This is the honest question every prospective Aspen student should ask. Aspen is legitimately accredited by DEAC, a national accreditor — but national accreditation is not the same as regional, and some regionally accredited universities will not accept transfer credits from a nationally accredited school. In practice an Aspen degree is real and widely usable for licensure and many employers, but if your plan is to transfer Aspen credits into a regionally accredited program later, you cannot assume they will move. The fix is simple: ask the specific school where you might transfer, before you enroll.
Why the type of accreditor matters here
Both national and regional accreditation are federally recognized, but many regionally accredited universities have a policy of accepting transfer credit only from other regionally accredited institutions. Because Aspen is nationally (DEAC) accredited, its credits can fall on the wrong side of that policy at some schools. This is the single most important thing to understand before enrolling if transfer is part of your plan.
The transfer reality, without spin
It is not all-or-nothing. Some regionally accredited schools do accept DEAC-accredited credits; others do not; and it can vary by program within the same school. So the honest answer to "do Aspen credits transfer" is: sometimes, and you have to check the specific receiving school rather than assume. Treat any blanket yes or no with suspicion.
Employers, licensure, and further study
For direct use — getting a job, meeting a licensure requirement through a CCNE-accredited nursing program, or a promotion — an accredited Aspen degree is generally accepted and put to work. The friction is specifically about transferring credits into a regionally accredited degree, not about whether the degree itself is real.
Check before you enroll, in writing
If you might transfer later, do this first: contact the exact program you would transfer to and ask whether they accept DEAC-accredited credits, ideally in writing. Five minutes of asking up front prevents the worst outcome — discovering after you have paid and studied that the credits will not move where you wanted them to.
Sources and verification
Facts on this page come from official sources; verify accreditation claims yourself before enrolling:
- aspen.edu/accreditation: Aspen University's official accreditation page
- www.deac.org: the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, Aspen's institutional accreditor
- CCNE accreditation: the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, which accredits Aspen's nursing programs
- www.chea.org: the Council for Higher Education Accreditation