Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Policy
and Procedures
1) Each college shall
electronically submit to ICCB for review its policies for the award of academic
credit for prior learning. This submission shall be made by March 31 of each
calendar year for policies effective in the subsequent Fall semester,
A) These policies shall include a listing of
the types of documentation acceptable to the college and the dates of inclusion
for which credit for prior learning is acceptable.
B) At a minimum, each college shall publish
the procedures for students to earn credit for prior learning in its catalog
and on its official website.
C)
Colleges shall regularly monitor, evaluate and, if necessary, revise credit for
prior learning activities.
2) As a part of these policies, each college
shall adopt a specific policy for the awarding of academic credit for military
training that is considered applicable to the requirements of the student's
certificate or degree program.
A) The policy
shall apply to any student who is enrolled at the college and who has
successfully completed a military training course or program as part of his or
her military service that is:
i) recommended
for credit by a national higher education association that provides credit
recommendations for military training courses and programs;
ii) included in the student's military
transcript issued by any branch of the armed services; or
iii) otherwise documented as military
training or experience.
B) These policies may be incorporated into
the college's broader credit for prior learning policies.
3) This Section is not applicable to
secondary/postsecondary articulation agreements or dual enrollment.
b) Awarding Credit for Prior
Learning
1) Credit for prior learning can be
awarded only after the assessment of prior learning experiences and only for
documented learning that demonstrates achievement of all terminal objectives
for a specific course or courses.
2) Colleges awarding credit for prior
learning must validate credit on a course-by-course basis. The following
publications and methods are acceptable for validating prior learning for
awarding credit:
A) Standardized tests:
i) College-Level Examination Program
(CLEP);
ii) Excelsior
College/Formerly American College Testing Proficiency Examination Program
(ACT-PEP/RCE EXCELSIOR);
iii)
Defense Activity for Nontraditional Educational Support (DANTES);
iv) Advanced Placement (AP);
v) International Baccalaureate
(IB);
B) College
examinations:
i) Examination (written, oral,
demonstration or a combination of all three) that is equivalent to the
comprehensive final exam;
ii)
Evaluation by an area dean or designated subject expert;
C) Published guides:
i) American Council on Education (ACE) for
military training and experiences;
ii) ACE (non-collegiate) for industrial and
corporate training programs;
iii)
Other published guides developed by nationally recognized
organizations;
D)
National Certifications: Child Development Associate (CDA);
E) Portfolios:
i) Credit through the development of a
portfolio;
ii) Evaluation by
subject matter experts.
3) Credit may not be awarded twice for the
same learning.
c)
Standard for Awarding Credit for Prior Learning
1) The student must enroll at the college and
meet all admission requirements for the program in which course credit for
prior learning is being sought. A college may seek an exception to this
provision by making a request and receiving subsequent approval from
ICCB.
2) Students must be able to
meet residency requirements for certificates and degrees without the use of
prior learning credit in the determination.
3) Assessment of prior learning credit may
happen at any point during the application and admission process. To award a
degree or certificate, the college must ensure that residency requirements are
met. Typically, fifteen credit hours is required towards a degree or at least
twenty-five percent of the required credit for a certificate.
4) College validation procedures should be
objective to the extent that external evaluators would reach the same
conclusion given the material reviewed.
d) If pursuing a transfer degree (Associate
of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS) or Associate in General Studies (AGS)),
credit for prior learning will only be granted for the purpose of satisfying
graduation requirements. These credits might not transfer to other
colleges.
e) All work assessed for
prior learning must meet or exceed a grade level of "C". Minimum cut-off scores
on standardized tests are set at a "C" grade level.
f) In the process of determining if credit
can be awarded for prior learning, colleges shall charge students only for the
cost of the prior learning assessment services and not for the amount of credit
awarded.