Side door strategies are a compilation of tips for adult learners, traditional students, veterans and contemporary students seeking to find their way. College transfer is a general phrase that describes the transition from one college to another and takes several forms. Related to college transfer are enrollment, persistence and completion strategies that can help all students. Academic credit portability (the ability of a student to move prior course work between institutions recognizing the comparable value) is a major issue across higher education given the changing enrollment patterns of today's college students. It is neither a new issue nor one that will go away anytime soon because higher education is very decentralized where institutions generally do things their own way. The application of prior credit when choosing to restart or continue on a path to a degree is a concern for many people who have invested time and money in college level courses or who have enrolled at several institutions. A College education can be very expensive. As an investment in training and career improvement, it will be the most important step supported by your family. Yet, compared to most purchases made from other endeavors, it has a poor return on investment stymied by so many people vying forthe same outcome. Buying a car for transportation and the annual maintenance and costs to keep the car on the street can range from a few thousand dollars for a used car to $20K, $30K or more. This pales in comparison to the effort it takes to afford a college education. We are not saying that to scare you, but to help you realize that the choices you make impact your economic investment. We also want to help you avoid the devaluation of prior learning when credit is lost or not counted because it is found to be too old, not related to the program of study or not to the level of rigor or comparability needed to satisfy the college or university you are seeking the credential from. College costs have skyrocketed faster than the rate of inflation. A college education enables the ability to make more money compared to the alternative. A college education should be seen as a life time investment in yourself and your family that has a payback if you apply yourself. As consumers view the high cost of investment, we all naturally have expectations of an implied promise of value and transferability. Often we learn after the fact that the college courses taken either don't count, are not applicable to the program of study chosen or will be counted toward an elective pool of credits not the core courses needed when you seek the credential. When courses are planned and discussed with an adviser, counselor or faculty member, one should consider how the course will or will not count in the future path you may follow. That determination is not a science; however, it can be organized and dissected to help minimize risks of devaluation and increase the chances your course investments will have a payback. College Transfer also relates to finding alternative ways of earning college level course credit such as testing out of college courses and receiving credit for experiential learning - both of which are growing alternatives to help adults, veterans and contemporary learners accelerate their time to degree. There is no value or benefit from sitting in class if you already can prove you know the subject matter well enough to earn credit for it. We will explore these avenues further. College Transfer comes in many forms. AcademyOne and CollegeTransfer.Net have studied the various patterns of transfer students and have identified nine classifications (nick names really) as a means to understand the different processes and patterns impacting academic credit portability. As we said, we can dissect college transfer to help identify the common processes so they are not clouded by confusion and unknowns. You can belong to more than one classification. Each type of college transfer persona can use the tools and information on CollegeTransfer.Net in a slightly different way. We hope we can show you how as we progress through Side Door Strategies: Bankers take course work across institutions focused on gaining expertise. Switchers move laterally across four year institutions. Finders seek a course or two to satisfy their degree requirements at their home institution. Changers seek a new career and change of major. Movers tend to change college as they move around for job or country. Traders follow Transfer Agreements, saving money along the way. Explorers start programs of study and rarely finish because they are in search of what interests them. Jumpers test out of college level courses by exam. Climbers scale course requirements with work and life experience. All forms of College Transfer share the claim for credit process. Schools will call this the "Articulation" of your prior learning. Check out the CollegeTransfer.Net glossary to get familiar with what lingo everyone uses. Learn from other adult learners and traditional students about how they found their way through their challenges and obstacles. Use these side door strategies to choose your path and complete your degree faster and for less money.

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