Oklahoma CareerTech adult education and family literacy students who earn their GED diplomas may now be able to earn college credit for their scores at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.

Students who score 175 or higher on GED test subjects are eligible to receive college credit for certain classes at OSUIT in Okmulgee.

“Using a student’s GED score for college credit opens the doors for students to continue working on their career pathways,” said Letha Bauter, director of adult education and family literacy at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. “A successful score on the GED should be rewarded in Oklahoma as a student moves forward. Millions of people nationally have passed the GED test and gone on to college, career and technical education and better jobs.”

Oklahoma CareerTech oversees the state’s adult education and family literacy program, which offers high school equivalency programs like the GED.

“We think this recognition of our GED students is long overdue. We know that students often question if they are college material. We cannot wait to proudly answer that question with, ‘You are college material, and you’ve already proven it by scoring so well on the GED XX Subtest that you have already earned college credit for XX class!’” said Ina Agnew, OSUIT vice president for student services.

Agnew added that Trey Hill, dean of the OSUIT School of Arts, Sciences and Health, championed the effort to offer the credit and developed a plan identifying how GED scores will be turned into college credit for specific classes. OSUIT also evaluates technology center transcripts for college credit, she said.

When students apply for admission to OSUIT, they can submit their GED test scores. Students may also submit scores before applying, Agnew said. If a subtest score is at least 175, OSUIT notifies the student of eligibility for college credit and the class to which it applies.

For the credit to be added to a transcript, the student must earn at least 12 college credit hours at OSUIT, according to an Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education policy, Agnew said. Once the student has earned 12 credit hours at OSUIT, the class can be added to the transcript and is transferrable to any college or university, she explained.

“We’re very excited about offering the college credit and are the only university in the state of Oklahoma to do so. We hope that others will follow suit,” she said.

Oklahoma has more than 275,000 people ages 18-64 who do not hold high school diplomas, Bauter said.

“A goal for our state is decrease the number of adults without high school diplomas. This ultimately affects Oklahoma’s workforce,” she said. “The OSUIT credit gives learners value for this accomplishment as they continue building their education accomplishments.”

Students interested in learning more about submitting scores can contact the OSUIT assessment office: Rendi Glass, director of Assessment, Testing and Career Services, rendi@okstate.edu, 918-2935254, or Teresa Long, administrative assistant, Teresa.long@okstate.edu, 918-2935248.