Quick Highlights:
- PLA allows adult learners to earn college credits based on their professional work, volunteer experiences, and other life achievements.
- By converting life and work experience into college credits, PLA can reduce the time and cost of your education.
- Methods to assess PLA include portfolio reviews, standardized exams like CLEP, and specific challenge exams offered by institutions.
- Successful PLA candidates must provide thorough documentation such as certificates, resumes, and reference letters to prove their competencies.
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If you are passionate about getting a college degree, but you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in school, a prior learning assessment (PLA) may be able to help. With PLA college credit, you are assessed according to your life experience, certifications, and other measures. Then, the college awards you credits based on the results of your PLA eligibility.
Basically, adult learners can earn college credits for experience. All you have to do is submit your application to convert experience to college credit. If you qualify, you can save significant time and money on getting your college education.
Related:
What is Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)?
The entire point of getting a college degree is to learn. If you’ve already achieved that learning in your own life, then the classes are redundant. Because of this, many schools offer you the ability to get college credit for work experience.
What is PLA in college? Basically, the PLA process involves submitting an application with all of your work and life experiences on it. Depending on the university, you may need to back up these experiences through reference letters, copies of your certifications, or resumes.
One of the benefits of prior learning assessment credits is that you can get college credit for work experience and skip some of your college classes. Professional work, volunteer activities, military service, and independent study can qualify. Because most certifications and licenses require significant amounts of studying, your professional certifications may also qualify you to save money with PLA credits.
The Benefits of PLA
Each college is different, so it might not be possible to get PLA college credit from every school. At universities that offer a prior learning assessment, you can save a significant amount of money and time by going through the PLA process.
Save Time
One of the most important benefits of applying for PLA is that it significantly reduces the amount of time you are in college. In some colleges, you can get up to half of your credits covered by meeting the PLA eligibility. How much you can speed up college with PLA depends on the school and how much life experience you have.
Reduce Your College Costs
You can also get help with decreasing college costs with PLA programs. When you convert experience to college credit, you will typically have to pay a small fee for each class that you get credit for. However, this fee is much lower than the amount you would have to pay to take the actual class. Because of this, many students save money with PLA credits and reduce the amount of student loan debt they have to take on.
Boost Your Motivation
Among adult learners, PLA credits are an incredible source of validation. They are basically proof that your experiences have value. For many students, being able to earn college credits for experience increases their motivation. It also removes the mental block that happens when you look ahead and realize there are many years of school ahead of you. By getting a prior learning assessment, you can significantly lower the amount of time that you have to spend in school.
How Does the PLA Process Work?
The PLA guidelines and rules can vary from school to school. In general, most colleges have some type of formalized process for awarding college credits without coursework requirements. Before you apply for a specific university, you should talk to them about how to earn college credits for experience at their school.
Initial Consultations
Typically, the PLA process starts out by meeting with an advisor in person or via phone. During this consultation, you will discuss your life experience and certifications. Then, the advisor will give you an estimate of the amount of PLA college credit you will receive if your application is approved.
Gather Documentation
Next, you need to prove that you have work and life experience. If you want to speed up college with PLA, you need to get transcripts, resumes, reference letters, certificates, and other forms of documentation to back up the experience you say that you have.
Choose the Assessment Method
To learn how to get college credit for experience, you need to choose an assessment method. For instance, you may want to take an exam to demonstrate that your independent study has taught you everything you would have covered in the course. Meanwhile, students who have work experience in engineering or graphic design projects may want to provide a portfolio with examples of their work.
Evaluate the PLA Application
After you have submitted your prior learning assessment application, you will have to wait while someone evaluates your application. This person is typically a member of the school’s faculty or a certified assessor. If they need additional materials and documentation, they will reach out to you.
Get Credits
If the entire process goes smoothly, you can get college credit for work experience. These credits will be added to your transcript. Then, they can reduce the electives or program requirements you have to complete in order to graduate.
Types of PLA Assessments
If you have decided to convert experience to college credit, there are many different methods you can use to prove your experience. For example, students may use standardized exams, portfolios, challenge exams, or professional evaluations.
Portfolio Assessment
One of the most common ways to convert experience to college credit is through a portfolio assessment. With this type of option, you need to showcase that you have knowledge of a specific subject. Your portfolio is basically a collection of all the unique skills, training programs, and certifications you’ve gained during your career.
To carry out this process, you will need to evaluate the course descriptions for the classes you would like to receive credit for. Then, you must gather documentation and submit the portfolio for review. Often, schools will charge a small fee to review this information.
Standardized Exams
If you want to reduce the amount of money you spend on school, you can take standardized exams and use the results to get college credit. Some of the most common options are the Advanced Placement (AP) exam, the DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST), and the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP).
If you score high enough on these exams, you may be awarded college credit for taking them. Once the credits have been awarded, you can reduce the amount of time you have to spend in school.
Institutional Challenge Exams
Institutional challenge exams are created by your university to test your knowledge in a specific subject. These aren’t standardized on a national level, so you have to take a new exam at every school you want to attend. Each test is designed to have the information you would normally get in a college course. By passing this test, you can show that you have mastered the subject matter you would have received by taking the class.
Corporate Training and Certificates
If you have gone through a corporate training program, you may be able to use that training for college credit. You will need to provide some type of documentation to show that you have successfully completed the training program. In addition, many professional certificates can be used to get PLA college credit.
Preparing for PLA
If you want to earn college credits for work experience, there are a few things you can do to prepare beforehand.
- Save Documentation: As you attend corporate training programs and take certification classes, keep important documentation from each experience. Later on, you can use these materials to convert experience to college credit.
- Review Course Descriptions: Before you submit anything, look up the school’s list of courses and read through each description. Then, try to match your documented experiences to specific course descriptions. You want to make the process of awarding your college credits as easy as possible for the evaluator.
- Get Advice: Many students go through this kind of program every year. You don’t have to deal with PLA issues by yourself. Reach out to your institution for help with turning in your prior learning assessment.
Who Can Benefit from PLA?
The people who benefit the most from getting college credit for work experience have a lot of work and life experience. For example, adult learners who are returning to college normally have a lot of work experience that they can use to meet the PLA guidelines. These credits are also a great option for military veterans who are transitioning to a civilian career. If you are a professional who has a lot of expertise or certifications, PLA credits can help you get a college degree.
Save Money and Time With PLA Credits
If you want to convert experience to college credit, a prior learning assessment is an excellent option. While the amount of PLA college credit can vary from one institution to another, you can typically expect a fairly standard process. To earn college credits for experience, you will need to provide documentation and proof that you have the correct experience. Once you get college credit for work experience, you can use the credits to decrease the time and money involved in going back to school.