To recognize the college-level learning that students acquire outside of formal higher education, the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies relies on the following policy to ensure practices consistent with academic integrity and responsiveness to non-traditional learners.
Credit for Prior Learning is a process by which an individual’s learning from experience is assessed and evaluated to grant credit for the equivalent of a college-level course or elective. This Policy Statement has been developed in recognition of CUNY’s Policy for Credit for Prior Learning and in consultation with SLU faculty members and other appropriate professionals. SLU’s student learning outcomes, academic goals, and strategic priorities have guided the formulation of this Policy Statement. The term “prior learning assessment” refers to all the processes that the college uses to review and evaluate evidence of non-traditional learning and to award academic credit as indicated by academic and administrative standards. Adherence to this policy is also intended to support the transparent transfer of prior learning assessment credit across institutions of higher education.
SLU recognizes the value of prior learning in the achievement of academic goals and acknowledges a student’s right to clear and concise information concerning how the award of credit for their demonstrable prior learning might help them to meet their full potential. Public communication to students, faculty, staff, industry, and community stakeholders will include a comprehensive and updated CPL webpage with relevant links, a description of CPL options, eligibility, how CPL credits transfer, and CPL credit limits. In addition, the CPL Office has a dedicated email address and conducts regularly scheduled information sessions. The CPL Lead also meets frequently, one-on-one, with continuing and prospective students to discuss the feasibility of the program for their academic plans.
In compliance with the rules of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), SLU will not discriminate against credentialed institutions or modes of delivery, taking into consideration only the educational quality of the learning experience for which the student seeks to receive CPL credit; the equivalency of course content, expected learning outcomes, curriculum, and/or other standards; the comparability of the nature, content and level of the learning experience to that offered by the receiving institution; and the appropriateness and applicability of the learning experience to the programs offered by the receiving institution, in light of the student’s educational goals. (“MSCHE Transfer of Credit, Prior Learning, and Articulation Agreements Procedures”)
Eligibility
No limitations for CPL will be placed on student eligibility based on minimum age or work experience or based on the student’s background, such as race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, or sexual orientation.
Credits for prior learning are only available to SLU B.A. students currently enrolled in classes who have earned a minimum of six credit hours at SLU and are in good academic standing (2.0 or above cumulative GPA). Prospective applicants to SLU may receive information about how to pursue CPL, but credits will not be applied until they matriculate.
Credits awarded through the assessment of prior learning cannot be applied toward SLU’s residency requirement, which requires the completion of thirty credit hours of courses at SLU. Students should initiate the process of CPL early in their academic program, preferably by their second semester at SLU or as soon as they have decided to pursue this opportunity. Students may not initiate the CPL Learning Portfolio option process after they have reached 90 credits; however, if students receive additional transfer credits after they have initiated a learning portfolio, which then puts them over 90 total credits, they will be permitted to complete that portfolio during the semester it was started. CPL credits for all options must be awarded before the student’s last semester of enrollment.
Credit for Prior Learning Options
SLU will ensure that the assessment of all non-traditional learning experiences is based on learning outcomes and valid evaluation measures. Credit for prior learning may be awarded in three categories: based on examination results, faculty evaluated credentials (non-collegiate learning), and/or faculty evaluated learning portfolios. Students may be awarded a maximum of thirty credits in a combination of the three categories.
Credits for prior learning will only be awarded to fulfill requirements in the B.A. student’s academic plan, which include
- Introductory level required or elective courses in the major or concentration
- Pathways Required and Flexible Core courses or area equivalencies
- General elective credits toward completion of the undergraduate degree. General elective credits are awarded absent of any course equivalency to match the student’s demonstrable prior learning.
Examination: Students can demonstrate their skills and competencies for certain subjects by examination for a credit award, such as for Pathways courses or electives outside the student’s major or concentration. To receive equivalency course credits, the student’s examination score must meet or exceed published minimum passing scores. The six CUNY-approved standardized exams are the College Board Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Dantes Subject Standardized Test (DSST), Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), and International Baccalaureate (IB). Before registering to take any of these examinations, students should meet with their academic advisor to ensure the exam fulfills the requirement for a course they need and for which they do not already have credit. Academic chairs can also award credit by departmental examination, at their discretion. For standard exams, it is the student’s responsibility to request that the testing organization send an official transcript to SLU’s Registrar’s Office.
Non-collegiate Learning: Students with credentials, licensures, non-credit coursework, or credit-bearing coursework taken at an institution accredited by a body not recognized by CUNY have the opportunity to petition the faculty for an award of academic credit provided they can demonstrate that this learning has course equivalency credit, matching the learning outcomes of major, concentration, elective, and/or general education courses required in their academic plan. Depending on the credential, the award of credit for non-collegiate learning can be determined either (a) in conformity with standards used by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCR) or (b) by faculty with content expertise in the subject of the course equivalency petitioned for credit.
In addition, CUNY colleges are required to award credit for knowledge and experience gained through military service and certain industries, which transfer in as general elective credit. The ACE Military Guide provides recommended credit award amounts for military service based on the student’s Joint Services Transcript (JST), nationally recognized DSST Credit-by-Exam Program (DSST), and the Defense Language Proficiency Tests (DLPT). Third-party validation and standardized credit awards from ACE and NCCR do not require that students re-submit their transcripts for re-evaluation except if the student would stand to benefit; for example, if a general elective credit award were re-evaluated to transfer in as course equivalency credit.
For the evaluation of non-collegiate learning by faculty with expertise in the area, the process of validation should be objective to the extent that external evaluators would reach the same conclusion and in accordance with national standards. Departmental evaluation can be supported by criteria developed by the Consortium for the Assessment of College Equivalence (CACE) Council https://cacereviews.org/docs/CACE_Standards.pdf).
CUNY’s Transfer Explorer (TREX , https://explorer.cuny.edu/) is a system-wide software that provides course and area equivalencies for each CUNY college’s curriculum for which exams and non-collegiate learning are eligible to be awarded credit, under “Trainings and Exams.” To avoid duplication of effort and inequity among CUNY campuses, the CPL Lead, with the Registrar’s support, will regularly update SLU’s TREX entries whenever a student’s non-collegiate learning has been awarded credit by a third party or departmental assessment or whenever a student’s performance on an exam outside CUNY’s list of approved standardized exams has been awarded course equivalency credit.
Setting time limits for the award of course equivalency credit for examinations or non-collegiate learning is at the discretion of the academic department; for example, the department could set a time limit on awarding credit for a standard examination like CLEP taken in the past because the content covered may be outdated. The department might require the student to take a departmental challenge exam in the subject or the final examination for the course before considering the award of course equivalency credit. Similarly, if a student earned a licensure that would be eligible for non-collegiate learning credit, but the license was granted in the past, departments could require re-certification, evidence of current practice, or passing of a departmental challenge exam before considering a credit award.
Learning Portfolio: With the Learning Portfolio option, students demonstrate their proficiency in the learning outcomes of a course by submitting an extended learning narrative supported by considerable evidence. The Learning Portfolio has a defined format, which includes course syllabus, how the course fits into the academic plan, and other relevant documents. To be eligible for this option, students will be required to take a portfolio preparation workshop, module, and/or other preparation modality. Learning portfolios are developed and submitted for faculty evaluation through the ePortfolio module of BrightSpace.
SLU awards course equivalency credit for learning portfolios in disciplines for which the SLU faculty evaluator has expertise. Before they evaluate portfolios, SLU faculty will complete portfolio evaluation training, coordinated by the CPL Lead, which conforms to the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Standards. Both the training and portfolio evaluation will be remunerated, and periodic professional development, also remunerated, will be provided to ensure consistent practice. To petition for credit in subjects for which SLU faculty do not have expertise, the CPL Lead will coordinate and remunerate Learning Portfolio evaluation by faculty experts outside SLU.
Communication
The evaluation to determine the credit award for the student’s prior learning, if any, will be conducted swiftly and definitively, within a timeframe based on the CPL option being evaluated. Course equivalency credit for standardized examinations recognized by CUNY can be decided upon receipt of the testing agency’s official transcript provided the student achieves a passing score and the exam fits into their academic plan. The review of new petitions for non-collegiate learning credit should begin by two weeks of receipt but award decisions may require supplemental documentation. Learning Portfolio evaluation takes considerably more time, and a calendar that defines the timeframe is currently under development. However, for all CPL options, students will be informed about the decision-making process in accessible, specific, and easy-to-understand terms. If credit is not awarded, faculty and appropriate administrators will participate in the design of a student appeal process to help ensure transparency and equity.
The way that prior learning credit appears on the student’s transcript and in CUNYFirst/DegreeWorks will be communicated to both students and their academic advisors, and transcripts will only indicate the positive outcome of examinations and learning portfolio submissions, and with the grade of pass (no effect on cumulative GPA).
Transcription
To protect the integrity and credibility of this policy, detailed entries of all PLA awards will be documented in CUNYFirst to include the method(s) used, the CPL source, classification of the credits awarded, the amount of credit awarded by each method, course equivalency if applicable and/or Pathways area requirement fulfilled. Credit awards for prior learning will appear on the transcript following The American Association of Collegiate Registrars (AACRAO) guidelines.
Once recorded at a CUNY institution, credit for prior learning is transferable to another CUNY institution on the same basis as if the credit had been earned through regular study at the awarding institution. In transfers within CUNY, the subsequent college may convert CPL credits originally awarded as general elective credit to a course equivalency, though no subsequent college may convert to elective credit an examination, non-collegiate learning, or learning portfolio assessed by another institution as a course equivalent. However, students will also be informed that the application of the CPL credit award may differ at the student’s subsequent CUNY college depending on the requirements of the student’s new program of study. Students will also be informed that CPL credits may not be recognized at a school outside of the CUNY system unless that school has an articulation agreement with their college of origin.
Data Collection and Review
SLU faculty will regularly review its prior learning assessment procedures and processes and utilize outcomes assessment data to evaluate effectiveness and improve CPL policies and procedures. An accessible repository of CPL data will be maintained by the CPL Lead, including the record of student participation in each form of credit for prior learning assessment and resulting credit awards in each category. In addition, an archive of learning portfolios and other CPL documents will be maintained for a period of five years for project modeling and outcomes assessment purposes.