A Prior Learning Assessment Program that Benefits Adult Learners AND Your Institution

In today’s competitive college environment, adult learners make up a large and growing segment of the population. Many of these students have special needs, including time constraints, limited budgets, and often demanding professional workloads. The DSST Credit by Exam Program gives institutions like yours an academically valid means to appeal to this influential group of students while upholding your high academic standards.

Attract More Adult Learners

Today’s students are attracted by options that provide them with flexibility and alternative ways to do “traditional” things. Just look at the rise in popularity and growth of “online” courses. Increasingly, adult learners rely on prior learning assessment as an accelerated path to college degrees – and as a result are attracted to those institutions that provide them with flexibility and options. As a result, institutions that use the DSST program to offer academic credit for prior learning are more likely to attract adult learners.

Attract Students. Control Attrition. Build Loyalty.

By offering academic credit for passing grades on DSST exams, your college gains an upper hand in recruiting and retaining adult students. And since many adult learners struggle to overcome financial or time constraints, DSST credit by examination is perceived as a real value-add for students. Institutions that honor credit by examination are perceived as being flexible and willing to work with students. This can be a substantial differentiator for your institution, because – given the choice – adult learners will choose the option that offers them flexibility, every time. Whether your students are new to school, or late in returning, or eager to graduate, DSST provides the flexibility they will appreciate.

Exams Aligned with Course Content

The DSST program is simple to understand. The 38 exam titles are organized by discipline, so advisors and learners can easily map exams to equivalent college courses. The DSST exam series covers six college subject areas, including Social Sciences, Math, Applied Technology, Business, Physical Sciences and Humanities. Each exam is comparable to the final or end-of-course examinations in similar undergraduate courses.

DSST exams closely correlate with course titles at many colleges and universities. For example, the Personal Finance exam can be taken by students seeking to earn a business degree. Most college or university Social Science programs offer courses that closely mirror content from the Fundamentals of Counseling exam. Seniors who have elective credits to fill before graduation could take an Introduction to World Religions or Ethics in America exam to earn their credit instead.

Exam Delivery

The DSST program is easy for institutions to administer and readily accessible for students. Exams may be delivered on paper or through a user-friendly internet technology. Students who take their tests online receive their scores immediately, for instant reinforcement and personal validation. The program is simple for students, easy to administer, and available at hundreds of test centers, worldwide.