What Rubio Got Wrong About College Accreditation - Sophie Quinton, National Journal

Under the current system, students can get credit for learning outside the classroom. The process just isn’t as efficient or flexible as Rubio would like. The American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service has been translating nontraditional learning into college credit since the 1970s. ACE has created credit recommendations for military service, job training, and some free online courses. It is also considering how credit might be awarded for Mozilla Open Badges, which are online representations of skills. It's always up to individual institutions to decide what they'll accept for credit. In general, the more elite an institution is, the less likely it is to accept credit from non-accredited sources. Lawmakers no longer want to sit back and let colleges and universities perform their own quality control. President Obama has proposed a college rating system that would tie federal money to outcomes like graduation rates and affordability. http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-america/education/what-rubio-got-wrong-about-college-accreditation-20140217