NORTH CENTRAL STATE COLLEGE POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL PRIOR LEARNING ASSESSMENT (PLA) CREDIT Effective: April 1, 2014 Policy No. 3357:13-13-33 Page 1 of 1 POLICY North Central State College supports the concept of lifelong learning to meet the retraining, upgrading, and personal enrichment needs of students. Therefore it is the policy of North Central State College that, military training, work experience, classroom learning, as well as proficiency testing outside of the college classroom shall be evaluated for college credit at the request of the student. Below are the attendant policies and procedures for the various types of prior learning a student may present for credit. I II III. Credit by exam (internal) Credit by exam/training/work experience (external) CLEP ACT PEP AP Military Training Work Experience Credit for Life experience PROCEDURES I. Credit by Examination CBE) A student may earn proficiency credit by taking a specific comprehensive examination. This can be either a written exam or a lab exam. A fee is charged for each examination. When both a written examination and a lab are required, the written examination will be administered first. If the written examination is successful, the student can then take the lab portion of the exam. A CBE cannot be taken for a course in which a letter grade, a W (withdrawal), or P/NP has already been received. The necessary forms to request CBE credit can be obtained in the academic division offices, the Student Success Center, or online (www.ncstatecollege.edu/admissions). II. Credit from External Examinations (CLEP & ACT PEP, ACE, Military Training (ACE Approved) 1. A student may receive proficiency credit through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and the American College Testing Proficiency Examination Program (ACT PEP). The College- Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a national system of credit-by-examination for assessing college level competencies in five
General Examinations (English, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences-history) and a large number of Subject Examinations. The American College Testing Proficiency Examination Program (ACT PEP) is a national testing program consisting of exams developed by the faculty of the University of the State of New York. North Central State College has reviewed the CLEP and ACT PEP examinations and found the following tests to be similar in content to its courses: Minimum Score for Awarding Credit Refer to Credit Column CLEP Subject Exams Credit College Course Introductory Accounting 50 ACCT1010 Financial Accounting Human Growth & Development 50 PSYC2010 Human Growth and Development Introductory Psychology 50 PSYC1010 Introduction to Psychology Introductory Sociology 50 SOCY1010 Introduction to Sociology Introduction to Management 50 BUSM1050 Management Introductory Business Law 50 BUSM1110 Business Law Principles of Marketing 50 BUSM1150 Marketing Introductory Macroeconomics 50 ECON2510 Macroeconomics Introductory Microeconomics 50 ECON1510 Microeconomics College Composition 50 ENGL1010 English Composition I College Composition Modular 50 ENGL1010 English Composition I Analyzing and Interpreting Literature 50 ENGL2010 Introduction to Literature American Government 50 POLT1010 American Politics and Issues History of the US I 50 HIST1010 American Culture & History to History of the US II 50 HIST1030 College Algebra 50 MATH1110 College Algebra Pre-Calculus 50 MATH1130 Trigonometry Calculus with Elem. 50 MATH1150 Calculus I 1877 American Culture & History from 1877 Functions Biology 50 BIOL1050 Principles of Biology General Chemistry 50 CHEM1030 Chemistry ACT PEP Exams Credit College Course Statistics 45 STAT1010 Probability and Statistics Introductory Accounting 45 ACCT1010 Financial Accounting Corporate Finance 45 ACCT2070 Principles of Finance Principles of Management 45 BUSM1050 Management Principles of Marketing 45 BUSM1150 Marketing Abnormal Psychology 45 PSYC2050 Abnormal Psychology Microbiology 45 BIOL1550 Microbiology
2. A student may obtain proficiency credit for any of these NC State courses provided that he or she successfully passes the appropriate CLEP or ACT PEP examination including the essay section where applicable. Students seeking transfer credit for CLEP or ACT PEP examinations must furnish the Student Records Office with appropriate documentation. Any course which receives proficiency credit will be noted on the student s academic record with the symbol X. Letter grades and quality points are not used. The necessary forms to request proficiency credit can be obtained in the Student Success Center. A. Advanced Placement Programs The State of Ohio, working through the University System of Ohio, has initiated policies to facilitate the ease of transition from high school to college as well as between and among Ohio s public colleges and universities. Refer to the NC State website for specific course information. 1. Students obtaining an Advanced Placement (AP) exam score of 3 or above will be awarded the aligned course(s) and credits for the AP exam area(s) successfully completed. 2. General Education courses and credits received will be applied towards graduation and will satisfy a general education requirement if the course(s) to which the AP area is equivalent fulfill a requirement. 3. If an equivalent course is not available for the AP exam area completed, elective or area credit will be awarded in the appropriate academic discipline and will be applied towards graduation where such elective credit options exist within the academic major. 4. Additional courses or credits may be available when a score of 4 or 5 is obtained. Award of credit for higher score values varies depending on the institution and academic discipline. B. College Credit for Military Training 1. College credit will be granted to students with military training, experience, or coursework that is recognized by the American Council on Education (ACE). 2. North Central State College will use the ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services in evaluating and awarding academic credit for military training, experience, and coursework. 3. If the course to which the military training, experience, or coursework is equivalent fulfills a general education or major course or degree program requirement the credit will count towards graduation and meet a requirement accordingly. Otherwise, appropriate course credit including elective course credit will be granted.
4. North Central State College will provide information on awarding of college credit for military training, experience, and coursework; this will include the number of credits awarded and the course equivalents. 5. Credits earned via military training, experience, and coursework are transferable within public institutions of higher education in Ohio according to the state's Transfer Module, Transfer Assurance Guides, Career-Technical Credit Transfer, and transfer policy. 6. Academic Deans/Registrar will use the ACE site below to evaluate military training credit. http://www2.acenet.edu/militaryguide/coursesearch.cfm 7. In academic disciplines containing highly dependent sequences (mathematics, sciences, etc.) students are strongly advised to confer with the Dean/Assistant Dean/Program Director of the discipline to ensure they have the appropriate foundation to be successful in advanced coursework within the sequence. III. Life Experience Credit 1. In some curricular areas it is the policy of the College to recognize competencies acquired through life/work experience that have no external test as proof of outcome attainment. 2. In order to qualify, interested persons must apply for Life Experience Credit. Students will contact the Assistant Dean to determine availability of life experience credit within their degree program. 3. A student must translate life and/or work experience into competencies, match competencies with what is specified in the course outcomes, and display these materials in a "portfolio." 4. Students applying for Life Experience Credit must have five full years of relevant experience. Portfolios are evaluated by faculty and/or external reviewers with expertise in the field. A. PROCESS 1. Student applying for Life Experience Credit must have five full years of relevant experience. 2. Student picks up Life Experience Credit Request Form from any academic administrative assistant and fills out the top half of the form. A separate form must be filled out for each course. 3. Student hand delivers the form to the appropriate divisional dean. The form is then maintained by the assistant dean until the evaluation is complete. 4. The assistant dean makes contact with a faculty member who agrees to supervise the student as the faculty advisor. The assistant dean or faculty advisor notifies the student the request has been approved.
5. The assistant dean fills out the Payment Slip and gives to the student. 6. Student takes the payment slip and makes payment at the Cashier s Office. Cashier s Office stamps the form paid and sends it to the assistant dean. The student receives a separate paid receipt from the Cashier. 7. Once the payment slip is received, the department chair or dean notifies the faculty advisor that the student has paid fees. Faculty advisor and reviewers are compensated when the portfolio evaluation is completed. 8. The faculty advisor contacts the student. The faculty advisor provides the student with a portfolio primer which consists of the syllabus, expectations of the course, course outcomes, due date. After the initial meeting between the student and faculty advisor, no refund of fees will be issued to the student. 9. The student must complete the process no later than the eighth week of the spring term of the current academic year. (Life Experience Credit is not to be initiated or reviewed during the summer term.) The portfolio must be reviewed and graded within 30 days. The portfolio will be reviewed by faculty and/or external reviewer(s) with expertise in the field. The faculty advisor may also act as one of the reviewers. The results of the evaluation are recorded on the request form and sent to the Student Records Office. Portfolios will be kept for at least one year by the office of the divisional dean. 10. The faculty advisor will send a notification letter to the student indicating the course was successfully passed and the number of credit hours. A copy of this letter and the original request form will be sent to the Registrar and will be filed in the student s permanent file in the Student Records Office. a. If the faculty advisor determines that more information or material is needed for completion, an extension may be granted with approval from the department chair. The student will be notified in writing by the Supervisor of the Learning Contract of the required missing information/material. The submission deadline date will be determined by the faculty advisor, not to exceed 30 days. b. If the portfolio evaluation is not passed, the faculty advisor contacts the student in writing. A copy of this notification letter and the original request form is sent to the Registrar and will be filed in the student s permanent file in the Student Records Office. 11. After the review is completed, the assistant dean fills out the Faculty Compensation Form and indicates the dollar amount due for each faculty member and/or outside reviewer involved in the portfolio review process. The student s payment slip must be attached. Each faculty member signs the form and the form is forwarded to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Services (CAO) for signature. The CAO office forwards the form to the Payroll Specialist. 12. Grade will be recorded on the transcript as X Proficiency Credit.