CREDIT FOR PRIOR LEARNING by PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT (CPLPA)
ratified: Academic Council, Dec. 18, 1992, Academic Dean, April 6, 1993
last update: 11/99
archived versions:
PURPOSE:
To establish a portfolio review process as a method by which QVCC students may receive academic credit for prior experiential learning.
POLICY AND PROCEDURES:
The Credit for Prior Learning by Portfolio Assessment (CPLPA) program is designed to provide a mechanism by which new or continuing students may receive academic credit for prior experiential learning through a portfolio review process.
Academic credit will be awarded for college-level learning without regard to where or how it was gained.
The CPLPA program does NOT award credit for experience alone. Credit is granted for the verifiable learning outcomes growing out of a particular experience.
I. CRITERIA
A. In order to be eligible for academic credit, a student's prior experiential learning must meet the following criteria set forth by the Board of Trustees:
1. The learning shall have a subject matter or knowledge base.
2. The learning shall have general applicability outside of the specific situation in which it was acquired.
3. The learning shall be equivalent to college-level work in terms of quality.
4. The students must be able to demonstrate that they know the relationship between what they have learned and other related subject fields and their own goals.
5. The learning must be verifiable. The students must be able to demonstrate that they possess the learning which they have claimed.
B. No credit shall be awarded via portfolio review outside of subject areas encompassed by the approved curricula of QVCTC.
C. No more than 50 percent of an approved associate's degree program can be awarded for prior experiential learning. [This represents a combination of credit by examination (both external and internal), credit for military service, and CPLPA credits a student may have earned.]
D. Credits awarded through the CPLPA program will be recorded as transfer credits and will not affect a student's Quality Point Average (QPA).
II. PORTFOLIO
A. The format for presentation of the evidence upon which judgment is made in awarding academic credit in the CPLPA program is the portfolio.
1. Each portfolio must be a complete, self-explanatory, well-documented presentation prepared as part of the Portfolio Development course.
2. In the portfolio, the student must select, identify and describe the college-level learning and skills for which credit is requested.
3. After serious analysis and self-assessment, the student is required to assign a specific request for credit to a specific area of study. Because large blocks of credit are difficult to analyze and substantiate, students should separate learning requests into categories of six or fewer credit hours. Students may seek partial credit in specific subjects in accordance with existing QVCC partial credit policy.
4. The portfolio must contain written confirmation of the learning claimed in each area of study requested. This confirmation must include acceptable measurement and evaluation of all learning claimed.
B. Documentation:
1. Documentation and verification of prior experiential learning are required. Documentation may include official transcripts, certificates, licenses, examination scores, evaluative letters, and/or other written evidence that verifies and evaluates the learning. In assessing the portfolio, the greatest weight will be given to primary documentation (such as letters from knowledgeable persons directly involved in the learning experience) which specifically confirms and validates that the claimed learning has taken place.
2. Necessary precautions will be taken to ensure that all documents are authentic and that the credentialing process meets all QVCC standards for the awarding of academic credit.
D. Portfolio Assessment Fee:
1. Students submitting a portfolio for assessment will be charged a one-time assessment fee, in keeping with Board of Higher Education policy. No tuition fees will be charged for credits granted on the basis of the evaluation of a student's portfolio.
III. CPLPA COORDINATOR
A member of the college staff shall be designated as CPLPA Coordinator. The coordinator's responsibilities will include:
A. Planning and directing two or more CPLPA workshops prior to each semester the Portfolio Development course is offered.
B. Screening and granting approval to individuals who wish to enroll in the Portfolio Development course.
C. Reviewing and grouping portfolios to be assessed.
D. Providing assistance to the Academic Dean in the selection of individuals to serve on the Assessment Committee(s).
E. Scheduling committee meetings and offering assistance and information as needed.
F. Maintaining records of Assessment Committee decisions.
G. Forwarding to the Director of Records a copy of each successful student portfolio and a signed, approved and completed "Request for Credit" form.
IV. CPLPA PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT COMMITTEES
A. An Assessment Committee shall consist of three members selected by the Academic Dean in consultation with the CPLPA Coordinator.
B. Two members of each committee must ordinarily be QVCC faculty members who are qualified in pertinent subject areas. However, in instances when two QVCC faculty members cannot be identified for service on a specific committee, or where special expertise is required that is not adequately represented in the QVCC faculty, a faculty member from another accredited college or university may be recruited.
C. The third member of each committee should be a person from the local community who has expertise in the area(s) of experience being evaluated.
D. Each committee will, by majority vote, approve, modify, or deny the number and type of academic credits being requested by a student.
E. Portfolios submitted for evaluation during any given semester will be evaluated during the semester following. Students will be notified of the committee's decision shortly after the Assessment Committee completes its work. Credits awarded will become part of the student's transcript at the end of the semester in which the award is made.
V. CPLPA ASSESSMENT APPEALS PROCESS
A. A student will have 30 days, from the day notification of credit awards are sent out, to appeal the decision of the Assessment Committee. There are only two bases for appeal: procedural errors and Assessment Committee misjudgments. Procedural errors would be any errors which occur as a result of mishandling of the portfolio or its contents by college personnel after receipt of the portfolio by the CPLPA coordinator. Committee misjudgments would be errors resulting from lack of specific expertise in an area of requested credit, inexperience on the part of committee members, overt bias, or other human errors.
B. Appeals must be in writing, and they should be addressed to the Academic Dean. In the letter of appeal, the student should indicate the specific procedural errors, and/or Assessment Committee misjudgments on which the appeal is based.
C. The Academic Dean and the CPLPA Coordinator will serve as a two-person Appeals Committee.
D. The Appeals Committee will review the credit request, the portfolio, and the rationale given by the Assessment Committee in light of the specific errors cited in the letter of appeal.
E. If the Appeals Committee determines that the appeal has merit, the portfolio will be submitted to a second Assessment Committee for evaluation. The second assessment will be conducted on the same basis as the original assessment, with the committee not informed that the portfolio has been resubmitted. The student will not be permitted to include additional documentation or to alter the portfolio in any way, except for the correction of procedural errors. Although the second assessment may render fewer credits than the original award, the decision of the second assessment committee will be final and binding.
VI. CPLPA PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT COURSE
A. All students seeking academic credit via portfolio assessment must satisfactorily complete QVCC's credit-bearing Portfolio Development course.
B. Student academic program planning must be an integral component of this course, according to Board of Trustees guidelines.
C. The Board also requires that within this course, the student shall systematically and comprehensively measure, evaluate, and document his or her prior experiential learning. These processes are defined as follows:
1. Measurement is the process by which someone determines how much one has learned as a result of his or her learning experience.
2. Evaluation is the process of relating the measurement of learning to standards in order to determine how much credit or recognition should be awarded for the learning.
3. Documentation is the process of reporting the measurement and evaluation in a formal, written format suitable for permanent records.
VII. OTHER (SUGGESTED) CPLPA GUIDELINES
A. The members of the Assessment Committee are expected to assess the facts and weigh the evidence presented in a portfolio, using their knowledge and experience of both the academic world and the workplace to reach a sound judgment.
B. Experiential learning is generally recognized as "process-learning." The committee, therefore, is not asked to make credit awards based only on particularized information which students may possess. Awards are to be based on a broader judgment of the learning outcomes and the various stages of cognitive development each student has attained.
C. The committee should look for evidence of the college-level development of skills and abilities, the application and implementation of concepts, the synthesis of ideas, and the application and evaluation of theories, which follow from each student's experiences.
D. The learning acquired through experience needs only to have been accomplished at a satisfactory or passing level of performance. Students are not required to prove exceptional, excellent, or even above-average work in order to receive credit.
E. Relevance to a student's educational goals is a factor which should be considered. Most individuals have had many significant experiences that have led to some learning on a variety of topics. Such learning, however, may not be relevant to a college degree. The Assessment Committee is NOT expected to analyze many unrelated bits of experience and then "credit" the value of the applicant's "life."
F. The evaluation of experiential learning acquired in a work setting is best provided in most cases by a person who understands the dynamics of the particular work site and the learning potential actually offered to the student. If a field supervisor (employer) is not available, or if that person's judgment is deemed questionable, a second assessment by a disinterested, workplace observer should be considered. A student's self-assessment of work performed in a job setting is NOT an acceptable substitute.
G. Evaluation of a student's work by members of his or her immediate family is not recommended.
H. The amount of credit to be granted for prior learning should be determined, in part, by Assessment Committee members' own experience with the qualitative and quantitative expectations of an academic credit hour and with the overall level of accomplishment expected for each of the academic years.
I. Workshops and in-service training sessions which required outside preparation may be calculated at an approximation of 45 hours of classwork and study to one semester credit.
J. Learning achieved through life experiences is often not directly equivalent to any particular course or program of study. The number of credits awarded by the committee may vary from the assigned number of credits in an approved course. A partial credit will still be considered valid and will appear on a student's transcript.
K. Foreign language credit may be granted for reading, writing, and speaking skills in a non-native tongue. Note, however, that ESL instruction is not currently given credit at QVCC.
VIII. REQUIRED RECORDS
A. If a student receives academic credit on the basis or portfolio assessment, one copy of the student's portfolio will become a part of his or her permanent record.
B. The self-assessment documentation shall be treated like other official documents -- with normal assurances and confidentiality.
C. The college will maintain comprehensive records of evaluation and credit decisions. These records will specify:
1. the experience(s) for which the student claimed learning for which credit was awarded;
2. the method(s) of assessment;
3. the names and titles of faculty members and other persons who recommended approval of credit;
4. the number of credits awarded.
D. Credits awarded will be listed on the student's transcript as transfer credits under the heading "QVCC CPL Portfolio Assessment".
IX. REAPPLICATION TO THE CPLPA PROGRAM
A. Learning can be granted academic credit only once. Learning which has already been granted credit by another college cannot earn new credits through QVCC's CPLPA program.
B. Prior experiential learning which has NOT been assessed for credit previously, or which has taken place since a student last requested academic credit for prior learning, may be included in a new portfolio request. Students will not be expected to repeat a complete Portfolio Development course.
C. Requests for permission to submit a second portfolio for assessment, and any special requirements for doing so, must be approved by the CPLPA Coordinator.
X. STANDARDS FOR ASSESSMENT OF PRIOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Guidelines for QVCC's CPLPA program are subject to reevaluation in order to meet changing national and regional standards, and to maintain compliance with the policies of the Board of Trustees for Connecticut Community Colleges and the state Board of Governors for Higher Education.