25 Institutions Sign Up for Project to Ease Path to Degree

Twenty-five colleges have signed up for an alternative-credit program created by the American Council on Education and financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the council announced on Monday.

As part of the pilot program, announced in September, students can complete courses from a designated list of about 100 and then earn credit from the participating institutions, which include community colleges, four-year institutions, and for-profit colleges. The institutions will provide data to the council about students’ progress, and more colleges will be recruited to participate in 2015.

The project “will help lead to the greater acceptance of alternative forms of credit in a way that ensures quality and encourages more people to complete their postsecondary education,” said Deborah Seymour, the council’s assistant vice president for education attainment and innovation, in a statement.

Here are the participating colleges: