Accreditation for a university degree

[Eyal Azulay]

Hi all

I am wondering if anyone knows how the establish the credit value of the Java Programmer certificate (SCJP) for academic purposes (credits towards a degree)?

[Ricky Gentry]

I've never heard of any certifactions being involved in a degree, but I may be wrong. If you tell us the school and degree, I'm sure someone would be willing to help you research. Or you could go ask someone from the school.

[Jeff Bosch]

In the United States:

Some private colleges will grant degree credit. For example, the American College of Computer and Information Science (ACCIS) accepts some professional level certifications. This school is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), but not by a regional accreditation authority. Both the DETC and the regional authorities are licensed by the US Department of Education to accredit institutions, but a debate rages over the comparative value of the two.

Some public institutions will use a certification to permit a student to substitute a more advanced course for a basic course in the certified field, but they generally won't accept the cert for credit.

Hope that helps.

[Marcus Green]

Here in the UK some Degree courses teach modules that are supposed to explicitly cover the same topics as certifications but I have never heard of certifications being an actual component of a degree. I say supposed to cover because there is usually a gap between covering a topic and being prepared to take a certification exam in that topic.

[Theodore Casser]

Originally posted by Eyal Azulay:
Hi all

I am wondering if anyone knows how the establish the credit value of the Java Programmer certificate (SCJP) for academic purposes (credits towards a degree)?

The short answer is that it depends on the school.

There are some schools that actually have established credits and courses that are 'equivalent' to certifications - I know that Capella and Univ. of Phoenix both accept some certifications in lieu of some coursework. See if they list it on their admissions page at the institution you're considering.

For others, (Univ. of Maryland University College, for instance) allow you to present professional experience for credit in lieu of taking classes. In these cases, though, I wouldn't use only the certification to stand upon - I'd also want to show some experience in the field with concrete examples of your skill in a given area to try to get the credit you're seeking. Certification might be another way on top of that experience to demonstrate competance.

[Eyal Azulay]

Thanks

The degree I'm taking is an MA in "Work Based Learning" in Middlesex University in London.

The first module is accreditation for past work experience and courses. I need to provide a list of areas of learning that I have and provide evidence for each area. I have 17 years experience in programming with various languages, and I know Java very well. I'm thinking that if I get the Java certificate, I should be able to use it as evidence.