Can College Credits Expire

Can College Credits Expire? Returning to School College credits are good indefinitely. It's true that technology changes through time and so do many courses. For example, an astronomy class or biotechnology class taught today would be radically different from the same course taught 50 years ago. Fortunately, those differences don't matter in terms of credits. However, there are other factors at play that you'll need to consider if you're looking into transferring existing credits or using partial credits to finish a degree or earn a new degree. Related Articles Accredited Online College Level Foreign Language Courses Accredited Online College Level Foreign Language Courses College Humor Jokes College Humor Jokes Types of Energy Tax Credits Types of Energy Tax Credits Outdated Credits Some credits can become outdated. The specifics vary depending on where you're studying, but in the example above, if you had taken classes more than five or 10 years ago, it's not likely you'd be able to enroll in an advanced biotechnology course even if you had the prerequisites under your belt. As you might imagine, courses in the sciences tend to become outdated more quickly than classes in other disciplines, but ways of teaching and core knowledge in certain subject areas do change through time. If your credits are ancient, talk with an admissions representative or academic advisor before assuming that you'll be able to use them to take new classes or earn a new degree. Your credits may not expire, but they're also probably not worth much if they're very out of date. Transferring Credits Let's say you earned all of your credits at one university and now want to transfer some of them to another school so that you can finish a degree there or begin a new course of study. Is it possible? Each school has a different policy. Although most are open to accepting credits earned at a different institution, that's not universally true. Before you can successfully transfer any credits, you must have a school official evaluate your transfer credits and determine whether they're viable to use or not. In addition to sending a transcript to the new school, you may have to fill out an application and submit other materials. For outdated credits, you may even have to offer previous coursework or syllabi from the classes you took. It's also worth noting that some schools are choosy about the credits they accept. If you haven't earned your credits at an accredited institution or if you've earned them online or through some other method that is outside the mainstream, you might have more difficulty proving that they're valid and should be counted.