How to Get a Degree Without Taking Any Classes

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Taking a test to get college credit is nothing new – it’s called CLEP – though infrequently used.

But you can usually only do that for “core,” general education courses everyone has to take: basic math, history, writing stuff. At best, you might shave off your freshman year. One university is taking it much further, says The Wall Street Journal

Wisconsin officials tout the UW Flexible Option as the first to offer multiple, competency-based bachelor’s degrees from a public university system. Officials encourage students to complete their education independently through online courses, which have grown in popularity through efforts by companies such as Coursera, edX and Udacity. No classroom time is required under the Wisconsin program except for clinical or practicum work for certain degrees.

The tests are written by faculty. The prices haven’t been set, but there’s little question it will be a much cheaper option than four or more years of tuition, board and textbooks.

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