Scuba College Credits

[houston9388]

Im currently taking 11 credits at school, so this only gets me half of my FAFSA. If I sign up for open water cert. (NOTE: PADI is available at local sport store) will I get that a full FAFSA. On the padi site is says I get 1 credit for certification. Is this something that depends on my school?

padi . com /padi/en/footerlinks/collegecreditsace.aspx
Thanks for any help

 

[Gatorshark]

Your institution would have to accept the course for credit.

Even then you would not qualify for FAFSA for the semester (or quarter) since this credit would be applied AFTER you finished and would not count as current enrollment.

I played this game during my time, lol brings back memories!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'd wait until you get in then take a university course if it is offered. Though your local course may be ok, a college course is likely to be more comprehensive and offer more in the way of knowledge and skills. Look under the new divers forum and see the how to select a good class thread. If you do it through the college it is almost sure to be credited and may save you some money. And as was already stated the local class may not meet the university requirements. The statement from PADI can be misleading. The OW might be worth some credit. There was a thread recently where someone's PADI course was denied because the university scuba instructor cited a lack of certain content and denied the credit. All OW courses are not the same. There are some major differences.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Your school makes the determination. However, you don't get credit of that work towards your class load. Your class load is all about what university courses you are taking during the semester, not what you're doing with your free time.

Jim, your statement can be read to suggest that PADI is misleading consumers on this point. They are not. Their courses have been evaluated and recommended for credit (I believe OW is 1 credit hour of non-specific phys ed) , but it is up to each individual institution to determine what credits they accept and how those credits might apply to that institutions particular degree programs.

That's why you can go to Harvard, get all by one course for your degree, head to the local community college, and find you have 2 semesters of work to do there to get the same degree.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Dave, I understand that but the way it is worded in some of the materials I have sounds like it is automatic. They may have reworded things a bit but I have had other people ask about this. Now a big part of that may be the way kids read it ( if they can read that is, a HS diploma is no guarantee) but it is not as clear as it could be that acceptance is entirely up to the school.

 

[RedCash02]

Make sure your school doesn't offer a course internally. My college offered OW and AOW certs for credit when I was there. If there's no scuba classes then there's probably a ton of 1 credit phys. ed. classes you could pad your schedule with. I wouldn't risk your FAFSA trying to petition an external scuba class.

 

[RedCash02]

Your institution would have to accept the course for credit.

There's nothing forcing your institution to accept any external course. Transfer and AP credits are rejected all the time if they don't meet the required scope or rigor.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

I have been teaching scuba at Louisiana Tech University for the past several years with three other instructors. Tech has I believe two hours of credit for OW, Advanced and Rescue.

Two hours of pool on Monday nights and two to three hours on Wednesday for an entire quarter. As a matter of fact we had our first class session last night. Going over requirements , class fees, tests and lecture material.

Definitenly check your school before you sign up for an off campus course hoping to get credit.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Dave, I understand that but the way it is worded in some of the materials I have sounds like it is automatic. They may have reworded things a bit but I have had other people ask about this. Now a big part of that may be the way kids read it ( if they can read that is, a HS diploma is no guarantee) but it is not as clear as it could be that acceptance is entirely up to the school.

Here's the wording that is on our website:

"The American Council of Education (ACE) recommends certain PADI certification courses for college credit. A university or college may apply the credit to your major replacing a required course or a general elective. Always contact your college or university before applying for credit."

We link to the PADI site at http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/credit/ace.asp where the credit procedure is explained.

The very first paragraph clearly states that these are recommendations.

If a college kid doesn't know the difference between required and recommended, and doesn't understand that the word "may" does not mean "will" perhaps they may consider transferring to a nearby tech-ed school where they will have a chance at graduating.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I know but again look at how many scholarship recipients have to be given exams orally because they can't read beyond a 1st grade level but they can catch a football. And nowadays if its not text shorthand they won't spend the time to read anything more than 2 syllables. :=(