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Look, what I'm getting ready to tell you may or may not be true.... But let's suppose that when I was working on my degree, I realized that there were about a good number of credit-hours that I could CLEP (i.e., just take the test and, if I passed, pay the full price for the course and get credit). So, in roughly half the time that it took others, a B.A. could be obtained.Is that wrong? And if not, would it be wrong if a person CLEPed ALL their college courses to get a degree (assuming a college would allow that)?What if I could CLEP my way to a Master's Degree and even almost to a Ph.D? If the university allows it, is it acceptable? And if they only permit CLEP credits for a portion of the needed credit-hours, do I have a right to question why they will accept only so many?In fact, let's put it in a way that might raise OTCP from the dead (although I think most of us know that he was twice dead, plucked up by the roots!!!): If a person had the ability to take and pass all of the exams that are needed to pass the courses to a Ph.D, then perhaps even wrote a disseration for the rest of it (or perhaps had life experience that demonstrated all the qualities that a disseration would have provided--research, adding to the body of knowledge, etc.), would it be wrong to accept a Ph.D? If not, then why would it be wrong for a university, recognizing some the requisite knowledge in someone, as well as the fact that that person had contributed significantly to the research and knowledge in a field, to just award them with a Ph.D? I mean, if you could, at least in theory, CLEP your way to a B.A., the CLEP process demonstrating one's abilities, why not to a Masters? Or a Ph.D?It's not like a Ph.D is utterly unlike any undergraduate degree. It's very similar--take courses, read, research, write a paper (just on a larger scale). So, if it would not be wrong to CLEP to a Ph.D--especially if an accredited university accepted such--then are we admitting that the university is admitting that if you know this much, then you are deemed worthy of the credit-hours/degree?And if so, then if a university, taking someone's work into account, decided to aware them a Ph.D because of that, would it NOT be Ph.D?And is it not possible that, to a significant degree, that is kind of what an honorary degree is about? Yes, we all know that it's not a real Ph.D., even if the recipient knows more than any real Ph.D., but most honorary degrees are not awarded at random. They go to people who truly have done great things in a field. If the pianist Paderewski was given an honorary degree in music, he would have richly deserved it, having almost certainly contributed more to the field than an Ph.D. If they gave him a Ph.D for it (honorary or not), it would have been richly deserved.

QW...

Indeed. I'm speaking hypothetically. But if they allow you to CLEP some courses, one has to wonder just why you can't CLEP them all IF YOU HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO DO SO.At the same time, if a university allows ANY courses to be CLEPed, aren't they admitting that if you have the requisite knowledge, you ought to be permitted those credit-hours? If it's the case that you can attain a degree by CLEPing some of the courses, then why can an honorary degree not be awarded to someone for those same reasons...and the recipient using Dr.without reproach?

Nope. Not at all. Credit for the class is awarded in response to the student taking a lengthy test demonstrating they have already mastered the knowledge taught in the class. No one is awarded legitimate credits for notability in their field.CLEP is also only an option for early undergraduate classes.

This, my friends, is the reason Acts should always exist.The humor.The absurdity.Aaron should maybe work on CLEPing Basket Weaving 101 or Art Appreciation 102 first. I don't think he would get those credits either.

They are generally core courses (Composition, Humanities, Math). This is a good option for students who had gifted aptitudes or skills in these areas but had no chance to take college level courses during high school. That way they can focus quicker on major subjects. These tests are extremely difficult and should not be discounted. There are educators who would have great difficulty passing a CLEP test in many areas due to the fact that there is no daily reinforcement to the materials. These tests result in accredited credits being given in fully accredited institutions. They are not the same as the spurious credit being given for life experience in order to gain a gimmick easy way out degree to hang on your wall and give yourself positive strokes with the title Doctor.I think I just heard OTCP shouting from the amen corner.

About the precedent thing....The precedent is this: A university is awarding someone credits based on evidence (passing the test) that they already have the requisite knowledge in those areas. If we extend that (and, in truth, I'm not sure there is a really good reason that a university couldn't, in fact, make it so that if a person could indeed pass all of the exams for a degree, a degree was conferred), we can then make the justified leap to a university, aware of someone's significant knowledge and advancement of a particular field, might deem that that person has all the requisite knowledge for a degree and confer the degree on them.Now, you and I know that not all honorary degrees are given just to those who truly tower over a field. They are sometimes given for political reasons, or what have you. But some ARE given to people who, even without the formal degree, stand fully equal, perhaps superior, to anyone in the field.For instance, Fermat, the mathematician, was only informally a mathematician. He did not have a doctorate in math, etc., and yet his last theorem has likely sparked more advancement in the field of math than any other theory.If he had been awarded an honorary degree in math, he not only would have richly deserved it, but would be fully equal to it.If a university can accept SOME courses being CLEPed (i.e., demonstration of ability allows one to gain credits toward a degree without actually taking the course), then the difference in this and actually awarding someone a degree due to their demonstrated expertise in a field is only a matter of extending the CLEP-thing further.Now, if a university did not accept CLEP at all, that is logically consistent with an honorary degree meaning little more than appreciation. But if a university DOES accept CLEP courses (and to my knowledge, all do), then we can ask the following questions:1) Why do you only permit CLEPing for X number of credits or only in certain courses? 2) If a person has the ability to CLEP even those courses that a university does not permit to be CLEPed, why does the university deem it acceptable to CLEP some courses where one knows the material, but not all other courses for which one has sufficient ability?

CLEP is a great way to go ...

CLEP is a great to go for those core credits required for undergrad degrees. I received several credits at Christopher Newport University (which is part of the Virginia university system) and it was a great experience. In my case it was pay your money, take the test(s) and if you pass you got the credits. No three months of classwork, plus driving to and from and still paying to get the same credits.For the core credits I'm a think CLEP and community college are the way to go as far as cost and time are concerned. I know a young lady who is a lawyer who was able to CLEP her way through much of her undergrad work and was accepted into Law School without a undergrad degree (BA/BS).I feel the say way about the GED. If I had known how easy it was I would have left high school behind long before I did (joined the Corps when I turned 18 back when you did not have to have be a High School grad).

So I believe Aaron is arguing for all recipients of honorary degrees to take final exam courses for all 130 credits for a bachelors degree - and if they pass them all - confer the honorary degree...and feel free to use the initials B.S. after their name.Aaron Scott B.S.Sounds about right.