Many of McDonald's training courses transfer to college credits. Up to 46 credits can be earned through restaurant management training and mid-management courses.

The American Council on Education (ACE) now approves up to 21 college credits for restaurant management training courses. This is great news for employees who are considering taking or have successfully completed training courses and would like to establish credits with a two or four-year college or university that accepts the credits. It's a terrific head-start in earning a degree, advancing your career and saving money on tuition and books!

"McDonald's is the only restaurant in the food industry granting college credits," Training Manager Jennie Drysdale clarified. The training courses are scrutinized through the ACE for quality and value of the educational material. The extensive classroom and field instructions as well as evaluations are considered equivalent to college course work.

Interested in earning college credit for training you've completed? Here's how it works: Upon successful completion of a training course, register for college credit through the ACE's electronic registration Web site: www.acenet.edu/transcripts/.

The registration process costs $35, which does cover an initial copy of one's transcript. (Additional transcript requests are $10 each).

Once registered, students receive a confirmation letter from the Registry Service with the completed courses and a blank transcript order form. ACE verifies with the McDonald's Regional Training Center that the student completed the course.

Students contact the admissions or guidance office of the college where they would like to have the credit(s) accepted. If the credits are accepted and a transcript is required, the student fills out the Request for Transcript form and returns it to the ACE. The ACE forwards it to the college.

While colleges and universities aren't required to accept credit recommendations, the ACE office verifies that over 1,100 nationwide do accept credit recommendations.

Following is a list of courses through the Restaurant Management Curriculum that qualify for college credit:

Additional courses are also offered to mid-management staff in the areas of Human Resources, Training and Organizational Leadership for a grand total of 46 college credits available. Drysdale confirmed that Management Development Program courses are taught within Courtesy Corporation and so is the Basic Shift Management course. Effective Management Practices and Advanced Shift Management are taught within the Midwest Region or Hamburger University at the corporate headquarters in Oakbrook, Ill.

The manager training program is the foundation for promotion to most positions within Courtesy Corporation. This program is a combination of on-the-floor training and the completion of the Shift Management Participant's Guide. The Shift Management's Participant's Guide is a self-study of McDonald's products and positions, basic area management and customer and crew relations. The program provides a foundation of McDonald's Restaurant Operations.

For more information, visit the ACE's Web site at www.acenet.edu.