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COLLEGE COURSE & CREDIT-BY-EXAM STUDY AIDS
Links from this page to non-Coast Guard sites are provided as a customer service and do not represent any implicit or explicit endorsement by the United States Coast Guard of any commercial or private issues, products, or services presented there.
Study materials for credit-by-exam tests are no longer be available from the DoD, but are available from a number of other sources:
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the public library,
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from publishers of study books,
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on-line, or
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from various on-line and brick-and-mortar book sellers.
See the CLEP test, DSST exam, and ECE pages for links to the official study guides for these test series.
A number of first-rate colleges and universities are now offering their courses to anyone who wants access to them free, via the Internet. These courses are NOT for credit, but they can be used to help study for CLEP tests, DSSTs, etc. as well as to supplement your instructor’s presentation and study materials for college courses you’re taking for credit. Here are links to a few.
Colleges & Universities with Open Courses (listed alphabetically)
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Indian Institute of Technology (India)
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Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Small Business Development Center)
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Open University (United Kingdom)
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University of Southern Queensland (Australia)
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Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania)
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World Lecture Hall (via the University of Texas)
Metasites of College & University Open Courses
Sites Listing Multiple Sources of Courses, etc. (listed in no specific order)
If you’re studying for the CLEP Western Civilization I and II tests or the DSSTs Art of the Western World or Western Europe Since 1945, you may want to check out a 52-part series of videos called “The Western Tradition”. These half-hour lectures are presented by Professor Eugen Weber, who taught history at the University of California, Los Angeles for many years. You can get an idea of what these lectures are about and see an outline of the whole course at Annenberg media's web site.
Also available from Annenberg Media are two on-line (no cost) video series to help you study for the "Ethics in America" DSST test. See Ethics in America and Ethics in America II.
The Education Center recently acquired this whole series (VCR, not DVD) and you can check them out for a week at a time or watch them in the Education Center by appointment.
N@VY Knowledge Online
N@VY Knowledge Online has practice CLEP tests available at no charge. To take a test (if you haven't already created an NKO account)
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go to N@VY Knowledge Online
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click on “Register as New User”
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fill out the required information
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log on using the user name and password you just created
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click on the “Learning” tab located at the top of your screen
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go to the "Navy Education Resource Center"
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click on "CLEP Center"
Unfortunately, you'll then be required to create a "New User" account, separate from your NKO account. This is because the Navy Education Resource Center is provided and owned by Peterson's, an education resource company, and it wants to keep track of who's using its materials.
There are also commercial test preparation companies. Although the Coast Guard can't endorse any commercial enterprises, some Guardians have found InstantCert Academy a very effective way to prepare for CLEP tests, DSSTs, and ECEs. Although it’s a subscription site, you can use it for 30 days for free. After that, it’s $20 per month for the standard membership.
Another company is iStudySmart.com. It charges by the courses, rather than a monthly fee. However, one of its selling points is that it has been "endorsed by DSST" and "was the first test preparation company to meet Excelsior College's Best Practices for Test Preparation Providers."
Yet another is PassYourClass: its study guides may be just what you need to pass a CLEP test or DSST and save the time and expense of taking specific a college course. And, the company has a money-back guarantee: if you use one of its study guides and don’t pass the corresponding test, you’ll get a 100% refund.
* NOTE: Not all colleges will count credit earned through CLEP tests, DSSTs, and ECEs so check with your institution before you invest a lot of time in studying for a particular test.
And if you're looking for a way to earn college credit toward a degree, check out StraighterLine (NOT free), which may be the wave of the future. Not only can it help you prepare for tests, you can actually use its courses for credit through one of what it calls partner colleges. “Your credits will actually be awarded by a StraighterLine Partner College that you select. And, because all Partner Colleges are regionally accredited, credits earned can be used to either complete your degree at that college or be transferred to another college or university.”
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