Prior Learning Experience Portfolio Evaluation

Has anyone here put together or have experience with what's involved with putting together a "Prior Learning Experience Portfolio Evaluation" for grad school?

According to the Andrew Jackson University handbook, you can earn up to 25 percent of your grad degree through this method. Of course there's like a $225 evaluation fee involved. Anyone think this is worth it? Has anyone on the forum been successful in this or know someone who was? Thanks.

 

More information needed...

Hi,

This is a very intresting option. Does the manual supply information regarding what is needed in the portfolio?

Out of curiosity, I would be interested in learning about what goes into composing such a portfolio. I hope there are those on this who might want to share information they have.

I do suspect that documentation including job descriptions, reports and other evidence of work-cum-learning is to be included in such a document. I also think you will need supporting statements, or affidavits or attestation documents from others supporting claims of learning, producing knowledge and other related activities.

Kenneth

 

You are probably correct Kenneth. I had a few credits granted for my undergrad at California Coast, and I had to provide most of the things you are describing in order to be granted credit. Luckily, over the years, I have saved copies of all my training and special work projects.

If the portfolio thing grants up to 25% credit towards the grad program at AJU, I would say hell yes it is worth the $225.00 in terms of time and coursework.

Abner

 

I constructed a portfolio several decades ago when I was pursuing a BSBA through Redlands University (and taught of campus by the Institute for Professional Development (a forerunner to the University of Phoenix – see http://www.apollogrp.edu/).

The portfolio, which was never submitted due to my move across the country to NH, consisted of the following sections:

I. Resume
II. List of all academic credits to date (I included transcripts and copies of all certificates)
III. Tests taken (CLEP, DANTES, etc) I had none of these at the time.
IV. Professional courses – I included courses takem through my employer with copies of certs.
V. Military Service – I had none.
I think the idea of Sections I thru V was to give the reviewers a background on the person requesting credit via portfolio (kind of like an interview).
VI. Challenge for course credit
For this section we had to pick out degree level courses (30 semester units maximum) from college catalogs and explain how equivalent learning was acquired. I picked the following courses for which I still have the write-ups:
a. Engineering Design (I discussed my primary job specialty)
b. Engineering Project (I discussed my other job specialty)
c. The Formerly Married (I talked about having a family and getting divorced – included pics and certs).
d. Physical Education (I included lots of stuff related to me mountaineering and rock climbing experiences including photos, membership in Sierra Club, Books in my collection).

There are lots of web sites that discuss portfolio preparation – I listed a bunch many years ago.

I am currently assembling a portfolio (very loosly at this time) on Glaciers which I hope to submit for UL or PG geology credit. I take pics of of every glacial feature I come across on my travels and collect books on the subject (The discovery of glaciers on Mars was recently announced ).

 

In looking thru my archived files I came across this policy from WASC for UG experiential learning. This may be out of date, but an update may be available on the WASC website.

WASC policy on experiential learning.

PART III

COMMISSION POLICIES

TESTIMONIAL POLICIES

Testimonial Policies have been adopted by the Commission as public position statements. Testimonial policies define good practice in more
detail than do the accreditation standards and are intended to offer guidance to member institutions and to the Commission itself. Such
policies are adopted after broad consultation among member institutions and with other agencies that make up the regional accrediting
community.

CREDIT FOR PRIOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

(Adopted June 1980, Revised June 1990)

It is the position of the Commission that the academy has a significant role beyond that of certifying what a student has learned elsewhere. It
is within the academy that a student earns academic degrees.

Credit for prior experiential learning is offered only under the conditions enumerated below. This policy is not designed to apply to such
practices as CLEP, advanced placement, or ACE evaluated military credit. Questions about this policy should be referred to Commission staff.

In developing and publishing its guidelines and procedures, it is suggested that institutions follow the principles of good practice in
assessing experiential learning represented by the Council for the Advancement of Experiential Learning (CAEL)* and the American Council
on Education.**

*Willingham, Warren W. Principles of Good Practice in Assessing Experiential Learning. CAEL, American City Building, Suite 40-3, Columbia,
MD 21044, 1977.

**American Council on Education. ``Principles of Good Practice for Alternative and External Degree Programs for Adults.'' ACE, Publications
Department A, One Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. 20036, 1990.

1. Before credit for prior experiential learning becomes part of the student's permanent record, the student completes, at the credit-granting
institution, a sufficient number of units to establish evidence of a satisfactory learning pattern.

2. Portfolio-based credit for prior experiential learning is awarded for no more than 30 semester units, or the equivalent, toward the Associate
Degree. Credit is awarded only for documented learning which ties the prior experience to the theories and data of the relevant academic field.

3. Credit is awarded only in areas which fall within the regular curricular offerings of the institution and are part of the instructional program
the student completes.

4. Institutions using documentation and interviews in lieu of examinations, demonstrate that the documentation provides academic assurances
of equivalency to credit earned by traditional means.

5. No assurances are made in advance regarding the number of credits to be awarded.

6. Credit is awarded only by faculty holding regular appointments in the appropriate discipline. The awarding of credit, and the determination
of the amount of such credit, is made by qualified faculty members. The faculty ensures that assessment procedures are appropriate for the
credit awarded.

7. Only college level learning is creditable, consistent with the academic standards of the institution.

8. Credit is awarded only to matriculated students and is identified on the student's transcript as ``credit for prior experiential learning.'' The
institution is prepared, on request from another institution, to furnish full documentation showing how such learning was evaluated and the
basis on which such credit was awarded.

9. Steps are taken to ensure that credit for prior experiential learning does not duplicate credit already awarded or remaining courses planned
for the student's academic program.

10. Policies and procedures for awarding experiential learning credit are adopted, described in appropriate institutional publications, and
reviewed at regular intervals.

11. Fees charged are realistically related to the cost of the program. Adequate precautions are provided to ensure that payment of fees does
not influence the award of credit.

 

Cost for APL

When APL credits are earned is full tuition charged? Does Andrew Jackson charge $225 total?

 

Great Info

Hi...thanks for the great info. Please update with the most current info if you can, if not, don't bother...this is a great start. Thanks again.

 

Tips on Choosing a Prior Learning Portfolio Program

I administer a Prior Learning Portfolio program at an online college and can add a few bits of advvice.

First, find out how the credit is going to be transcripted. Does the institution give block credit (for example 9 credits in Humanities)? That may be acceptable at the institution that granted the credit, but if your degree progress is interrupted and you want to transfer the credit to another school to complete your degree, the receiving institution isn't going to know what "Humanities" you've got credit for. They won't be able to tell if your block credit covers English Composition or a Literature course and you might end up having to take those courses anyway, to cover general education or other requirements at the new school. It's best to choose a portfolio program that transcripts credit for individual courses.

Another thing to ask is whether the portfolio program records the credit as grades or pass/fail. Again, this isn't a problem if you graduate from the school that awarded the credit, but most institutions won't accept a Pass grade in transfer because it might be a "D" grade. It also could potentially be a problem in getting into a good grad school, if that's your goal. My school does use Pass/Fail for portfolios, but on our transcript there is a line that says all grades recorded as "Pass" are guaranteed to be at least a "C" (not a "C-") or higher. That allows other institutions to accept our portfolio review credit in transfer, and our students have no problems getting into grad schools.

Finally, ALWAYS check with your academic advisor to be sure that the courses for which you plan to get credit in a portfolio will be accepted for the purpose you want to use them: some schools offer portfolio credit but don't allow it to be used toward a major requirement or a general education requirement, or prohibit portfolio credit for 300 or 400-level courses, etc. So it's best to find out what the restrictions, if any, might be BEFORE you put time and money into a portfolio assessment.

That said, I can tell you that I personally have helped hundreds of students move more quickly toward their degree completion. In 2009, the Council on Adult and Experiential Education (CAEL) did a study to see if this type of program really helped students, and the results were a resounding yes! If you want to read it for yourself, there is a copy available at http://www.cael.org/pdfs/PLA_Executive-Summary.

Good luck to you!

Maryanne LeGrow
[email protected]