Understanding Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) for College Credit

Key Take­aways:

• Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment (PLA) allows you to earn col­lege cred­it for knowl­edge gained from work, mil­i­tary, or vol­un­teer expe­ri­ences.
• PLA can sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduce the time and cost of obtain­ing a degree by award­ing cred­it for demon­strat­ed skills and knowledge.
• Dif­fer­ent meth­ods of PLA include port­fo­lio assess­ments, stan­dard­ized exams like CLEP and DSST, and eval­u­a­tions of pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and mil­i­tary train­ing.
• Although PLA has many ben­e­fits, chal­lenges include poten­tial lim­i­ta­tions on cred­it trans­fer­abil­i­ty and vary­ing insti­tu­tion­al policies.

Ever thought your life expe­ri­ences could get you col­lege cred­it? That’s what Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment (PLA) is all about. It helps you get cred­it for what you know and can do, even if you learned it out­side of a classroom.

PLA is great for adults return­ing to school, peo­ple chang­ing careers, or any­one with lots of real-life skills. If you’ve picked up skills at work, in the mil­i­tary, or by vol­un­teer­ing, it can cut your time in school and save mon­ey on classes.

This post will explore how you can earn col­lege cred­it with PLA and why it’s chang­ing the edu­ca­tion game. You’ll learn about the dif­fer­ent ways to get cred­it for your expe­ri­ence. And you’ll see how it can make your school jour­ney smoother. Are you ready to trans­form your life lessons into valu­able col­lege cred­its? Let’s get started!

Relat­ed:

• Online Col­leges with Open Enroll­ment and No Appli­ca­tion Fee
• 5 Exams Accept­ed for Col­lege Cred­it and More
• What are CLEP Exams and Why Should I Take Them?
• Five Ways to Get a Faster Bachelor’s Degree

Table of Contents

• What is Pri­or Learn­ing Assessment?
• His­to­ry and Devel­op­ment of PLA
• Types of Pri­or Learn­ing Assessments
  • Port­fo­lio Assessments
  • Stan­dard­ized Exams
    • CLEP Exams
    • DSST Exams
  • Chal­lenge Exams
  • Pro­fes­sion­al Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and Licenses
    • Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­o­gy (IT) certifications
    • Health­care certifications
    • Busi­ness certifications
    • Trade licens­es
  • Mil­i­tary Train­ing and Experience
• How to Pre­pare for PLA
  • Seek Guid­ance from Aca­d­e­m­ic Advisors
  • Research Insti­tu­tion­al PLA Policies
  • Devel­op­ing a Strong Portfolio
  • Gath­er Your Documentation
• Assess­ment Process and Criteria
• Ben­e­fits of PLA
  • Accel­er­at­ed Degree Completion
  • Cost Sav­ings
  • Recog­ni­tion of Experience
  • Increased Stu­dent Success
• Chal­lenges of PLA
  • Pos­si­ble Lim­i­ta­tions and Restrictions
  • Trans­fer­abil­i­ty of PLA Credits
  • Qual­i­ty and Rig­or of Assessments
  • Insti­tu­tion­al Poli­cies and Differences
  • Equi­ty Considerations
• Suc­cess Sto­ries and Case Studies
  • Exam­ples of Suc­cess­ful PLA Students
  • Impact on Aca­d­e­m­ic and Pro­fes­sion­al Careers
    • Lessons Learned and Tips
• Com­par­ing PLA to Tra­di­tion­al Cred­it Earning
  • Dif­fer­ences in Process and Outcomes
  • Advan­tages and Disadvantages
  • When PLA Shines
• The Future of PLA in High­er Education
  • Emerg­ing Trends and Inno­va­tions in PLA
  • Poten­tial Changes and Improvements
  • Role of Tech­nol­o­gy in PLA Processes
• Clos­ing Thoughts
• FAQ

What is Prior Learning Assessment?

PLA lets you earn col­lege cred­it for what you already know. It con­sid­ers your life, work, and non-school train­ing. With PLA, you show­case your out­side class­room learn­ing. Earn­ing col­lege cred­it this way has big pluses:

• Save mon­ey on tuition
• Fin­ish your degree faster
• Get recog­ni­tion for your skills
• Boost your confidence

Whether you’re start­ing or return­ing to col­lege, PLA offers a unique advan­tage. It’s espe­cial­ly help­ful for adult stu­dents. If you’re over 25 and going back to school, your expe­ri­ences could count!

History and Development of PLA

PLA start­ed in the 1940s after World War II when many sol­diers came home and want­ed to attend col­lege. Schools real­ized these sol­diers had learned a lot through their mil­i­tary expe­ri­ence and start­ed giv­ing them cred­it for it.

PLA grew in the 1960s and 1970s as more adults want­ed to return to school. Col­leges saw that many stu­dents also had valu­able knowl­edge from their jobs and life expe­ri­ences. So, they start­ed offer­ing more ways to assess and give cred­it for this pri­or learning.

Over time, dif­fer­ent PLA meth­ods were devel­oped. These includ­ed tests, port­fo­lios, and eval­u­a­tions of mil­i­tary and work train­ing. In the 1990s, orga­ni­za­tions like the Coun­cil for Adult and Expe­ri­en­tial Learn­ing (CAEL) were cre­at­ed to help schools devel­op and improve their PLA programs.

Today, PLA is wide­ly used by col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties. It has become essen­tial for rec­og­niz­ing the val­ue of knowl­edge gained as a work­ing adult. It con­tin­ues to evolve and grow, help­ing more stu­dents reach their edu­ca­tion­al goals.

Types of Prior Learning Assessments

The pro­ce­dures and poli­cies for get­ting cred­it for your pri­or learn­ing can vary among schools. They include dif­fer­ent types of assess­ments to prove your knowl­edge and skills. Here are some of the most com­mon meth­ods used by colleges.

Portfolio Assessments

A port­fo­lio assess­ment is basi­cal­ly a col­lec­tion of your best work. It allows you to demon­strate your col­lege-lev­el learn­ing through mate­ri­als like essays, projects, and oth­er evi­dence of your knowl­edge. Experts then look at your port­fo­lio and may give you col­lege credit.

Here’s more about Port­fo­lio Assess­ments for PLA:

1. Demon­strat­ing knowl­edge: In a Port­fo­lio Assess­ment, stu­dents gath­er evi­dence of their learn­ing from var­i­ous expe­ri­ences. This can include work, vol­un­teer activ­i­ties, inde­pen­dent study, or train­ing pro­grams. They then present this evi­dence to show how their learn­ing aligns with spe­cif­ic col­lege cours­es or programs.

2. Reflec­tion and analy­sis: Stu­dents often write reflec­tive essays as part of their port­fo­lio. These essays describe their learn­ing expe­ri­ences and how they have led to col­lege-lev­el skills. This process is a key com­po­nent of the eval­u­a­tion process.

3. Fac­ul­ty eval­u­a­tion: Once the port­fo­lio is sub­mit­ted, fac­ul­ty mem­bers will review it. They will deter­mine if the learn­ing is equiv­a­lent to what would be gained in a col­lege course. If so, the stu­dent may be award­ed credit.

5. Skill devel­op­ment: The actu­al process of cre­at­ing a port­fo­lio can help stu­dents devel­op impor­tant col­lege skills. These include crit­i­cal think­ing, writ­ing, and organization.

Prepar­ing a port­fo­lio can be time-con­sum­ing. How­ev­er, it can be worth it for stu­dents with a lot of pri­or learn­ing. You’ll earn cred­its and save a lot of time and money. 

Your port­fo­lio is your spot­light. Make it sharp and com­plete. Some schools even offer class­es for PLA port­fo­lio prepa­ra­tion. Take advan­tage of these if you can. 

Standardized Exams

Stan­dard­ized exams are anoth­er way to prove what you know. You can earn cred­it with­out tak­ing the usu­al class­es by tak­ing these exams.

There are two main types:

• CLEP exams cov­er many top­ics, like his­to­ry and science.
• DSST exams test you on aca­d­e­m­ic and tech­ni­cal subjects.

CLEP Exams

CLEP stands for Col­lege Lev­el Exam­i­na­tion Pro­gram. It is a wide­ly used form of Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment. It’s a set of stan­dard­ized tests that allow stu­dents to demon­strate their knowl­edge. CLEP exams are designed to test a stu­den­t’s mas­tery of col­lege-lev­el material. 

There are 34 exams to choose from. They cov­er var­i­ous top­ics, such as psy­chol­o­gy, gov­ern­ment, lit­er­a­ture, and more. Stu­dents who pass a CLEP exam can earn col­lege cred­it for that sub­ject. This means they can skip tak­ing that par­tic­u­lar course.

Over 2,900 US col­leges offer CLEP cred­it. The exams are offered at test­ing cen­ters across the coun­try, mak­ing them acces­si­ble to many students.

DSST Exams

DSST exams are anoth­er way stu­dents can earn col­lege cred­it by tak­ing tests. These tests used to be called DANTES Sub­ject Stan­dard­ized Tests, but now they’re just known as DSST exams. Over 1500 col­leges award col­lege cred­it for pass­ing scores on these exams. Like CLEP exams, they are admin­is­tered at test­ing cen­ters around the US. 

At one time, the DSST exams were reserved for mil­i­tary mem­bers only. How­ev­er, now, any adult can take them. There are 30 exams to choose from, cov­er­ing a wide range of sub­jects. These include sci­ence, busi­ness, human­i­ties, tech­nol­o­gy, and more. This means stu­dents can earn cred­it in many dif­fer­ent areas.

Challenge Exams

Chal­lenge exams are anoth­er form of PLA offered by some col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties. Unlike exams like CLEP and DSST, chal­lenge exams are spe­cif­ic to the insti­tu­tion offer­ing them. So they are unique to each col­lege or university.

The exam con­tent is based on the spe­cif­ic course mate­r­i­al taught at that insti­tu­tion. They will test your mas­tery of a spe­cif­ic course’s con­tent. This means that if you pass a chal­lenge exam, you earn cred­it for that spe­cif­ic course.

Chal­lenge exams can take var­i­ous forms, depend­ing on the school. They may include mul­ti­ple-choice ques­tions, essays, oral pre­sen­ta­tions, or prac­ti­cal demon­stra­tions of skills. 

Not all cours­es may be avail­able for chal­lenge exams. And each col­lege may have dif­fer­ent eli­gi­bil­i­ty require­ments. Some schools may require you to have pri­or learn­ing expe­ri­ences relat­ed to the course. Oth­ers may allow any stu­dent to attempt the exam.

Professional Certifications and Licenses

Jobs that require pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tions or licens­es can also earn you col­lege cred­it. Many schools rec­og­nize that these cre­den­tials demon­strate the same knowl­edge and skills you might learn in col­lege courses.

If a cer­ti­fi­ca­tion or license is deter­mined to be equiv­a­lent to a col­lege course, you might be award­ed a spe­cif­ic num­ber of cred­its. The num­ber of cred­its will vary depend­ing on the insti­tu­tion and your cer­ti­fi­ca­tion or license. Some exam­ples of pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and licens­es that could poten­tial­ly earn col­lege cred­it include:

Information Technology (IT) certifications

• Comp­TIA A+, Net­work+, Security+
• Cis­co Cer­ti­fied Net­work Asso­ciate (CCNA)
• Microsoft Cer­ti­fied Solu­tions Expert (MCSE)

Healthcare certifications

• Reg­is­tered Nurse (RN)
• Cer­ti­fied Nurs­ing Assis­tant (CNA)
• Emer­gency Med­ical Tech­ni­cian (EMT)
• Cer­ti­fied Phar­ma­cy Tech­ni­cian (CPhT)

Business certifications

• Project Man­age­ment Pro­fes­sion­al (PMP)
• Cer­ti­fied Pub­lic Accoun­tant (CPA)
• Human Resources Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion Insti­tute (HRCI) certifications

Trade licenses

• Elec­tri­cian
• Plumber
• HVAC Tech­ni­cian

These are just a few exam­ples. The spe­cif­ic cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and licens­es eli­gi­ble for cred­it can vary wide­ly among col­leges. You will need to check with your school to learn about the process for earn­ing cred­it for pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and licens­es. And remem­ber, poli­cies and pro­ce­dures can vary between institutions.

Military Training and Experience

If you are a vet­er­an, you’ve like­ly gained a lot of valu­able knowl­edge and skills through your train­ing. Many schools rec­og­nize this and offer ways to earn col­lege cred­it for what you’ve learned in the ser­vice. Here’s how you can earn PLA cred­it for your mil­i­tary skills and experience:

1. Get your mil­i­tary tran­script: The first step is to request your mil­i­tary tran­script. Each branch of the mil­i­tary has its own tran­script system:

• Army: Army/American Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion Reg­istry Tran­script Sys­tem (AARTS)
• Navy and Marines: Sailor/Marine Amer­i­can Coun­cil on Edu­ca­tion Reg­istry Tran­script (SMART)
• Air Force: Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege of the Air Force (CCAF)
• Coast Guard: Coast Guard Insti­tute (CGI)

2. Sub­mit your tran­script to your col­lege: Once you have your mil­i­tary tran­script, you can sub­mit it to the col­lege or uni­ver­si­ty you plan to attend. The school will then eval­u­ate your tran­script to see if any of your mil­i­tary train­ing aligns with their course offerings.

3. Cred­it award: If the col­lege deter­mines that your mil­i­tary is equiv­a­lent to spe­cif­ic cours­es, you’ll be award­ed cred­it for those cours­es. The amount of cred­it you can earn varies depend­ing on your train­ing and the col­lege’s policies.

5. Apply the cred­it to your degree: The cred­it you earn through PLA can then be applied towards your degree program.

Some exam­ples of mil­i­tary train­ing and expe­ri­ence that could earn col­lege cred­it include:

• Mil­i­tary Occu­pa­tion­al Spe­cial­ty (MOS) training
• Lead­er­ship courses
• Lan­guage courses
• Tech­ni­cal and voca­tion­al training

It’s impor­tant to note that each col­lege has its own poli­cies for award­ing PLA cred­it for mil­i­tary train­ing. Some schools may be more gen­er­ous with cred­it awards than oth­ers. It’s a good idea to check with each col­lege you’re inter­est­ed in attend­ing. Then, com­pare the costs and time you can save. 

How to Prepare for PLA

Get­ting ready for the PLA process may feel over­whelm­ing. But know­ing the right steps puts you ahead. We’ll guide you through prepar­ing for your port­fo­lio assess­ment for col­lege credit.

• Dis­cuss PLA options with your school’s aca­d­e­m­ic advisor
• Look into your school’s PLA policies
• Build your portfolio
• Col­lect all need­ed documents

Seek Guidance from Academic Advisors

Don’t do this by your­self. Turn­ing to your aca­d­e­m­ic advi­sor is a smart move. They can clear up what life expe­ri­ences might get you cred­it. Plus, they can assist you through the PLA process.

Research Institutional PLA Policies

Look into your school’s PLA poli­cies. Each school has a unique set of rules, so it’s impor­tant to know what they expect. Vis­it your school’s PLA guide­lines for a clear view of the process.

Developing a Strong Portfolio

If a port­fo­lio is how you’re being assessed, mak­ing it strong is cru­cial. It should have:

• A title page
• An auto­bi­og­ra­phy high­light­ing rel­e­vant experiences
• Ana­lyt­i­cal essays demon­strat­ing your knowledge
• Evi­dence of learn­ing experiences
• Appen­dices with sup­port­ing documents

Gather Your Documentation

What proof you need depends on your PLA method. Here are a few things your school may require:

• Port­fo­lios to show your work and skills
• Scores from stan­dard­ized exams, like CLEP or DSST
• Cer­tifi­cates from pro­fes­sion­al training
• Mil­i­tary ser­vice records
• Job info and per­for­mance reviews

Assessment Process and Criteria

The PLA path changes based on how you’re test­ed. For exams, your cred­it comes from your score. Port­fo­lios get reviewed by fac­ul­ty. They decide if your work cov­ers course goals. Chal­lenge tests quiz what you know about the course.

Cred­it is giv­en when you show col­lege-lev­el knowl­edge that match­es the course. Your past expe­ri­ence should meet the same goals and under­stand­ing that stu­dents in class learn. Remem­ber, each school has its PLA rules, so check with yours for details.

Benefits of PLA

PLA offers enor­mous advan­tages for your edu­ca­tion jour­ney, including:

Accelerated Degree Completion

With PLA, you can speed up earn­ing your degree. If you already learned some­thing, you don’t have to repeat it. This means you can grad­u­ate soon­er and focus on new topics.

Cost Savings

PLA helps you save mon­ey on col­lege costs. You pay less because you take few­er cours­es. You also spend less on text­books. Plus, you get to work earlier.

Recognition of Experience

PLA val­ues what you’ve learned out­side of school. It turns your real-life skills into col­lege cred­its. This makes it eas­i­er to get a degree.

Increased Student Success

Many stu­dents find that PLA can give them the con­fi­dence to pur­sue their degree. Once you see how much you already know, it can moti­vate you to learn even more. Stud­ies show you’re more like­ly to grad­u­ate with PLA credits.

Challenges of PLA

PLA col­lege cred­it has many ben­e­fits, but there are also hur­dles. Know­ing the chal­lenges is essen­tial to mak­ing the most of pri­or learn­ing assessments.

Possible Limitations and Restrictions

PLA has its own set of lim­its. For exam­ple, the num­ber of cred­its you can earn might be capped. Also, some schools lim­it PLA to par­tic­u­lar sub­jects or degrees. Make sure to check your school’s poli­cies before starting.

Transferability of PLA Credits

The trans­fer­abil­i­ty of PLA cred­its is anoth­er chal­lenge. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, not all col­leges will accept your PLA cred­its. This might be a prob­lem if you plan to trans­fer or study elsewhere.

Quality and Rigor of Assessments

The qual­i­ty of PLA assess­ments might not always meet every­one’s expec­ta­tions. Some wor­ry that PLA assess­ments aren’t as rig­or­ous as tra­di­tion­al course­work. This might low­er how employ­ers or schools see your PLA credits.

Institutional Policies and Differences

Each school has its own rules regard­ing PLA. What’s accept­ed in one place might not be in anoth­er. This lack of con­sis­ten­cy makes it hard to under­stand the PLA process, espe­cial­ly across dif­fer­ent schools.

Equity Considerations

Late­ly, stud­ies have shown some equi­ty issues with how PLA is used. Here are a few points to consider:

• Only about 11% of adult stu­dents use PLA for col­lege credit
• Black, low­er-income, and com­mu­ni­ty col­lege stu­dents use PLA less frequently
• Cost can be a bar­ri­er for some stu­dents seek­ing PLA credits
• Some insti­tu­tions may not ade­quate­ly mar­ket or sup­port PLA options

Clear­ly, care­ful plan­ning and research are cru­cial for suc­cess­ful PLA pur­suit. Despite its chal­lenges, many stu­dents see PLA as essen­tial to their edu­ca­tion journey.

Success Stories and Case Studies

PLA suc­cess sto­ries show how stu­dents earn col­lege cred­it for what they already know. These sto­ries prove the val­ue of Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment (PLA). They show how it helps in both school and work.

Examples of Successful PLA Students

Many stu­dents have improved their edu­ca­tion and jobs with PLA. At Thomas Edi­son State Col­lege, over 4,200 stu­dents got cred­its through CLEP exams in one year. West­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty helped stu­dents by giv­ing over 2,000 CLEP cred­it hours.

Impact on Academic and Professional Careers

PLA great­ly ben­e­fits stu­dent suc­cess. For exam­ple, at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus (UMGC), those who trans­ferred alter­na­tive cred­it courses:

• Had a 22% high­er suc­cess in first-term courses
• Were 47% more like­ly to con­tin­ue to the sec­ond term
• Had an 86% high­er enroll­ment in the fourth term

These num­bers show how get­ting col­lege cred­it for life expe­ri­ence can help stu­dents do bet­ter in school and stick with it. Stud­ies prove this, mak­ing PLA a big help in get­ting a degree.

Lessons Learned and Tips

From these sto­ries, we learn some valu­able tips:

1. Start look­ing at PLA ear­ly in your studies
2. Keep track of your work and life experiences
3. Talk to a school advi­sor to know the PLA rules
4. Use CLEP exams and oth­er tests to your benefit
5. Con­sid­er oth­er cred­it cours­es to help with PLA

Comparing PLA to Traditional Credit Earning

There are dif­fer­ent ways to earn col­lege cred­its. Let’s exam­ine how PLA cred­it com­pares to the usu­al methods.

Differences in Process and Outcomes

PLA and reg­u­lar cred­its dif­fer in how you earn them:

• PLA cred­its reflect what you already know.
• Con­ven­tion­al class­es stick to a fixed study plan.
• PLA lets you learn at your own speed and schedule.
• In tra­di­tion­al set­tings, you fol­low a more struc­tured path.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Each method has its good and bad points:

PLA has some strong points:

• You can save both time and money.
• It helps you fin­ish your degree faster.
• It val­ues your prac­ti­cal life knowledge.

But get­ting tra­di­tion­al cred­its also has perks:

• You can deeply study new subjects.
• You get to work close­ly with oth­ers and your teachers.
• It pro­vides a well-orga­nized way of learning.

When PLA Shines

PLA could be your top choice if:

• You’re old­er and have lots of work experience.
• You’re chang­ing careers and want to use what you know.
• You served in the mil­i­tary and have valu­able training.
• You want to fin­ish your degree quickly.

You’re not stuck with just one choice. Stu­dents can use both PLA and con­ven­tion­al meth­ods togeth­er. Think about your own sit­u­a­tion, how you learn best, and what you want for your future. This will help you pick the right path.

“PLA allowed me to turn my years of work expe­ri­ence into col­lege cred­its. It saved me time and mon­ey while val­i­dat­ing my pro­fes­sion­al skills.” — Sarah, Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion Graduate

The Future of PLA in Higher Education

The future of PLA looks bright as col­leges see its worth. Let’s see what the future holds for pri­or learn­ing assessment.

Emerging Trends and Innovations in PLA

PLA is chang­ing to fit the needs of today’s stu­dents. There are new and excit­ing developments:

• Online port­fo­lio ser­vices like LearningCounts.org
• State-lev­el ini­tia­tives pro­mot­ing PLA at pub­lic colleges
• Grow­ing accep­tance of non-degree credentials
• Pro­grams designed for adults who have done some col­lege but no degree

These changes aim to make PLA bet­ter for stu­dents. Accord­ing to research, PLA stu­dents are 2.5 times more like­ly to grad­u­ate than others.

Potential Changes and Improvements

Col­leges are look­ing to make PLA even more ben­e­fi­cial. They’re focus­ing on:

• Help­ing under­served groups access PLA
• Mak­ing PLA prac­tices the same across schools
• Bet­ter col­lect­ing and ana­lyz­ing PLA data
• Low­er­ing the costs of PLA for students

These steps could help more stu­dents use PLA. Although it’s very help­ful, not many stu­dents use it.

Role of Technology in PLA Processes

Tech­nol­o­gy is chang­ing the game for PLA. It’s mak­ing things like online port­fo­lios eas­i­er. Plus, it’s help­ing with things like vir­tu­al chal­lenge exams.

• Cre­ate and sub­mit online portfolios
• Offer vir­tu­al chal­lenge exams
• Eval­u­ate non-col­lege learn­ing experiences
• Track and ana­lyze PLA data

As tech improves, PLA might become sim­pler and more open to stu­dents and colleges.

Closing Thoughts

Col­lege can be cost­ly and take a lot of time. How­ev­er, pri­or learn­ing assess­ment is a game-chang­er for many stu­dents. Don’t miss out on get­ting cred­it for what you know. PLA changes how we see learn­ing by valu­ing what we learn every day. Remem­ber, your expe­ri­ences are impor­tant for your edu­ca­tion. PLA is not just about get­ting cred­it; it’s about appre­ci­at­ing your life­long learn­ing com­mit­ment. Look into PLA at your col­lege today.

FAQ

What is Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment (PLA)?

Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment (PLA) checks what you’ve learned out­side reg­u­lar school for col­lege cred­it. This includes work expe­ri­ence, job train­ing, mil­i­tary ser­vice, or inde­pen­dent learning.

What are the dif­fer­ent types of Pri­or Learn­ing Assessments?

There are sev­er­al PLA ways to get cred­it. These include mak­ing a port­fo­lio, tak­ing spe­cif­ic exams, or prov­ing what you know through tests and evaluations.

What are the ben­e­fits of PLA?

PLA helps you get your degree faster and saves you mon­ey. Plus, it val­ues your real-life expe­ri­ences. Peo­ple with PLA cred­its are more like­ly to graduate.

Are there any chal­lenges or con­sid­er­a­tions with PLA?

There are some hur­dles to PLA. You might face lim­its on earned cred­its and rule dif­fer­ences between schools. There’s also a ques­tion of how well oth­er schools see PLA credits.

How can I pre­pare for a PLA assessment?

To pre­pare for PLA, check your school’s guide­lines and gath­er proof of your learn­ing. Get advice from your advi­sor. If you need a port­fo­lio, places like LearningCounts.org can help you learn how to make a strong one.

What does the future of PLA in high­er edu­ca­tion look like?

PLA’s future is bright, with more tech, stan­dard­ized prac­tices, and ways to earn cred­it. Enhance­ments aim to ensure fair grad­ing and easy cred­it trans­fer. The goal is to make PLA a cru­cial part of get­ting a degree.