Frequently Asked Questions Regarding ACE Credit Recommendations

Q: Can I earn college credit for Cheetah Learning Training Courses?

A: Yes. Many colleges and universities have developed policies and procedures for awarding credit for learning that is obtained outside the college classroom. This includes learning acquired from work and life experience, independent reading and study, and participation in formal courses and apprenticeship programs offered by associations, business and industry, the military, and government. Through an intensive review process, the American Council on Education (ACE) has established that a number of the Cheetah Learning courses are college-level instruction and has recommended credit for them.

Q:  What is ACE, and what is its role in the review process?

A: The American Council on Education, or ACE, is the major national coordinating body for postsecondary education. ACE selects college faculty members to review and make credit recommendations for formal educational programs and courses offered by organizations such as the American Management Association, Cheetah Learning, Delta Airlines, McDonald’s Corporation, and others. ACE’s credit recommendations are intended to guide colleges and universities as they consider awarding such credit. ACE reviews all courses according to standardized policies and procedures, and therefore has a consistent review process that is accepted by colleges and universities as non-partial and credible.

Q:  Which Cheetah Learning courses carry ACE college credit recommendations?

A: To date, 15 Cheetah Learning courses have been documented and reviewed by ACE and awarded college-level credit recommendations. Click here to view the current list. As ACE reviews additional courses and awards college-credit recommendations, it will post descriptions of those courses in the no-cost online resource, the National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training. Visit their website for a complete list.

Q: How does ACE determine the number of credits to be awarded?

A: ACE bases the number of credits recommended for each course on factors such as learning outcomes, level of difficulty, length of course, student achievement or knowledge gained by satisfactory completion of the course, required readings and reports, and writings or performance demonstrations.

A team of subject-matter experts makes this recommendation when it has determined that a course is at the college level. The National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training lists the recommended number and level of credits for each course at the end of each course exhibit.

Q:  Is college credit automatically earned when someone successfully completes a course listed in The National Guide?

A: No. Successful completion of such a course results in actual college credit only when a postsecondary institution accepts the course toward a degree or certificate. Students who have already taken one of the courses listed in The National Guide, or who plan to take one, should contact the admissions office or their faculty advisors to determine the acceptability of the course for credit. The extent to which the content of the course is relevant to a student’s academic program of study forms the basis for determining the number of credits that will be accepted. More than 1,000 colleges and universities have agreed to accept, when appropriate, the ACE college-credit recommendations. See the list of these colleges at the ACE website. 

These are credit recommendations. A college is not required to grant as much credit as recommended by the reviewers, nor is a college limited to granting only the amount of credit.

Q:  Are policies for granting credit the same at all colleges?

A: No. Each college sets its own policies, and these vary from institution to institution. While most colleges grant credit for a course conducted by a non-collegiate organization, some may not. It should be noted that sometimes a college does not grant credit, but it may instead waive a prerequisite course.

Each institution, and in many cases each academic department within the institution, sets its own policies for granting credit. The college admissions office should be able to guide students to the appropriate official responsible for deciding credit recommendations. 

Q: How much credit may be earned from courses taken from ACE participating organizations?

A: Colleges and universities have different policies regarding the amount of off-campus credit that may be earned. The student should check with the college to determine the amount of credit that will be granted for such courses and the subject area in which the college will grant credit for these courses. A college may grant credit only provisionally at enrollment time and may withhold full credit until the student successfully completes one or more courses at the college.

Q: What are the steps for requesting college credit for completed Cheetah Learning courses? 

A: The steps for requesting college credit for completed Cheetah Learning courses are:

• Verify that your course(s) certificate is available to view/print from your MyCheetah page under the transcripts tab.

• Inform your college or university advisor that you have completed the course(s) and would like to have the ACE-recommended credits applied to your degree program. 

• Enroll in the ACE Transcript Service, a computerized transcript service, which provides a lifelong education record. Go online at https://www.acenet.edu/transcripts/ and enter your Cheetah User ID* (without the dash - not Social Security Number) and your last name to request a transcript be sent by the ACE Transcript Service office. The Transcript Service office will send the academic institution an official transcript confirming that you have successfully completed the course(s). 

• Call or write to the college registrar, and ask if the course transcript has been received and is in your file.

• Talk with your college or university advisor to find out whether the ACE-recommended credit will be transferred to your program of study.
  
  If your advisor is not familiar with the ACE credit-recommendations for training, the advisor may refer to the National Guide to College Credit for Workplace Training at https://www.acenet.edu/nationalguide. The National Guide is a no-cost, online resource listing credit recommendations and course descriptions for ACE-reviewed training. 
  
  *If you need to find your User ID, you can send an e-mail request to support@cheetahlearning.com. 

Q: What should I do if the credit recommendations are not accepted by my college?

A: Lack of familiarity with the American Council on Education or the ACE College Credit Recommendation and Transcript Service may be the reason for a college’s refusal to accept records or credit recommendations. A phone call or letter from the appropriate ACE program office to the college may alleviate that problem. Visit the State Affiliates site for a complete list of contacts. You can  reach the Call Center for the ACE College Credit Recommendation Service Office for Lifelong Learning at 866-205-6267 or 866-641-2099.

Q: I received an e-mail message from ACE Transcript Service asking me for my Social Security Number and other information. Is this legitimate?

A: Yes, if you receive(d) the following email, it is legitimate.

"Cheetah Learning has updated your training record with the American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service.

You may activate your record by logging on to: https://www.acenet.edu/transcripts approximately 24 hours after receiving this message.

Thank you and we look forward to serving you.

ACE Transcript Service"

After our students complete an ACE approved Cheetah course, we send the record to ACE Transcript Service so that they can access and purchase their transcript at any time, should they wish to apply for credit through the college of their choice or for tuition reimbursement through their company.

Even if you took an ACE approved course in the past, you will receive this e-mail message, and you can still apply for credit.

Please note that you do not need to enter your Social Security number once you log in at the link provided in the e-mail. We don’t have this information and did not pass it along to ACE Transcript Service. We gave ACE your Cheetah Student ID -- this is what you will need to use to log in (use your Cheetah Student ID without the dash.)