Military-affiliated learners are no stranger to the various ways in which college credit can be earned. Most commonly known are the College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP), Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES), and traditional, universally accepted college credit programs like the American Council on Education (ACE) and Advanced Placement (AP).
Other Special Programs that Help Veterans Get Free College Credit are available in addition to CLEP Opportunities for Veterans.
As military-affiliated learners consider their options and how they want to use or preserve their educational benefits, they may be interested in the Modern States Education Alliance.
What is Modern States?
CLEP Tests Give You College Credit for What You Know, but did you know that there is a complementary platform called Modern States Education Alliance, which provides free online instruction and material to anyone using CLEP?
Founded by CEO Steven Klinsky around 2014, the mission of Modern States is to offer accessible and affordable college education as a basic and fundamental human right. It provides free courses, and learners who complete these courses are able to take CLEP exams for free.
The purpose of Modern States is to enable a scalable solution that supports college-seeking learners with a model that supplements higher education via a publicly available digital library of 32 online courses taught by college professors. The subjects include, but are not limited to:
| American Government | American Literature | Biology | Calculus |
| Chemistry | College Algebra | College Composition | Financial Accounting |
| History of the United States I and II | Humanities | Human Growth and Development | Information Systems |
| Introduction to Educational Psychology | Introductory Psychology | Introductory Business Law | Introductory Sociology |
| Natural Sciences | Precalculus | Principles of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics | Principles of Management |
| Principles of Marketing | Social Sciences and History | Languages in Spanish, German, and French | Other Courses |
How Does it Work?
Simply create a free account at Modern States and comb through the catalog of courses to determine which ones apply to your learning needs. After signing up via Enroll, you will have immediate access to the course. Note that you can work through one course at a time or take multiple courses concurrently. Be sure to work with your higher education institution to learn which CLEP credit courses they take for your program and how many, if there is a cap.
Modern States provides an online orientation and pre-course survey to help new learners navigate the platform, which is the Brightspace learning management system. The courses are self-paced learning, meaning there is no time requirement, which offers a great deal of flexibility, particularly for military students. Learners who score 75 percent or above in the course final exam will earn a CLEP exam voucher. CLEP scores are determined on a different scale, usually 50 or higher. CLEP credit does not provide a grade point average. It is typically evaluated as meeting a requirement.
Benefits for Military-Affiliated Learners
Military-affiliated learners tend to benefit from accessible and flexible learning options. Not all paths are the path of the least resistance, especially when considering the amount of governmental rules, forms, and restrictions that accompany educational benefits and assistance. Modern States gives a convenient option that is quick and free to start. As CLEP exams must be taken at approved test centers, learners who are overseas and outside of the U.S. have opportunities to take their exams on base or through remote proctoring.
Military educational benefits can be used in conjunction with Modern States or separately. Depending on your program and educational goals, you can opt to take Modern States coursework to help accelerate your pace or fill in gaps. Learners can also use Modern States for learning and growth for career purposes or personal enrichment.
Use the Modern States CLEP Acceptance Tool and work with your school of interest as you plan your next steps.
