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Posted in HS4CC

What is Credly?

Posted on by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa, M.S.

If you’re earning college credit from a non-college source (Studycom, Straighterline, Sophia, and others), that credit MUST be placed on a Credly transcript. Why and how? I’m glad you asked!

Examples of credit that must be placed on a Credly transcript:

The above companies have had their courses evaluated by a third-party evaluator called the American Council on Education, most commonly called “ACE.” All ACE credit is relatively “equal” in terms of transferability, so it all easily fits in this one category.

Since these companies are not colleges, their own records are not usually sufficient for a college to award and acknowledge them for college credit. Note I said “usually” because there are cases when a college asks for you to send the record from the business, but even if you do that, YOU MUST STILL PUT THE CREDIT ON A CREDLY TRANSCRIPT.

When should I open a Credly account?

You should already have a Credly account. I you don’t, that needs to be at the TOP of your to-do list!

You’ll open a free Credly account in the name of the student who will earn college credit. It is best to do this before they begin earning college credit if possible.

Once the Credly account is active, you can now receive credits into the account.

Upon completion of an ACE course, follow the ACE provider’s instructions for adding that course to your Credly account. For many providers, this happens automatically, but you may have to request it manually. Keep track and be sure that EVERY credit earned is being housed in the Credly account.

Later, when your teen wants to attend college, you can make a request with Credly, and their official transcript will be sent to your target college(s) for evaluation. Do not send credits from ACE providers directly (Studycom, Straighterline, Sophia, etc.) unless the college (1) has a partnership with the ACE provider and (2) they are telling you to do so. ACE providers are not regionally accredited, so sending a transcript directly from a company instead of Credly will likely result in complete denial of credits.

What happens if I don’t?

If a company goes out of business and your credit is not secured on a Credly transcript, your credit is gone. You may wonder if that’s a rare occurrence, and I promise you it is NOT. I’ve been in this field long enough to see dozens of providers go under and hundreds of people lose credit. I wouldn’t take the time to write this post if I didn’t think it was CRITICAL that you do this step.

If you’ve visited our 30 Ways to Earn College Credit in High School list, you know that the section above (#14-25) only represents a part of our 30 Ways, so what about the other types of credit?

Credit sources #1-13 all have their own official transcript that is held in an entity protected if they go out of business, so you don’t have to worry about the record being lost.

Credit sources #25 and beyond are the most risky type since there is no way to hold that credit safely- these credits can not be placed on a Credly transcript and it is possible that if the business folds that the credits would be lost. These are still viable credits, so I don’t intend to scare you, but it is one of the pros/cons to consider when earning credit this way.

30 Ways to Earn College Credit in High School

Type 1: RA Graded Credit

Type 2: Credit by Exam

Type 3: ACE Credit

Using ACE credit requires creating an account with another third party, Credly to “hold” your teen’s credit until they’re ready to use it. 

Type 4: NCCRS Credit

NCCRS college credit is held directly with the provider. 

Type 5: Special Transfer

This category is unique for credit types that don’t fit well into the other groups.

Author:

Executive Director of Homeschooling for College Credit, Inc.

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