Credit for Prior Learning

Prior Learning from Working, Volunteering, Community Engagement, Self-Study, Living

Many students come to college with work or life experiences that have taught them things they might otherwise learn in college.

Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Options

You can earn credit for your prior learning by providing evidence of what you have learned through:

• CLEP Exams
• ACE Military Credits
• Credit by Examination
• Industry Standard Certifications (offered by Information Systems, contact Tad Shannon, shannons@wou.edu)
• Portfolio (see below)

Portfolio-Based Credit for Prior Learning:  Next Steps

Reflect on Your Experiences

Complete this form to begin reflecting on your experiences and prior learning.

Identify Possible Courses

To earn credit for your prior learning through a portfolio you will identify one or more WOU courses, from the current course catalog, where you believe your work or life experience has enabled you to meet the course learning outcomes.

Meet with an Academic Advisor

The following programs are engaged in portfolio-based credit for prior learning at WOU.  Make an appointment with our Degree Completion Advisor or meet with an advisor in the department that offers the course(s).  Then you can explore whether the content, depth, and breadth of your experience are a good fit for portfolio-based credit for prior learning.  :

• • Teacher Education (Kristin Pratt, prattk@wou.edu)
  • Early Childhood Studies (Andrea Emerson, emersone@wou.edu)
  • ASL/Interpreting Studies (Audrey Loundenback, loudena@wou.edu)
  • Gerontology (Melissa Cannon, cannonm@wou.edu)
  • Interdisciplinary Studies (Ryan Hickerson, hickersr@wou.edu; or Jeff Myers, myersj@wou.edu)
  • Sociology (Maureen Dolan, dolanm@wou.edu)
  • Criminal Justice (Omar Melchor-Ayala, ayalao@wou.edu)
  • Dance (Tim Cowart, cowartt@wou.edu)

Request to Enroll in WR 407

If you and your advisor believe that credit for prior learning by portfolio is a good option for you, you may enroll in WR 398 Credit for Prior Learning Portfolio. Submit your request to enroll in WR 407 to WOU’s degree completion advisor.

In Winter 2023 and Spring 2023, students will not be charged tuition or online course fees for WR 407.  You are helping us develop an exciting new opportunity for working adult students, and we are covering the cost of the course for you.

Complete WR 407

In WR 407, you will learn how to develop a portfolio that demonstrates your prior learning using direct and indirect evidence of learning.  Completion of WR 407 does not guarantee that you will be granted credit for prior learning.  Instead, it prepares you to put your best case forward for review by the department’s faculty.

Successful completion of WR 407 counts towards four (4) upper-division credits and satisfies General Education requirements for Critical Thinking.

Submit Your Portfolio for Review

After the term is over, you will submit your portfolio to the program faculty who will review your portfolio and decide how many and which credits you are awarded.

The Door Is Open

Once you have completed WR 407, you will be able to submit additional portfolios for review without retaking 407.  For each portfolio, you will need to identify WOU course(s) in the current catalog and have an advisor’s approval to submit a portfolio.  The advisor’s approval ensures that you are working with one or more faculty from the beginning of the portfolio development process.

Questions?

Contact WOU’s Degree Completion Advisor.