Prior Learning Assessment

Video Description

Dr. Enid Larsen on the Prior Learning Assessment Program—learn how students can gain college credit for their work & life learning.

Text Transcript

00:01
(bright upbeat music)
00:06
- Prior Learning Assessment is a process
00:08
by which students petitioned for college credit,
00:11
for knowledge that they have gained in the workplace
00:14
or insignificant learning experiences.
00:17
It's a process by which the college
00:19
through our own accreditation process
00:22
values the learning that adult learners
00:24
bring to the workplace and to the college experience
00:29
and therefore have the opportunity to demonstrate
00:31
that learning so that they don't have to engage
00:33
in redundant experiences in college
00:36
so that they can have efficient time-saving
00:40
money-saving experiences.
00:42
At Endicott College, a student may petition
00:44
for a maximum of 30 credits,
00:47
and that is actually equal
00:48
to one year's worth of academic study.
00:52
On the associate level,
00:53
a student may petition for 15 credits,
00:56
however, they can work towards a full 30 credits,
01:01
but we bank, shall we say we bank,
01:03
we save 15 of those credits towards the bachelor degree.
01:09
If a student comes in with a large history, a big history,
01:15
they can petition for a very large number of credits,
01:19
or they may only want to petition for six or 12.
01:24
It really is variable, it depends on the student.
01:28
When students want to participate
01:30
in Prior Learning Assessment,
01:31
they actually register for a three credit class, PLA 100
01:37
and that class is the whole process of creating a portfolio
01:43
and there are requirements in the class
01:45
to do the different elements of the portfolio
01:49
and upon successful completion of that class,
01:52
they receive three credits
01:55
added on to the however many credits
01:58
that they are petitioning for.
02:00
The petitioning process is a separate evaluation process.
02:04
So ostensibly students may gain 33 credits
02:09
in this whole process.
02:10
But again, this is variable.
02:12
It depends on each student's individual profile
02:15
as to how many credits they're going to petition for.
02:19
Oftentimes when we advise students,
02:22
they don't really realize what funds of knowledge
02:25
that they're bringing to their academic plan
02:28
into their hopes and dreams for the future.
02:30
The beauty of prior assessment at Endicott College
02:34
is that it is embedded in the academic plan
02:37
within the academic plan of the student
02:40
and within the discipline
02:41
that they are interested in completing.
02:44
So therefore, the prior learning assessment course
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is a highly academic course because number one,
02:52
it fits into their academic plan,
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two, it is a writing process.
02:57
And three, it is a critical thinking process
03:01
and all of these things combined in the reflective process
03:06
of going over their work history
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and bringing up vignettes to demonstrate
03:13
what they have done experientially
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and how they have acquired that knowledge
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results in a robust academic paper,
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which they never realized that they could write
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or that they could actually do.
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Prior Learning Assessment is available to students
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who have the knowledge from work
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and life experiences
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and who want to complete their degree in this manner.
03:38
It's not a requirement, it's an opportunity.
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And we screen very carefully so that students
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have an option to say yes or no to the experience.
03:48
And when they find out where is available
03:51
and it matches their writing skills,
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it matches their learning experience
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and their knowledge, and it matches their academic plan
03:58
then it can be a very wonderful fit.
04:01
(bright upbeat music)