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Benefits of College Credit Recommendations

Benefits of College Credit Recommendations
The Process: From Evaluation to College Credit
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What is the value to your organization of having college credit recommendations?
Are there other benefits to Program membership besides college credit?

What is the value to your organization of having college credit recommendations?
Could the individuals that take your courses or programs apply for credit without recommendations from National PONSI? Certainly. However, colleges are flooded with requests for evaluating outside learning experiences. Moreover, just like many of our member organizations, they are often operating with reduced staffs and budgets. When the evaluation has already been performed, and it comes from a highly reputable organization with over 25 years of assessment experience, a request for credit will be processed more quickly and is more likely to be successful. And when course participants earn college credit for learning experiences sponsored by your organization, benefits accrue to both participants and your organization.

Cost savings. Most institutions charge little or nothing to enrolled students for awarding credit based on National PONSI's recommendations. When you consider that, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, tuition at U.S. colleges now averages more than $225 per credit hour, credit recommendations add substantial value to your courses. If your organization has a tuition reimbursement program, this value translates directly into saved tuition dollars. For organizations without tuition reimbursement plans, college credit recommendations represent a low-cost alternative fringe benefit. They can also serve as an important part of a marketing package, emphasizing the cost effectiveness of enrolling in your courses, given that course participants can potentially save the cost of equivalent college tuition.

Time savings. College credit for your courses or programs accelerates working adults' progress toward earning college degrees and promotions. Completing a college degree can be a lengthy process for full time workers, and every credit earned for learning experiences sponsored by your organization represents many fewer hours required in a college classroom.

Are there other benefits to Program membership besides college credit?

College credit, and its associated benefits, is just one of several advantages that result from having your courses or programs evaluated by National PONSI. Our member organizations readily attest to other benefits that may be just as important to your organization, if not more so. Successful evaluation by National PONSI provides you with:

Enhanced prestige and credibility. Inclusion in College Credit Recommendations or CCR Online (the online successor to the print Directory) provides an official testament to the high quality of your instruction and your commitment to excellence, visible both inside and outside of your organization.

Quality assurance. Evaluation by National PONSI provides an unparalleled opportunity for a fresh look at your educational efforts through the eyes of impartial outsiders. As part of the evaluation process, you receive detailed feedback on your curriculum by a team of subject matter experts. All on-site evaluations conclude with an interactive briefing session for organization representatives, and, following the evaluation, your organization receives a detailed written report summarizing all evaluator comments.

Employee recruitment and retention assistance. If you are an employer, you know that with unemployment at a historic low, the competition to attract and retain the best employees has significantly increased. College credit recommendations contribute to an organization's recruiting tools as a valuable employee benefit and an avenue for employee development.

Heightened participation in training. Enrollments in elective internal training programs increase and participant performance improves when employees know that they can earn college credit. Credit recommendations also provide a boost to instructor morale and productivity when the training they deliver is recognized as comparable to college level instruction.

A competitive edge. If your organization advertises for students, college credit recommendations can make your courses more attractive and distinguish your offerings from comparable courses.

Updated November 10, 2005