Credit for Prior Learning
No matter what type of degree you choose, you may pursue credit for prior experiential learning.
Prior learning is knowledge that you’ve gained on your own, through work, training, or other types of non-classroom experiences.
Your knowledge needs to be college-level in order to have the potential for credit.
College level means that you have developed ideas and practices that you can apply in different situations. You should be able to explain reasons for the way you apply your knowledge, evaluate the outcome, and apply new insights to future situations.
Essentially, college-level knowledge is knowledge that has led you to broader conclusions, as opposed to limited knowledge of doing things in just one way because that’s how you were trained.
Example – Deciding whether to pursue Credit for Prior Learning
You may have worked as a medical assistant for many years. You know the basics of preparing samples for lab work, which have to be done a certain way. This in itself might not yield college-level credit.
However, you also know how to communicate with patients to put them at ease, how best to organize medical records for your practice’s needs, how to ensure safety in practices, and how to deal with ethical issues – all situations in which you need to evaluate information and make informed decisions. This might yield college-level credit.
Since you have substantial experience, application, and knowledge of the more flexible skills, you decide to pursue the process of requesting credit for your prior learning.
Credit obtained from prior experiential learning does not have to be in the same field as your degree focus. It can be in any area, as long as you have room for it in your degree.
Note that there is one flat fee that covers any and all individualized credit for prior learning requests, which you can see on Empire’s catalog page on Tuition and Fees.
Key Takeaway:
More Information to help you Decide
Empire’s catalog pages on Credit for Prior Learning provide a good overview of the possibilities and processes for gaining credit for prior learning.
From your student home page, click on the Office of Prior Learning tile > For Current Students.
There is a CPL InTake form, called Is Credit for Prior Learning Right for Me? (login required) that has videos and questions to fill out to help you start a conversation with your mentor/advisor.
Key Takeaway:
If you think you want to pursue Credit for Prior Learning
If getting credit for prior learning is something that interests you, delve more deeply into information about CPL in the whole chapter on Credit for Prior Learning in this text.
