Has anyone successfully obtained college credit for PADI courses?

[Zef]

Hi, hopefully this is the right place for this question. My son is in high school and completed his open water, AOW and rescue courses last year and applied for a received a transcript through PADI for “college credit.”

He’s currently trying to see if his high school will give him PE credit for the classes (he wants to take different electives) and sent the transcript to his principal, but his principal wants the name of a college that has actually granted credit for the PADI course, preferably in California.

I was hoping that someone here had successfully obtained college credit and would be willing to share.

So sorry to read about your troubles but you basically went about this entirely wrong.

You will be hard pressed to find a university that will give your son credit for a course he did not take through them (other than transfer credits from other universities)...and the high school your son goes to seems only willing to accept credits from an accredited institution such as a university.

You and/or your son seemingly took some PADI courses and then decided to shop around to find a way, after the fact, to get the PADI courses to apply to your son's transcripts....sorry but that isn't how it works.

You needed to do a little more homework beforehand. A discussion with your son's high school administration could have steered you on the right path or would have indicated this would not be feasible.

The way forward is for your son to take whatever courses are available that are approved for credit towards graduation, and use the PADI certifications to just enjoy diving.

Hopefully this discussion thread will serve to help others not make the same mistake you and your son made.

But realistically, folks not enrolled at a university or college where Scuba is offered for PE or as an elective credit course, who want to use dive certification for credit need to make sure BEFOREHAND that their school (high school or what have you) will accept scuba certification and from which agencies, to satisfy academic requirements.

-Z

 

[landphil]

All the AAUS and commercial divers get college credit for their courses. But they’ll end up with certifications that won’t be much help for recreational driving. Generally, all of the programs are affiliated with NAUI; so they let you leave with an advanced or MSD cert for non-work diving.

 

[Zef]

All the AAUS and commercial divers get college credit for their courses. But they’ll end up with certifications that won’t be much help for recreational driving. Generally, all of the programs are affiliated with NAUI; so they let you leave with an advanced or MSD cert for non-work diving.

You are referencing a professional level industry certification. The OP was hoping his son could get high school/college physical education credit for the PADI courses his son obtained, but apparently did not discuss or coordinate with his son's high school before his son took the PADI courses.

Your example and the OP's scenario are apples and oranges.

-Z

 

[Tortola]

I managed to get one credit of PE independent study for my AOW while I was in college. I just had to demonstrate that it was a structured program that included a test of skills learned and resulted in an actual certification.

 

[landphil]

You are referencing a professional level industry certification. The OP was hoping his son could get high school/college physical education credit for the PADI courses his son obtained, but apparently did not discuss or coordinate with his son's high school before his son took the PADI courses.

Your example and the OP's scenario are apples and oranges.

-Z

True- just making the point that it works the opposite direction

 

[boulderjohn]

Honestly, I'm shocked this "college credit for scuba classes" is so widely advertised and talked about because it doesn't look like it exists.

You will be hard pressed to find a university that will give your son credit for a course he did not take through them (other than transfer credits from other universities)...and the high school your son goes to seems only willing to accept credits from an accredited institution such as a university.

Zef has it right.

It is very hard to get college credit for work done while in high school except under special circumstances. Advanced Placement classes can get you credit, but even there, it is only when the college allows it. Some elite colleges do not give credit for AP high school courses, but you won't get admitted without taking them.

When colleges tell you that they give credit for scuba classes, that almost always means the course was taken at the school while enrolled in their class with their paid instructor. That's how it works at the university in the place where I live.

As for getting high school PE credit for it while homeschooling, I am confused as to why you need it. The laws vary by state, but if you are homeschooling, you get to decide what you are giving credit for. In my state (Colorado), the law allows homeschooled students to get free access to physical education classes and even compete on school athletic teams, but they won't just give you credit for a class you took outside of the school, and I'm not sure what good it would do you to get the credit.

 

[old_man_and_the_sea]

I managed to get one credit of PE independent study for my AOW while I was in college. I just had to demonstrate that it was a structured program that included a test of skills learned and resulted in an actual certification.

Which college?

 

[old_man_and_the_sea]

So sorry to read about your troubles but you basically went about this entirely wrong.

You will be hard pressed to find a university that will give your son credit for a course he did not take through them (other than transfer credits from other universities)...and the high school your son goes to seems only willing to accept credits from an accredited institution such as a university.

You and/or your son seemingly took some PADI courses and then decided to shop around to find a way, after the fact, to get the PADI courses to apply to your son's transcripts....sorry but that isn't how it works.

You needed to do a little more homework beforehand. A discussion with your son's high school administration could have steered you on the right path or would have indicated this would not be feasible.

The way forward is for your son to take whatever courses are available that are approved for credit towards graduation, and use the PADI certifications to just enjoy diving.

Hopefully this discussion thread will serve to help others not make the same mistake you and your son made.

But realistically, folks not enrolled at a university or college where Scuba is offered for PE or as an elective credit course, who want to use dive certification for credit need to make sure BEFOREHAND that their school (high school or what have you) will accept scuba certification and from which agencies, to satisfy academic requirements.

-Z

Uhhh…thanks, I guess. I’m not really sure how this is helpful and certainly makes a lot of assumptions that aren’t true as well as being unnecessarily condescending. Not sure what I did to deserve that.

My son took the open water, advanced and rescue diver courses because he wanted to learn how to scuba dive and do it safely. When we were taking an altitude diving course afterwards the instructor commented that he seemed like a natural and should consider going for divemaster - and that he could get college credit for some of the classes he’d already taken.

He didn’t really need college credit but was trying to see if he could use it to meet his PE requirement so he could take an engineering class where they build an underwater robot and compete with other schools. That’s when I reached out to PADI and ACE and as of their latest email today they have yet to provide me the name of a single school that accepts this credit that is so heavily advertised.

There was no reason for us to confirm BEFOREHAND that anyone would give credit for the courses since he took the courses to become a better diver, not to get out of PE.

 

[Tortola]

Which college?

University of Wisconsin. I believe the course was PE 199, which was a freshman-level independent study credit.

 

[Tortola]

University of Wisconsin. I believe the course was PE 199, which was a freshman-level independent study credit.

I should note this was MANY years ago... 1979.