Earning College Credit for What You Already Know: The Unofficial Thomas Edison State College (TESC ) Portfolio Guide

By Steve Levicoff

This article is adapted from a newsgroup posting Steve prepared to help people understand how to earn credit for things they already know. He's graciously given us permission to repost this article.

Because of my comments on the Thomas Edison State College (TESC) thread, I've been inundated with requests for information on how to do a portfolio at TESC. Since there appears to be wide interest in this area, I've decided to save time by responding here. The requests for information are typified by the following two examples of e-mail I've received in the past few days (with some background facts changed to protect the innocent):

> I completed 5 semesters of college and have taken courses
> at other colleges. I have worked six years as a
> programmer, have published research papers, have been an
> MIS Director and advanced technology analyst, and do a
> weekly radio program on the Internet.
>
> I've been fortunate in my career and have advanced
> without my BA, but I'd like to get a BA in Computer
> Science, nonetheless. The difficulty I have is in trying
> to "read the mind" of TESC to see what constitutes a
> suitable format for a portfolio. I've never been a good
> "follow the instructions" student. I've always learned
> best by example.
>
> Also, I don't have all the code, analysis and reports I
> wrote years ago. How do I get credit for it?
>
> Ultimately, I'd even like to get an MS in Computer*
> Science. I've determined that TESC is probably my best
> bet [for the bachelor's degree]. In the packets I've
> received from them, however, I haven't seen any examples
> of a computer science portfolio.

and:

> After having read your postings, I've decided to pursue
> TESC as my choice for consolidating my credits and
> experiences.
>
> I'm a fulltime police officer, world traveler and
> commercial pilot. I hope to get something out of all
> that. Do you know of any good references for doing well
> on the portfolio portion, so that I don't give up any
> credits and take full advantage of the ones potentially
> avilable to me

Okay, campers, get out your notebooks . . . There will be a quiz at the end of this post. But seriously...

The principle behind a TESC portfolio is that you should demonstrate a knowledge of the subject you are challenging for credit that is approximately equal to what a student would have learned if he or she had taken the same course you are challenging. No less, but no more.

How do you challenge a course by portfolio? First, you have to decide what course you want to challenge, and it must be an actual course that is offered at any regionally accredited community college, four-year college, or university. In other words, it's not enough to say, "I want to submit a portfolio to earn three credits in computer science," you must actually find a course in computer science and challenge the specific course. For example, "I believe that I have the knowledge necessary to challenge Introduction to Computer Science, course number MIS-104, as it is offered at XYZ University in Podunk, Idaho."

Therefore, the most important resource as you begin to develop your portfolio will be a library with a decent selection of college catalogs. Your first step should be to locate such a library, then spend an afternoon going through their stacks of college catalogs. And bring a lot of dimes, because you're going to want to make a bunch of photocopies.

Now, grab a stack of catalogs from regionally accredited two-year (junior) colleges and four-year colleges, have a seat, and start leafing through the section of each catalog that has the course listings with two or three-line course descriptions. (Full-length catalogs generally have course descriptions, viewbooks do not.) And simply look for any course title in which you think you have sufficient knowledge to challenge. It doesn't matter what the subject is. Why? Because, in addition to subjects in your particular field, you will also need credits to complete distribution requirements such as liberal arts and free electives.

("Distribution requirements? Huh???" Okay, let's look at a specific example. TESC's B.A. in Humanities requires that a student complete 6 credits in written expression, 12 in each of the three broad liberal arts areas - including humanities, math and natural sciences, and social sciences, 18 additional liberal arts credits of your choice, 33 credits for your major or specialization, and 27 credits in free electives, for a total of 120 credits. In the math and natural science area, you must include at least one course in college-level math and one in computer science.)

Okay, where were we? (In the library, remember?) Now, if you see a course that you think you can challenge, make a photocopy of the catalog page with the short course description, including the course number and number of credits offered, and write the following additional information somewhere on your copy: Name of the school at which the course is offered, publication year of the catalog, page number, and name of the department that offers the course. Then simply challenge the course through TESC.

In other words, say you like walking through the woods while playing "Skip to My Lou" on the guitar. (Hell, it takes all kinds.) Believe it or not, Kent State University offers a two-credit course titled Folk Guitar Class. Get ahold of a Kent State catalog, make a copy of the course description, and create a portfolio submission in which you are essentially saying to TESC, "I want to challenge Folk Guitar Class as it is offered at Kent State University for two credits." How will TESC know what the course comprises? Because you will be submitting a photocopy of the course description from Kent State's catalog with your submission.

That's it. Really, gang, that's the whole ball of wax. Do that for any course you feel you can challenge based on your current knowledge of a subject.

Now, some hints in choosing courses. First, be careful not to "double dip." For example, don't try challenging courses titled "19th Century American History" and "American History 1800-1899" - they're the same course, and TESC will pick up on this in a nanosecond.

Also, be sure you challenge the course under the correct broad subject area - especially if it's a computer science course. For example, Introduction to Computer Science qualifies for credit under the math and natural science area because it has a significant math component. Ditto certain programming courses such as BASIC, COBOL, and Pascal. However, certain other programming and computer courses, such as RPG or Microsoft Word, must be challenged under the free electives area - they do not have a significant math component.

Next, don't neglect an area in which you have expertise merely because it's not in your field. Even though my own B.A. from TESC is in liberal arts, I have several credits in business - I challenged them under the free electives heading. Likewise, if you're a business major but you listen to a lot of Beethoven, you can find a course on Beethoven and challenge it under humanities, liberal arts electives, or free electives.

The bottom line, especially if you want to go on to graduate school: Just get the damn bachelor's degree and don't worry about whether some of the courses seem a bit inane. The key point that a graduate school, or even an employer, will look for is that you had the chutzpah to finish the degree and that you hold a bachelor's degree, period.

(By the way, for those who are curious, I did my own TESC degree in a year and a half by earning 98 credits by portfolio, testing out of another 16 credits, and carrying in only six actual course credits by transfer. And yes, my transcript includes not only the Kent State course in folk guitar, but also such highly academic courses as CPR and word processing.)

Also remember that the most important thing for you to learn is how to legitimately "work the system." For example, let's take the area of word processing. You can find a three-credit course in word processing in most college catalogs. Because it does not include a significant math component, word processing must be challenged as a free elective.

Now you're ready to put your portfolio submissions together. You'll need a separate binder or presentation folder for each course submission, even if it's only two pages long. (Yes, they can be that short. For my one-credit course in CPR, I submitted a cover sheet plus a photocopy of my current CPR certification. That was enough to earn the credit.)

The cover sheet is in a format provided by TESC, and includes information on you and your degree program, the course title and number of credits for which you are applying, and the pasted-up photocopy of the course description along with the institutional information. (Remember? That's the name of the college where you found the course description, year the catalog was published, page number, and department under which the course is taught.)

Now, simply add the documentation that validates that you have the knowledge in the subject that you claim to have. The ease with which you do that depends on whether you've saved a lot of stuff over the years, including your old kitchen sink, or whether you have to scrounge for documentation.

Remember that your validating evidence can take the form of documents, written products, audio or videotapes, or merely a list of books you have read in a subject. You can earn credit on a portfolio in any of three ways: (1) on evidence alone, (2) by testing, or (3) through a combination of evidence and testing.

Let's say, for example, that you are challenging a course called Business Writing. You can submit examples of your actual business writing such as significant correspondence, memoranda, or perhaps a policy or procedure manual you have written. And make sure they're as tight-assed as possible; challenging a writing course by submitting documents with typos, grammatical errors, or errors in punctuation won't cut it.

Are you challenging a course in computer science? No problem, just submit copies of programs you have written, or of disks which your course evaluator can use to run the programs. (And if you submit disks, hide the code. That way, even if you break "the rules of programming," the evaluator will only see the result - that the program works - and will not grade you on the theory behind the programming.)

Now, the obvious question is, "How will the evaluator know that I wrote the manuals, the programs, etc.?" That's where the second most important type of evidence comes into play: letters of validation. Get anyone who is qualified to write validation letters attesting to your knowledge of the subject you are challenging. Remember that they are to be validation letters, not recommendation or reference letters. You don't want your boss to write a letter saying, "Joe is a great guy and takes his coffee with cream and sugar" - that doesn't attest to your knowledge of a subject. You want him or her to write a letter that validates the claims you have made in your portfolio: "Joe is our Human Resources Director. His job responsibilities include recruiting, performance evaluations, and salary analysis. He has written our company's personnel and benefits administration manuals." That's validation.

Some course submissions require minimal documentation, especially if they require a credential. In addition to CPR, other examples include Red Cross First Aid (yes, there are college courses available in this), holding a pilot's license or a cosmetology license, a CNA or CNE certification if you are a programmer or MIS administrator, a nursing or medical certification, a commercial driver's license, or even if you are a licensed funeral director (yes, there are college courses for morticians). In fact, if you hold any type of license or certification, you should automatically look for courses in your field. The rule of thumb is simple: There is a college course offered somewhere in virtually any topic you can imagine. (Hell, even Berkeley offers a course titled The Films of Keanu Reeves.)

What if you don't have enough documentation to pursue credit on evidence alone? Then go for the testing option.

Let's go back to Folk Guitar Class for a moment. There's not a lot of theory in this area; as Ethel Merman sang in Gypsy, "You either got it . . . or you don't." For my credit in folk guitar, I met with TESC's evaluator (a music professor at Mercer County Community College) and played a few songs on the guitar. (By the way, I also challenged voice, piano, solfeggio [sight singing], performance class, choral singing, and a few other music courses.) After a two-hour meeting with the evaluator, I walked out with 20 credits in various music subjects. (The meeting included a written exercise in which I had to develop a four-part harmony to a written melody line. Still, not bad for two hours in which all I basically had to do was play and sing. Now if only I had added a dance course. But then, the professor wasn't my type.)

By the way, when using the testing option, try to go for an oral exam whenever possible. There may be a difference between your perspective and your evaluator's perspective on a subject, and an oral examination allows you to sway the discussion closer to your perspective. For example, I challenged a course titled Canada. My perspective was focused on culture and politics, but the evaluator's perspective was focused on economics and early history. I made the mistake of opting for a written exam and didn't know diddly-squat about the questions the evaluator had developed. On the other hand, I challenged another course titled "Arms Control & Disarmament" under a combined evidence-testing option. My focus was on political issues, but the evaluator focused on technical issues like weapons systems. Fortunately, I had asked for an oral exam, and was able to sway the focus and carry on an intelligent 20-minute phone conversation that resulted in the evaluator saying that I knew more than he did, thus I deserved the credit. Remember: keep it oral, not written, wherever you can.

Finally, think broad. (Remember, the nature of a bachelor's degree is to demonstrate "breadth and depth.") You may have documentation that you can use as evidence for more than one course. (This is different than double dipping, in which you attempt to challenge more than one course with different titles but the same content.) For example, my first book, published in 1982, was "Building Bridges: The Prolife Movement and the Peace Movement." (Don't bother reading it. It's out of print now, and I think of it as a piece of crap compared to my later books.) Because it was interdisciplinary, I was able to use it as evidence for portfolios on four courses: Advanced Writing: Academic Forms, Arms Control & Disarmament, A Comprehensive Analysis of Abortion, and Toward a Theology of Peace.

If you have a thorough knowledge of COBOL, for example, you can use that knowledge to challenge more than one course, say, Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in COBOL. If you have ever presented a lecture on, say, "The Migration of Monarch Butterflies," you can use it for credit in a course on butterflies, and if you have an audiotape of your lecture (and if it's a good, well-delivered lecture) you can use it to challenge a course in public speaking.

Remember that you will be assigned a portfolio advisor at TESC - he or she is the person who does the initial review of your submissions, then sends them out to individual course evaluators (who, for the most part, teach the subjects you have challenged at other colleges and universities in New Jersey and in nearby states). Make use of your advisor. If you are unsure of what you are doing, submit a sample portfolio to make sure you are doing it right so you won't have multiple submissions bouncing back on you later. Also make sure you order a copy of TESC's portfolio guide and read it completely for other hints, but don't feel as if you're locked into one particular model.