American Council on Education
ACE
Recommends credit through its Learning Evaluations; courses are listed in its National Guide.
Credit recommendationsNCCRS on every courseACE on 22 courses
ACE vs NCCRS: what's the difference?
ACE (the American Council on Education) and NCCRS (the National College Credit Recommendation Service, a program of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York) do the same job: they review learning outside traditional college classrooms and recommend how much college credit it is worth. Neither one awards credit; your college decides whether to accept a recommendation. Every UPI Study course carries an NCCRS credit recommendation, and 22 courses also carry one from ACE.
New York Board of Regents
NCCRS
A program of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, evaluating courses since 1973.
- Do they award credit?
- No: your college does
- UPI Study courses with NCCRS
- Every course
- UPI Study courses with ACE
- 22 courses
What you learn
From ACE's and NCCRS's own pages.
ACE
- Learning Evaluations
- The National Guide
- Re-reviews every three years
- Faculty reviewers
Both
- Recommend credit, never award it
- Not accreditors
- Your college decides
NCCRS
- A New York Board of Regents program
- Since 1973
- Faculty evaluators
- Its online directory
Four courses, and what they carry
Side by side
| ACE | NCCRS | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | The American Council on Education | The New York Board of Regents |
| What it reviews | Training, exams, certifications, courses | Courses taught outside colleges |
| Who reviews | College faculty teams | College faculty and experts |
| Awards credit? | No: each college decides | |
| UPI Study listings run | 3 years | 5 years |
| Credit you earned | Stays valid for 10 years | |
| UPI Study courses | 22 courses | Every course |
In NCCRS's own words: "NCCRS is not an accrediting body." Look a course up in ACE's National Guide or NCCRS's directory, both linked in the sources below.
Which one does your college use?
If your college takes ACE only
- Choose from the 22 UPI Study courses with an ACE recommendation
- Each has an ACE ID to look up with your registrar
- Courses without ACE are recommended by NCCRS only
If your college works with NCCRS
- Every UPI Study course carries an NCCRS recommendation
- Every course is self-paced and online
- Look the course up in NCCRS's directory
- Ask which requirement it would meet
Questions, answered
Is ACE better than NCCRS?
Neither ranks above the other: they do the same job. What matters is which one your college works with, so ask your registrar which recommendations it accepts.
Are ACE and NCCRS accreditors?
No. Both recommend credit for individual courses. NCCRS puts it plainly: “NCCRS is not an accrediting body.” A recommendation becomes college credit only when your college awards it.
Do credit recommendations expire?
UPI Study's ACE listings run 3 years and its NCCRS listings 5 years, and we renew them as they end. Credit you have earned stays valid for 10 years, even if a course's listing later ends.
Will my college accept ACE or NCCRS credit?
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Search your school in Find My College and ask your registrar which recommendations it accepts.
Where these credits can go
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Plus many more partner colleges and ACE and NCCRS cooperating colleges.
Find My College →Keep exploring
Check your college first
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Sources (10)
- ACE: About the American Council on Education https://www.acenet.edu/About/Pages/default.aspx
- ACE: Learning Evaluations for training providers https://www.acenet.edu/Programs-Services/Pages/Credit-Transcripts/Employers-Training-Providers.aspx
- ACE: Seeking credit https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pages/Seeking-Credit.aspx
- ACE: The National Guide, for colleges https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pages/Granting-Credit.aspx
- ACE: Request an ACE transcript https://www.acenet.edu/Programs-Services/Pages/Credit-Transcripts/Request-Transcripts.aspx
- NCCRS: About https://www.nationalccrs.org/about
- NCCRS: Questions from students https://www.nationalccrs.org/students/faq-students
- NCCRS: Policies and procedures https://www.nationalccrs.org/policies-procedures
- NCCRS: Steps to transfer credit https://www.nationalccrs.org/students/steps-transfer-credit
- NCCRS: UPI Study, Inc. (every course and its credit recommendation) https://www.nationalccrs.org/organizations/upi-study-inc
- NCCRS: UPI Study's credit recommendations https://www.nationalccrs.org/organizations/upi-study-inc
UPI Study facts are from our course catalog, syllabi and course rules.