Earn College Credit

Several other means by which students may earn credit in addition to the 16 modular courses in LEAD include: 

• General Education
• Online Courses
• Life Experience Credit
• Credit by Examination

General Education Track

General Education and elective requirements can be met with traditional evening or weekend courses offered by the College. New courses are available throughout the academic year. 

Online Courses

In conjunction with this program, Pillar works with the Consortium of Online Christian Colleges (COCC) to make online courses available to students, to make up credit deficiencies that they cannot fulfill through a regular classroom experience. A regular schedule of courses offered through the consortium will be published. The LEAD Office will assist students in registering for these courses. 

Periodic announcements will be made as to the enrollment dates of the various courses which will be offered online. Students must have access to a computer with an internet connection. The speed of the computer, the speed of the modem, and the quality of the phone line are also significant. 

Although on line classes will be asynchronous (all students do not need to be online at the same time), students will have contact with their instructor and classmates through forums and email. 

The tuition cost, fee, procedures, and refund policies for online courses are consistent with course offered on the main campus. Detailed can be obtained by contacting the LEAD office. 

Life Experience Credit

Students who enter LEAD and lack semester hours to graduate may qualify to earn additional credit through the Credit by Demonstrated Competency (CDC) process. Students may earn up to 30 semester credit hours in CDC. 

CDC credit hours can come from a number of different sources, including workshops, seminars, self-study, non-credit classes, training programs and life/work and military experiences. The College evaluates and grants appropriate units from the student’s learning (not just the experience) from these sources. 

Students who transfer less than 72 credits should make an appointment to meet with the LEAD Office about potential CDC credit that can be applied towards graduation. 

The College assesses a $45 Portfolio Evaluation Fee for each Credit hour by Demonstrated Competency (CDC) for which the student applies, and a $45 fee for every hour of credit the College accepts. For example, if a student applies for 3 credits and the College accepts 2 credits, the student pays $135 ($45 X 3 credits) for the hours attempted and pay $90 ($45 X 2= $90) for the credit accepted. A faculty member in the appropriate field of study evaluates a student’s work to determine acceptable credit. CDC is limited to not more than 30 semester hours of credit. 

More information and a CDC interview can be received through the LEAD Office. 

Credit By Examination

• CLEP Tests (College Level Examination Program) – a national set of college level exams on general education course topics, available at local community colleges.

• DSST Tests (DANTES Subject Standardized Tests) – a national set of college level exams on courses in more than 50 different subject areas, available at local community colleges.