Short answer

How do you check a provider of graduate-level credit for teachers?

Check eight things before paying: the accredited university that issues the transcript, which you can look up in the U.S. Department of Education's DAPIP database; letter grades; semester or quarter units; course numbering; refund terms; grading time; and district approval. Clark County, Nevada, for example, needs transcripts on file by November 1.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, DAPIP; Clark County School District Regulation R-4292. Checked .

Key points

  • The college named on the transcript, not the company selling the course, is what a district evaluates.
  • Accreditation can be checked in a federal database in a few minutes.
  • "Regionally accredited" is outdated federal wording; since 2026 the Department of Education uses "institutional" and "national" accreditors.
  • Grading turnaround matters as much as course content when a district deadline is close.
  • No provider can promise that a district will accept its units. Only the district decides.

Why vet a provider before you enroll?

A district does not evaluate a website or a course catalog. It evaluates an official transcript against the wording of its own salary rules. Those rules ask specific questions: which institution granted the credit, whether it is accredited, what level the course is, how many units of what kind, what grade, and when the work was finished. A provider that cannot give clear answers to those questions leaves you to find out after you have paid.

The eight checks below follow the order a salary evaluator tends to read a transcript. For a list of providers to apply them to, see the provider directory.

1. Is the university of record accredited?

Many teacher course providers partner with a university that records the credit. That university is the institution of record, and it is the one your district will check. Find its name before you enroll; it should appear on the course page or the registration form.

Then look it up. The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs, known as DAPIP, is run by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education and lists institutions accredited by agencies the department recognizes. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation keeps a separate directory as well. A university that does not appear in DAPIP deserves a closer look before you pay.

District wording varies. San Diego Unified's agreement defines an accredited institution as one fully accredited by a United States accrediting association. Clark County recognizes degrees from accredited institutions recognized by the Nevada Department of Education. Loudoun County, Virginia, requires academic credit at a regionally accredited university and says confirming accredited coursework is the license holder's responsibility. Northside ISD in Texas pays its degree stipends only for a degree on a transcript from a college accredited by a regionally recognized accrediting agency.

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A change in accreditation language. The accrediting commission WSCUC reported in April 2026 that a February 2026 Department of Education rule describes nonprogrammatic accreditors as "institutional" or "national," and that it is no longer appropriate for an institution to call itself regionally accredited. Some state and district documents still use the older phrase; Alaska's renewal page, for example, accepts credit from a "regionally or nationally accredited" college. If your rule says "regionally accredited," the institution's accreditor in DAPIP is what HR will compare.

2. Who issues the transcript?

Ask the provider which institution's transcript you will receive and how to order it. Districts want official transcripts. Memphis-Shelby County Schools lists "official transcripts were not received, or grades are not shown on them" among its printed reasons for denying a salary adjustment. San Diego Unified counts coursework posted on an official transcript as semester, quarter or trimester units.

Also ask how the transcript is sent: electronically from a transcript service, on paper, or both, and whether there is a separate ordering step after the grade posts. That step adds days to your timeline. A certificate of completion from the provider is not a transcript and will not satisfy a salary rule that asks for one.

3. Does the course carry a letter grade?

Salary and renewal rules often set a minimum grade. Mesa Public Schools in Arizona does not pay for courses with grades below C. Georgia's renewal rule requires a B or better on college coursework used for renewal by educators outside Georgia schools. A pass/fail course gives the evaluator nothing to measure against a letter-grade minimum, so find out before you enroll how the course is graded and how the grade appears on the transcript.

4. Are the units semester or quarter units?

A quarter unit is two thirds of a semester unit. If the provider's university runs on quarters and your district counts in semester units, a four-unit course is worth 2.67 semester units toward your lane. Quarter vs. semester units covers the conversion and rounding rules. Check, too, what kind of credit it is: academic units are different from CEUs or clock hours, which are explained in clock hours, CEUs and semester credits.

5. What course number will appear on the transcript?

Course numbers tell an evaluator the level. San Diego Unified's salary rules credit coursework posted in the institution's regular upper-division or graduate course number series. Lower-division, extension, professional, continuing education and travel courses can count only if HR or the district's salary evaluating committee approves them.

Ask the provider for the exact course number and whether it is in the university's graduate series. The graduate-level credit guide explains why the level, not the label on a marketing page, decides how a course is read.

6. What are the refund and withdrawal terms?

Read the written policy before you pay. Look for four things: how long you have to withdraw for a refund, whether any fee is kept, what happens if your district denies the course after you enroll, and what the transcript shows if you withdraw after the term begins. If the policy is not published or is unclear, ask for it in writing. Price comparisons are on the comparison page; this check is about what happens when plans change.

7. How fast is grading, and does it fit your deadline?

District cutoffs are firm, and the clock includes your work time, the grading period, posting the grade and issuing the transcript. Compare the provider's stated grading time with your district's dates:

  • Clark County, Nevada: credit units must be completed before the last working day of September, with transcripts on file by November 1. Regulation R-4292 allows an extension of no more than ten days in limited cases.
  • San Diego Unified: units completed by September 30 and filed by November 15 count from the first day of the school year; units completed by January 31 and filed by March 15 count from February 1.
  • Albuquerque: claim the increment by letter to Human Resources on or before September 15; the official transcript must arrive during that school year.

Leave a margin for holidays and for the university's transcript office. Transcript deadlines shows how to work backward from a cutoff.

8. Has your district approved the course?

No provider can guarantee that a district will accept its units; the district makes that call. Some require approval early. Mesa's 2024-2025 working conditions require every course, except the district's own professional development, to be submitted for approval within one week after the first day of class. San Diego Unified requires HR or committee approval for extension and continuing education courses, and its section on professional degrees and specialized courses tells unit members to make sure courses qualify for salary credit before enrollment and payment of fees.

Use your district's pre-approval form where one exists, and store the signed approval with your course records. Will my district accept it? covers how to ask when there is no form.

Does it matter who pays the tuition?

In some districts, yes. Clark County's Regulation R-4292 states that when the district's general operating fund pays an employee's tuition, per diem or travel expenses, professional growth credit is not granted for salary advancement. If a grant or district program is paying for a course, check how your district treats that coursework before you count it toward a lane.

The checklist in one place

  1. University of record: named, and listed in DAPIP.
  2. Transcript: official, from that university, with a known ordering process.
  3. Grades: letter grades that meet your district's minimum.
  4. Units: semester or quarter, academic rather than CEU.
  5. Course level: a number in the graduate series if your rule requires it.
  6. Refunds: written terms for withdrawal and denial.
  7. Grading time: fits your district's completion and filing dates.
  8. Approval: district pre-approval on file where required.

Apply the same list to every option in the provider directory.

Questions about vetting a credit provider

How do I check whether a university is accredited?

Search the U.S. Department of Education's DAPIP database, which lists institutions accredited by recognized agencies. Look up the university named on the transcript, not only the course provider.

Is "regionally accredited" still the right term?

WSCUC reported that a February 2026 federal rule describes nonprogrammatic accreditors as institutional or national, and that institutions should no longer call themselves regionally accredited. Some district and state documents still use the older term.

Can a provider guarantee my district will accept the units?

No. The district decides. Mesa requires courses to be submitted for approval within one week after the first class, and San Diego Unified requires approval for extension and continuing education courses.

What if my district pays for the course?

Check your district's rule. In Clark County, no professional growth credit is granted for salary advancement when the district's general operating fund pays the tuition.

Sources

  1. Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Checked
  2. Federal Update: Accreditor Terminology and Institutional References, WASC Senior College and University Commission. Checked
  3. Renewal and reinstatement, Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Checked
  4. Collective Bargaining Agreement, San Diego Unified School District and San Diego Education Association, 2025–2027 (Appendix A salary rules), posted by SDEA. Checked
  5. Regulation R-4292, Placement and Advancement on the Teacher Salary Schedule, Clark County School District. Checked
  6. 2026-2027 Employee Calendars and Compensation Resource Guide, Loudoun County Public Schools. Checked
  7. Stipend List and Eligibility, Regulation BUS-08 (August 2026), Northside ISD. Checked
  8. Rule 505-2-.36, Renewal Requirements, Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Checked
  9. Application for Salary Adjustment, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Human Resources/Compensation. Checked
  10. MEA Working Conditions 2024-2025, Mesa Public Schools (NCTQ-hosted copy). Checked
  11. APS–ATF Negotiated Agreement 2025–2027, Albuquerque Teachers Federation. Checked

Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error

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