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Travel and Alternative Education Programs and learning are not new and before we had so many colleges and Universities we read books and had tutors. Today we have the internet and the work of thousands of people worldwide can be digitized. We have MOOC's, blogs, videos, iTunes University, and many more opportunities to not only engage but to strive via alternative learning. I have personally tested out of about 80 - 100 undergraduate courses and I was able to do so by using these alternative avenues of learning. I do it in an organized fashion and then use the test via DSST, CLEP or ACE reviewed course to validate this learning. Now, this does not mean Universities are replaced but easier to consume content can be done by the student in a more efficient way. This allows your time via the University system to be used on courses that one cannot readily find information on. MOOCs and others have a tendency to be lower level undergraduate material and these types of courses are easy to validate. Now on the flip side, you do have cutting edge technology based information that is also being organized and most likely several years ahead of your average university system. Alternative learning can greatly prepare and advance others of higher learning in ways an organized school cannot. When using this method (Travel and Alternative Education Programs) I'm going to tell you how I have done it. With my international travel and my interest in history, politics, cultures, anthropology, and many other social sciences and humanities subjects I have a baseline to work with. I use the Degree Forum here to help me find information and test ideas that others have done, and then add my findings to a list. I then use iTunes University and search for free educational material I can listen too while I drive or relax. Taking the tests normally require an appointment at a college or university testing center. The costs can vary but run around $100 - $120 per test. Since a normal class can run from $700 - $1200 I'm saving a lot of money. Depending on what you are studying there are three main schools I recommend due to transfer policies. Thomas Edison State University, Charter Oak College, and Excelsior College. Bachelor's degrees from alternative study and testing can be achieved here for under $5000 USD. Now let's discuss ACE credit and how to get it. ACE stands for the American Council on Education and is a certifying agency that equates alternative learning via other companies and employers to the college equivalent. I have received college credits for my PADI diving certification, ALEKS math courses, emergency management training and much more. Travel and Alternative Education Programs: and how they fit into a plan. Here is an example of an ACE transcript. ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill) College Algebra ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill) ALEK-0003 Course 07/26/2012 College Algebra with Trigonometry ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill) ALEK-0004 Course 08/23/2012 Intermediate Algebra ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill) ALEK-0002 Course 07/09/2013 Introduction to Statistics ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill) ALEK-0007 Course 09/08/2012 PreCalculus ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill) ALEK-0005 Course 04/07/2013 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Inc. ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview-computer (OPIc): Advanced High/Superior American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Inc. ACTF-0046 Examination 08/29/2013 ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT): Advanced High/Superior American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Inc. ACTF-0036 Examination 08/26/2013 ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT): Advanced Mid American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Inc. ACTF-0035 Examination 08/26/2013 American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters/The Institutes Ethics and the CPCU Code of Professional Conduct (online course) American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, Insurance Institute of America AICP-0121 Course 09/10/2016 PADI International, Inc. Open Water Diver PADI International, Inc. PADI-0007 Course 07/31/2012 SOPHIA Learning, LLC Developing Effective Teams SOPHIA Learning, LLC SOPH-0021 Course 06/20/2017 The Essentials of Managing Conflict SOPHIA Learning, LLC SOPH-0026 Course 10/07/2018 StraighterLine Introduction to Business StraighterLine OOSL-0001 Course 09/22/2012 Personal Finance StraighterLine OOSL-0036 Course 11/23/2012 Another area to consider for credits would be from FEMA. Now other than Charter Oak I don't think another university or college accepts them directly. I have used Fredricks Community College to get them into community college credit and then transfer them to the school of my choice. Here is an example list from the Degree Forum and a few steps to get you started. "Basic Approach - Online Education Guide: Steps to obtaining your desired degree 1) Find out what you have credit for / what you already know 2) Research the Big 3/WGU to find candidate degree plans 3) Decide on one or more schools and get an initial evaluation ($75 or so per school, plus the cost of each transcript you have to send in) 4) Based on the initial evaluation, decide on a school and degree 5) Build a degree plan using your unique combination of existing credits, CLEP/DSST/ECE/TECEP tests, ALEKS/FEMA/Penn Foster/Saylor/Schmoop/Straighterline/Study.com courses, etc. 6) Once you are all done (all courses/tests completed), enroll in the school you chose, pay the enrollment fees (check for current fees of the school) and submit all your transcripts for review. 7) Once approved, pay the graduation fee, then sit back and wait for your sheepskin to arrive! 8) Start planning on that Masters Degree as you aren't done learning for life! Throughout all of the above: Read a lot over at DegreeForum.net as well and ask questions as needed for guidance! (Note: This is "the basic approach." Nobody ever really gets to go through a process this simple, but this is the general outline of what you should expect to have to do in order to get through this successfully)" Information is pulled from the degree forum website here. So as you travel and visit different countries consider taking notes and treat it as an educational opportunity as well. From learning history, anthropology, archeology and much more. Your adventure could also be your first degree or maybe a second or third degree. Use all of this as an Alternative Education Programs experience that can lead to a degree longer term. Join others online working towards the same goal and earn how you too can travel while earning an education. I use the Degree Forum here to help me find information and test ideas that others have done, and then add my findings to a list. Travel and Alternative Education Programs

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