closed)
Microsoft Corporation (college credit expired)
The National Education Alliance (reseller)
National Fire Academy (closed)
Olivet Nazarene University / Your Way (closed)
OnlineDegree.com (closed)
Outlier (college credit expired)
Outlier Dual Enrollment (closed to homeschools)
Pearson Accelerated Pathways (college credit expired)
Pearson Knowledge Elements (college credit expired)
Pearson Lumerit (college credit expired)
Pearson Propero (reseller)
Penn Foster College’s ACE Courses (college credit expired)
Portage Learning (reseller)
Shmoop (closed)
Sur La Table Online Culinary Institute (college credit expired)
Smarter Degree (reseller)
TEL Learning (reseller)
TestOut! (college credit expired)
The Institutes Insurance (college credit expired)
Thinkful – a Chegg Service (college credit expired)
TOR Academy (closed)
UExcel Exams (closed)
Universal Education Strategies (college credit expired)
Verity College Education (college credit expired)
Western Civilization Foundation (college credit expired)
State-by-State Dual Enrollment for Homeschool Students
| State | HS4CC Facebook Group | Program Name & Link | Homeschool eligible? | Tuition Break |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | ALABAMA | Alabama Early College Enrollment Program | Yes | No |
| AK | ALASKA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| AZ | ARIZONA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| AR | ARKANSAS | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| CA | CALIFORNIA | Community Colleges | Yes | Free |
| CO | COLORADO | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| CT | CONNECTICUT | Dual Credit Program | No | No |
| DE | DELAWARE | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| FL | FLORIDA | Dual Enrollment | Yes | Free |
| CA | GEORGIA | Dual Enrollment | Yes | Free |
| HI | HAWAII | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| ID | IDAHO | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| IL | ILLINOIS | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| IN | INDIANA | college-specific | Yes | Reduced |
| IA | IOWA | college-specific | When enrolled in at least one public school course | Free |
| KS | KANSAS | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| KY | KENTUCKY | Kentucky’s Dual Credit Attainment Goal | Yes | Free (2 courses) |
| LA | LOUISIANA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| ME | MAINE | Aspirations Program | Yes | Free (12 credits) |
| MD | MARYLAND | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| MA | MASSACHUSETTS | Commonwealth Dual Enrollment | college-specifiv | college-specific |
| MI | MICHIGAN | Dual Enrollment | When enrolled in at least one public school course | Free |
| MN | MINNESOTA | PSEO | Yes | Free |
| MS | MISSISSIPPI | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| MO | MISSOURI | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| MT | MONTANA | One-Two-Free Program | Yes | Free (2 courses) |
| NE | NEBRASKA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| NV | NEVADA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| NH | NEW HAMPSHIRE | Concurrent Enrollment | Yes | Free (2 courses) |
| NJ | NEW JERSEY | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| NM | NEW MEXICO | Dual Credit | Yes | Free |
| NY | NEW YORK | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| NC | NORTH CAROLINA | Career and College Promise (CCP) Program | Yes | Free |
| ND | NORTH DAKOTA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| OH | OHIO | College Credit Plus | Yes | Free |
| OK | OKLAHOMA | OK College Start Concurrent Enrollment | Yes | Free (9 credits) |
| OR | OREGON | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| PA | PENNSYLVANIA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| RI | RHODE ISLAND | college-specific | college-specific | Full price |
| SC | SOUTH CAROLINA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| SD | SOUTH DAKOTA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| TN | TENNESSEE | Early Post-Secondary Opportunities (EPSOs) | Yes | Free |
| TX | TEXAS | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| UT | UTAH | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| VT | VERMONT | Vermont Dual Enrollment Program | Yes | Free (2 courses) |
| VA | VIRGINIA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| WA | WASHINGTON | Course-Based Dual Credit | Yes | Free |
| DC | WASHINGTON D.C. | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| WV | WEST VIRGINIA | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| WI | WISCONSIN | college-specific | college-specific | Reduced |
| WY | WYOMING | Dual & Concurrent Enrollment | Yes | Free |
Out-of-State and Open Online Dual Enrollment for Homeschool Students
Out-of-state dual enrollment programs allow homeschoolers from out of state to enroll in and take classes remotely through regionally accredited colleges that offer online dual credit. You don’t have to use your own state’s dual enrollment option!
You can build your Homeschooling for College Credit (HS4CC) program using these colleges, and even though they may not be your final degree destination, the dual enrollment credits earned can be transferred to your target college after high school.
2025-2026 Dual Enrollment Colleges List
2025-2026 Dual Enrollment Colleges List (Religious Only)
Learn about how your teen can take courses with GPA protection at Arizona State University.