Educational Psychology
Self-paced online Educational Psychology course (Psychology 120). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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Does transfer credit count toward the Kansas substitute credit rule?
By the team. Checked 15 Nov 2026.
The short answer
KSDE counts semester credit hours on official transcripts from a regionally accredited college, and it lists which accreditors it means. Transfer credit that such a college has posted on its own transcript is college credit on that record. KSDE decides whether a given transcript counts, so ask in writing before you take courses to close your gap.
What KSDE actually reads
The regulation, K.A.R. 91-1-203(e), asks for an official transcript showing at least 60 semester hours of general education or professional education coursework. KSDE's licensure page adds that the hours must come from a regionally accredited college or university, and it names the accreditors.
So the real question is whether the transcript shows the hours and whether the college's accreditor is on KSDE's list. Where the course first started is a second question that KSDE answers by reading the transcript.
The accreditor check
KSDE's page lists these accreditors for the 60-hour route:
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
- Higher Learning Commission.
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
- WASC and ACCJC (the western accreditors).
- ABHE and NECHE.
How transfer credit reaches a transcript
Hours reach a college transcript in three common ways: courses taken at that college, courses from another college that it evaluated and posted, and credit from outside sources, such as ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, that it evaluated and posted.
UPI Study courses carry ACE or NCCRS credit recommendations. They are not college credit on their own; they reach a college transcript when a college evaluates and posts them. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. For licensure, KSDE decides.
The question to send KSDE
Write to KSDE Teacher Licensure before you enrol. Name the college whose transcript you will send and its accreditor, and ask: 'If my official transcript from this college shows 60 semester credit hours, including transfer credit the college has evaluated and posted, will it meet the requirement for the Emergency Substitute License?' Keep the reply with your application papers.
If your hours are spread over several colleges, ask too how KSDE will total them, and how it treats quarter hours, which usually convert at two-thirds of a semester hour.
A worked example
Say you have 45 semester hours from a Kansas community college. You need 15 more, or five 3-credit courses. At Johnson County Community College's Fall 2026 rate of $106 per credit hour for county residents, that is $1,590; for other Kansas residents at $128, it is $1,920. Through UPI Study PRO at $99 a month, five self-paced courses in two to three months cost $198 to $297, plus the partner college's own fees to post the credit.
The cheaper path only helps if KSDE says yes to the transcript and its accreditor, which is why the written question comes first. If KSDE says no, a community college route is the safe one.
Keep KSDE's reply even after you are licensed. When you renew, or move to another state, you may be asked again how your hours were earned, and a dated written answer saves you from starting the question over.
What to ask in writing
Before you enrol
Ask KSDE Teacher Licensure in writing whether your planned college transcript, and its accreditor, count toward the 60 semester credit hours before you enrol.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Questions people ask
does kansas count credit from more than one college
KSDE asks for official transcripts, and hours from several regionally accredited colleges are normally added up. If your hours are split, ask KSDE in writing how it will total them before you take more courses.
does kansas count ace or nccrs credit for substitutes
KSDE reads college transcripts, not ACE or NCCRS records. If an eligible college has posted ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit on its transcript, ask KSDE in writing whether that transcript meets the 60 semester hours before you rely on it.
do quarter hours count for a kansas substitute license
The rule is stated in semester hours. Quarter hours usually convert at two-thirds of a semester hour, so 90 quarter hours equal 60 semester hours. Confirm the conversion with KSDE.
Courses that fit
ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, studied online at your own pace.
Introduction to Psychology
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
US History 1
Self-paced online US History 1 course (HIST 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →Start when you have it in writing
Close your credit gap, then send KSDE a college transcript from a college on its accreditor list.
Sources
- KSDE Teacher Licensure: License Information and Application (Emergency and Standard Substitute) (official)Emergency Substitute License option 1: minimum 60 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited college or university (accreditors listed); CEUs and clock hours do not count. Option 2: Greenbush Emergency Substitute Training Modules with a high school diploma and verification of hire. $60 application fee; $57 fingerprint fee on option 2; first license valid through 30 June of the school year of application. Greenbush license: 25 consecutive days in one assignment, 75 days per semester in one district. Standard Substitute License needs a bachelor's degree and an approved teacher preparation program. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- K.A.R. 91-1-203(e), Emergency substitute teaching license (Cornell LII copy of the Kansas regulation)Applicants submit an official transcript showing at least 60 semester hours of general education coursework, professional education coursework, or a combination, an application and the licensure fee; last amended in Kansas Register Vol. 42 No. 09, effective 17 Mar 2023. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- Johnson County Community College: Current Tuition Rates (official)Fall 2026 rates per credit hour including fees: $106 for Johnson County residents, $128 for other Kansas residents. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.