What types of credits are eligible for transfer

Transfer credit review can apply to several kinds of learning: college coursework, military training, professional certifications, standardized exams and prior learning assessed through an institutional process. Whether any credit transfers depends on the receiving institution’s policy.

Students should not assume that a credit type is accepted just because it appears on a transcript, score report, badge record, or training record. The receiving school decides whether to review it, whether to award credit, and how that credit applies to the student’s program. Some institutions may also have separate evaluation processes for military training, professional certifications, standardized examinations and other forms of prior learning, which may require additional documentation or steps beyond the standard transfer credit review process.

College coursework from accredited institutions

College coursework is the most common type of transfer credit. Many receiving institutions first check whether the sending institution holds recognized institutional accreditation. If that condition is met, the receiving school may then review the course content, grade, credit hours, course level and program fit.

A course may be accepted as a direct equivalent, accepted as general education credit, accepted as an elective or denied. The practical value depends on where the credit applies in the student’s degree plan.

University of Phoenix holds HLC institutional accreditation, which may support review at institutions that require recognized institutional accreditation. That accreditation record does not guarantee that specific credits will transfer.

Military training and Joint Services Transcripts

Military training may be reviewed for transfer credit when it is documented through a Joint Services Transcript, or JST. The JST records military training and occupational experience and may include ACE credit recommendations.

ACE recommendations help institutions understand the college-level learning associated with military training. They are not binding on the receiving institution. Each school decides whether to accept JST-based credit, how much credit to award and how it applies. Some institutions may have a separate process for evaluating military training and other prior learning, so students should check with the receiving institution to understand its evaluation process and any additional documentation or steps that may be required.

Students using military training for transfer credit should provide the JST and check the receiving institution’s military credit policy before enrolling.

ACE credit recommendations for professional certifications

ACE also provides credit recommendations for some professional certifications, employer training and workplace learning programs. These recommendations can help document learning that did not occur through a traditional college course.

A student with an ACE-recommended certification should check whether the certification appears in the ACE National Guide and whether the receiving institution accepts that type of credit. Some schools accept ACE-recommended credit within limits. Others review it case by case or do not accept it.

The recommendation supports the evaluation, but the receiving institution makes the final decision. Some institutions may also use a separate process to evaluate military training and other forms of prior learning, so students should check with the receiving institution to understand how this type of credit is reviewed and whether additional documentation or steps are required.

Standardized examinations: AP, CLEP and IB

Some students earn possible college credit through standardized exams such as AP, CLEP or IB. Receiving institutions set their own score requirements, accepted exams, credit amounts and how exam credit applies to a degree.

A score that earns credit at one school may not earn credit at another. Students should check the receiving institution’s current exam-credit policy before assuming that an exam score will transfer or satisfy a requirement.

Official score reports are usually required. Unofficial score records may help with planning, but they generally do not replace official documentation.

Prior learning assessment

Prior learning assessment, or PLA, allows students to seek credit for learning gained through work, training, service, self-study or other non-classroom experiences. PLA can involve portfolio review, challenge exams or competency demonstrations.

PLA policies vary widely. A receiving institution may accept PLA credits from its own process but not accept PLA credits awarded by another school. Some institutions may accept transferred PLA credit only as elective credit.

Students relying on Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)—also referred to by some institutions as Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) or Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)—should confirm both the sending institution’s process and the receiving institution’s policy .

Digital badges and competency credentials

Digital badges and competency credentials can document specific skills or learning outcomes. They may be useful as supporting evidence, especially when a student is trying to show what was learned in a course or training experience.

Most standard transfer credit evaluations still rely on official transcripts, credit hours and grades. Badge records do not automatically replace transcript-based review.

Students should ask the receiving institution whether badge documentation is accepted, whether it is considered only supplemental and whether it can support a course substitution, waiver or competency-based review. At some institutions, digital badges and competency-based credentials may also be accepted as evidence in a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) or portfolio review.

What affects eligibility regardless of credit type

Across all credit types, the same core factors matter: the receiving institution’s policy, the source of the credit, the documentation available, the grade or score earned, the age of the learning, the program requirement and the school’s credit limits.

A credit may be eligible for review but still not apply to the student’s degree. The most useful question is not only “Will this transfer?” but “Will this transfer into the requirement I still need?”

Sources

18. [1] American Council on Education. ACE National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training. https://acenet.edu/National-Guide. Accessed June 2026.

19. [2] U.S. Department of Defense. Joint Services Transcript. https://jst.doded.mil. Accessed June 2026.

20. [3] U.S. Department of Education. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). https://ed.gov/ferpa. Accessed June 2026.

21. [4] University of Phoenix. One Millionth Digital Badge press release (March 12, 2026). https://www.phoenix.edu/press-release/millionth-digital-badge-milestone.html. Accessed June 2026.

22. [5] College Board. Advanced Placement Program. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org. Accessed June 2026.

23. [6] U.S. Department of Education. 34 C.F.R. § 668.43 – Institutional information. https://www.ecfr.gov. Accessed June 2026.