Assessing Education

College degrees must be awarded from an accredited institution; all schools within the Florida University System are accredited. To verify accreditation, check with your Recruiting HR Partner, Branch Campus HR or USF Health.

Substitution of Work Experience for Education

Some class specifications/postings allow applicants to substitute verified work experience for college credit. To this end, when converting credit hours to years of college attended, 30 semester or trimester hours or 45 quarter hours equal one (1) year. A conversion chart is found below:

Semester Hours Earned	Quarter Hours Earned	Equivalent Months of Work
2.5	3.75	1
5.00	7.50	2
7.50	11.25	3
10.00	15.00	4
12.50	18.75	5
15.00	22.50	6
17.50	26.25	7
20.00	30.00	8
22.50	33.75	9
25.00	37.50	10
27.50	41.25	11
30.00	45.00	12

Similarly, vocational and/or technical schoolwork is calculated based upon classroom hours. It may substitute for experience when specifically defined in the class specification/posting.

Vocational Classroom	Equivalent Months of Experience
60	1
120	2
180	3
240	4
300	5
360	6
420	7
480	8
540	9
600	10
660	11
720	12

International Education 

If an applicant has a degree or education from an international school, it is acceptable to consider him/her for the position. If the applicant becomes a finalist, s/he must provide a transcript translated into English by an accredited service/institution showing the U.S. equivalency.