Hello rileybirder,
Thank you for your question.
It indeed seems that college credit can be awarded for life
experience. For example, indiana.edu mentions the following:
http://icpac.indiana.edu/publications/infoseries/is-62.xml
"Adult students often bring a great deal of knowledge with them when
they decide to get a college degree. Admissions offices at the college
adults attend may award credit to students for their past life
experiences and past formal education through the prior learning
assessment and prior learning portfolio..."
A link is provided to the full text of their requirements and
policies:
http://icpac.indiana.edu/publications/infoseries/txt/is-62.txt
"...Prior Learning Assessment
Prior learning assessment is a method that colleges and universities
use to evaluate the knowledge a student has gained through life
experience. Prior learning assessment enables college instructors to
evaluate life experiences
as potentially equivalent to courses taught at the college level.
According to Bear & Bear, in College Degrees by Mail, colleges may
recognize eight categories of life experience:
° work – i.e., skills such as typing, filing, inventory control,
accounting, computer programming and operating, welding, editing,
sales.
° homemaking – i.e., home maintenance, household planning and
budgeting, child raising, meal planning and nutrition, child
psychology.
° volunteer work – i.e., community services, political campaigns,
church activities, service organizations.
° non-credit learning – i.e., company training courses, workshops,
clinics, conferences and conventions, lectures.
° travel – i.e., study tours (formal or informal), living for periods
of time in other countries or cultures, participating in activities
related to subcultures or cultures.
° recreational activities and hobbies – i.e., musical skills, aviation
training and skills, acting or work in community theater, sports, arts
and crafts, fiction and nonfiction writing, public speaking,
gardening, designing and sewing.
° reading, viewing, listening – i.e., any subject area in which a
person has done extensive reading or study for which college credit
has not been earned.
° discussions with experts – i.e., learning can come from talking,
listening and working with experts in significant, extensive or
intensive meetings.
There are three common ways in which prior learning can be assessed:
through prior learning portfolios, standardized tests and departmental
credit. Before choosing any of the following options, students should
check to see which one
their college or university might accept.
Prior Learning Portfolio
A prior learning portfolio is a written record presented by the
student requesting college credit for learning outside the classroom.
Credit is given only for college-level learning, and the portfolio
must be well documented and organized. Portfolio requirements may vary
from college to college, but most of them require the following
elements:
° Identification and definition of specific prior learning for which
college credit is being requested.
° An essay or narrative explaining how this prior learning related to
the student's desired degree program, from what experiences it was
gained and how it fits into his overall education and career plans.
° Documentation that the student has actually acquired the
learning he is claiming.
° A credit request listing exactly how much credit the student
expects in each subject area.
Some colleges offer guidelines or courses to assist students who are
preparing a prior learning portfolio. Some classes are required as
part of preparing a prior learning portfolio.
For more information on:
° Prior Learning Assessment , talk to an admissions officer at your
college.
° Prior Learning Portfolio, see Earn College Credit For What You Know
by Lois Lamdin or talk to an admissions officer at your college..."
Do read the entire document. They continue with descriptions of tests
that may qualify you for credits based on your scores.
As you will see, each college and university may have differing
requirements for applying life experience credits. DO check with those
that interest you.
Normandale Continuing Education notes simply:
http://www.normandale.edu/main/continuingeducation/index.cfm?choice=courses&course=30
"Your Life Experience = College Credit
You can earn college credit for what you’ve learned from work and life
experience! If you’ve spent 10 or more years after high school as an
employee or volunteer, you may be an ideal candidate for Normandale’s
Competence-Based Education Program. A lot of learning takes place
outside the traditional classroom....
... Find out how you can use competence credits to accelerate your
progress toward a Normandale degree and degrees at other colleges. We
look forward to hearing from you!"
Back2College.com offers a number of links on this subject:
http://www.back2college.com/library/test.htm
Credit by Examination & for Life Experience
How to Accelerate Your Degree Plan.
Save time and money with academic shortcuts, including testing out,
credit banking, and life experience portfolios.
Are You a Candidate for Life Experience Credit?
Find out with a simple assessment.
Gain Credit with the CLEP.
How to earn credit for what you know with the College Level
Examination Program.
CLEP Credit by Examination.
The College Board's definitive guide for attaining college credit by
examination.
CLEP Independent Study Materials.
Guided independent study materials that can lead to college credit by
examination.
DANTES.
Program offers a wide range of examination programs to assist service
members in attaining their educational goals.
College Credit Recommendation Service.
Translates workplace education and training courses into college
credit for working adults.
National Program on Noncollegiate Instruction.
PONSI has been successful in obtaining academic recognition for
noncollegiate learning experiences for more than 25 years.
While all of the above may be of interest to you, I was most intrigued
by their claimed simple assessment, although the questions seemed a
bit basic:
http://www.back2college.com/assesstool.htm
Fordham University addresses life experience on this page:
http://www.fordham.edu/general/Undergraduate/Credit_For_Life_Expe8609.html
"The Credit for Life/Work Experience Portfolio Process
FCLS's streamlined portfolio assessment process offers students the
opportunity to earn up to 32 college credits for their life/work
experience. If you believe that your life/work experience relates to
your degree program, you may be eligible to prepare a portfolio for
review for college credit. Credit is granted for life/work experience
that is equivalent to "college level learning" demonstrating a
theoretical and practical understanding of the subjects being
considered...."
They continue with the intricate details of their program, but this
was the first mention of how many credits might be available from life
experience they deem acceptable for credit.
Hudson Valley Community College mentions:
http://www.hvcc.edu/academ/coned/lifeexper.html
"The Life Experience Program is designed to provide adults with an
alternative method of obtaining college credit. Hudson Valley
Community College will award credit for knowledge acquired through
such activities as work experience, volunteer work and independent
study. Under the Life Experience Program, up to 50% of the college
credit required for a degree can be earned for knowledge gained as a
result of the student's life experience..."
Another valuable metric in deciding how valuable your prior experience
will be toward earning a degree.
As you can see, awarding credit for real life experience is not at all
uncommon. I will provide additional links that discuss this for you,
and I suggest you contact several of the institutions where you might
choose to enroll to inquire on their programs for obtaining these
credits.
Missouri Southern State College
http://www.mssc.edu/classes/spring03/creditwork.htm
Omega University
http://www.omegauniversity.com/lifexcred.html
OU has devised a formula that will help you to determine how many LE
credits a prospective student has already earned.
We can award a MAXIMUM of 60 LE credits toward a BS; a MAXIMUM OF 7 LE
credits toward a MS; and a MAXIMUM of 8 LE credits toward a PhD degree
program.
Antioch Seattle
http://www.antiochsea.edu/ba/credit.htm
"...Credit is not given simply for life experience. It is granted for
the college-level learning that has been derived through that
experience. Students can document up to 60 credits for prior learning;
the average student earns 20 to 40 credits."
Norman Davis Group
http://www.adultstudentcenter.com/articles/feature_072401.html
Here you will find a Feature Article on the subject. Very worthwhile
reading.
http://web.odu.edu/webroot/orgs/AO/CLT/explearn.nsf/pages/el_intro
"Introduction to Experiential Learning
Experiential Learning, or prior learning assessment, is a systematic
process for evaluating and credentialing learning gained in a variety
of contexts. These contexts include both formal and non-formal
learning experiences that take place in work settings, through
military training, in the community, through independent study and
through certification by professional organizations. Implementing this
systematic process of evaluation is one of the ways in which a college
or university demonstrates its support of lifelong learning and
acknowledgment of previous learning.
Various organizations and institutions have developed different
definitions of prior learning assessment, but they share a common set
of assumptions and values, including:
-Individuals learn throughout their lives in a variety of ways and in
a range of settings.
-Adults who return to college often have a variety of life and work
experiences which may have resulted in college-level learning.
-Through the use of experiential learning assessment options,
universities more effectively educate the returning adult student who
brings with her a rich background of experiences and an ability to
frame these experiences within an academic context.
-Formal learning that occurs in schools, colleges and universities is
not necessarily of higher quality than non-formal learning gained
through life and work experiences.
-The learning experience itself is not what is being evaluated for
academic credit. Translating the experience into learning or
competencies is what is being assessed and may result in academic
credit awards.
-Faculty members can reliably assess college-level skills and
knowledge gained outside the college classroom.
-Adult students, with appropriate guidance, can articulate, document
and analyze the learning they have gained through life and workplace
experiences. Their challenge is to examine their learning through an
academic lens and integrate connections between their experiences and
the course objectives..."
Another quality article on life experience credit.
Search Strategy:
"college credit" +"life experience"
As you can see, there are numerous sites that discuss and explain
programs for credit for life experience. I trust my research has
provided you with a good start at understanding what might be
available and how it will be evaluated.
If a link above should fail to work or anything require further
explanation or research, please do post a Request for Clarification
prior to rating the answer and closing the question and I will be
pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
,
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