The American Council on Education’s Learning Evaluations Service (ACE) has evaluated and recommended college credit for seven of Devmountain’s online courses for up to 18 hours of college credit. These courses are eligible to transfer to many different colleges and universities.
What Is ACE?
The American Council on Education (ACE) is the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, and it recommends credit for different kinds of educational experiences. Credit recommendation is a process of examining a course at one institution and comparing it to similar courses at other institutions.
ACE is one of the largest bodies in the US that does this work.
But why would someone want to take an ACE-recommended course?
Let’s say you attended a certain college. After a couple of semesters, you decided that that college wasn’t a good fit for you. You may want to transfer to another college, but you also don’t want to lose the college credits you worked so hard to earn.
If the courses at your first school are regionally accredited, then there’s a good chance those credits can transfer to your next school, and that can save you from having to retake those classes over again.
Devmountain grads now get a similar benefit.
ACE recommends that colleges accept students who complete courses in Coding Basics and Devmountain full-time programs, and count it as college credit.
The education we provide is a valid way to help people break into the tech industry like a college degree or apprenticeship program.
What Does This Mean For You Going To Devmountain?
So does a recommendation from ACE mean anything at Devmountain is changing? No.
But we can still take away some useful information from this news.
Devmountain Courses are College-Level
While we’ve seen success story after success story from our bootcamp grads, we still appreciate ACE for also acknowledging the quality of our education. We also hope that potential students (and their families) will also be able to see our ACE recommendation and realize that Devmountain isn’t so much an “alternative education pathway,” but rather another educational pathway.
You Could Use Your Devmountain Education For College Credit
Let’s say you attend Devmountain, get a job in tech, and start working on your career. At some point, you may decide that you want to go back to school and get a college degree. Now, you can contact that university and ask that they accept your Devmountain education for college credit. Since schools accept ACE recommendations on a school-by-school basis, you’ll have to double-check with your specific school. The important takeaway is that this ACE recommendation gives you options when it comes to your education.
You still get to meet and network with other tech professionals and peers
ACE hasn’t changed the fact that a major focus of Devmountain is helping you tap into a network of working tech professionals that includes employers, past grads, and your cohort peers.
We’re A Path To A Technology-based Education
Some people choose to self-teach themselves, others attend four-year universities and others go to coding camps. All of these paths may be right for different kinds of people. This ACE recommendation is just another step towards the full recognition that coding bootcamps like Devmountain, and the education it provides, are every bit as legitimate and useful as those other education pathways.
How Does It Work?
Let’s say you come to Devmountain. You talked to an admissions counselor, secured your financing, buckled down for 16 weeks, graduated, and got your first tech job. But while working, you decided you wanted to go back to school and would like to get credit for your Devmountain education.
What do you do?
After getting accepted to the college or university of your choice, you need to reach out to your school’s admission office. If they don’t handle credit transfers there they will direct you to the correct office. Once you’re in contact with the right person, they’ll lay out the protocol for reporting past educational experiences. Follow their process and once you’ve submitted your Devmountain education, your school will decide whether or not they will accept this particular ACE recommendation.
If they do, you’ll see that credit added to your transcript.
Courses Credit Recommendations
The way our courses work now, you complete eight weeks of introductory classes (Foundations) before you pick your specialty. The American Council on Education recognizes the topics we teach in our Foundations classes, as well as our Coding Basics course, for college credit. ACE offers specific credit recommendations depending on which Devmountain course you take.
What does this mean?
If you complete coding basics AND any full-time Devmountain program, you may get up to 18 credits (as the Coding Basics Course is worth 3 credit hours.)
Looking To Break Into Tech? Try Devmountain
Devmountain is dedicated to helping people find a way to break the tech industry that works for them.
Our courses help lay a foundational knowledge that prepares our grads to qualify for entry-level work in their chosen tech field. Our Outcomes Team helps prepare students search for jobs that fit their skill set, interview well, and hopefully land that first tech job.
If you’re interested in taking a path into tech that doesn’t require 4 years of formal training, we’d love to hear from you to see if Devmountain is a good fit for you.
