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Academic Affairs

02:29:00 Prior Learning Assessment Policy

 

  1. Chattanooga State Community College recognizes the college-level learning students acquire outside of formal education. This policy is intended to establish standards of academic integrity and responsiveness to non-traditional learners. Adherence to this policy is also intended to support assessing, awarding, and transfer of prior learning assessment credit
  2. Definitions
    1. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) - a process by which learning mastered outside of a formal classroom is reviewed for college-level equivalency
    2. Learning outside of a formal classroom - commonly acquired from work and life experiences; civic, community, or volunteer work; individual study; and in-service training sponsored by associations, business, government, and industry, including the military
    3. College Proficiency Examinations - College Board Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Board College Level Examination Programs (CLEP), Dual Credit, Cambridge International Exam, WebCape Placement Exam.
    4. Military Experience/Training - Joint Service Transcript (JST), American Council of Education (ACE)
    5. Dual Credit - A dual credit course is taught by a high school teacher who incorporates college course objectives into the high school curriculum.
      1. Tech-Track Dual Credit - Developed by Chatt State, federally funded, and funded in part through the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) for approved courses.
      2. Statewide Dual Credit: Taught at any Tennessee Public secondary institution
  3. Acquired learning and competencies - Demonstrated through any of the following methods:
    1. College proficiency examinations
    2. Credit for military experience/training
    3. Credit for prior learning/portfolio assessment
    4. Institutional course challenge exams.
  4. Applicability of PLA
    1. Evaluated on the amount and type of learning that a student can demonstrate has occurred relative to the student learning outcomes as stated on the master syllabus for the course.
    2. Awarded credit will correspond as closely as possible to comparable courses from Chattanooga State’s inventory of course offerings.
  5. Limitations of PLA
    1. Credit is awarded only for an approved degree and/or certificate program.
    2. Credit is awarded only to degree or certificate seeking students who have matriculated within the college.
    3. A maximum of 50% of the total hours required for a student’s program of study may be earned through any combination of Prior Learning Assessments (PLA).
    4. A student must earn 25% of hours required for a credential in instruction delivered by the institution awarding the credential.  PLA credit will not count toward this 25% minimum.
    5. Credit does not apply toward meeting residency requirements for graduation.
    6. PLA credit is not designed for University Parallel programs.
  6. Eligibility - Academic credit will be awarded only:
    1. For students who have been admitted to Chattanooga State Community College who are in good academic standing.
    2. After the student has consulted with an advisor about the possibility and advisability of seeking credit for PLA.
    3. For students who have declared an academic program/major.
    4. For courses directly applicable to curriculum requirements of the declared program. Changing majors will result in a reassessment of the applicability of the PLA credit.
  7. Number of Credits
    1. Credit may not duplicate credit already awarded or replace a failing grade  
    2. All PLA credits must be awarded prior to the student’s last semester of enrollment. PLA credit will not count toward the residency requirement. (Refer to the Graduation Residency Requirement for more information).
  8. Validation Methods - The following guidelines and methods are acceptable for validating prior learning for awarding credit:
    1. Advanced Placement (AP) Exams (See PLA page for testing equivalencies)
    2. College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Exams- (See PLA page for testing equivalencies)
    3. Dual Credit Exam (See PLA page for testing equivalencies)
      1. Tech-Track Dual Credit
      2. Statewide Dual Credit
    4. Institutional Course Challenge Exams- (See PLA page for testing equivalencies)
    5. International Baccalaureate (IB) (See PLA page for testing equivalencies)
    6. American Council on Education (ACE) Evaluation- (SEE PLA page for ACE)
    7. National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS)
    8. Cambridge International Exam
    9. Credit for Certified Administrative Professional Exam (CAP)- applicable toward the AAS degree with a concentration in Administrative Professional Technology only. (See PLA page for Licensure, Certification, Apprenticeship Programs)
    10. TCAT to ChattState Articulation Agreements
    11. Credit for Department of Labor approved Apprenticeship Programs (DOL) (See PLA page for Licensure, Certification, Apprenticeship Programs)
    12. WebCAPE Placement exam (See PLA page for WebCAPE Foreign Language Exam)
    13. Credit for Experiential Learning (See PLA ePortfolio)
  9. Grading
    1. A letter grade of “AP” will be assigned for PLA credit granted. Because no grade is assigned other than “AP,” no Quality Points will be awarded to count toward GPA.
  10. Transferability
    1. PLA credit is not designed to be transferable through the University Parallel programs, as senior institutions vary widely in their awarding of credit.
    2. Students who transfer to a community college or university in the TBR or UT system may have their PLA credits transferred to that institution as long as the credits are applicable to the degree or certificate the student has declared and the transfer institution’s policy grants credit for that type of PLA credit. However, the statement (J.3.) still applies in the event that the receiving institution does not grant credit to its native students for that type of PLA credit:
    3. PLA credit awarded at one institution that meets Common General Education Core Requirements, and/or Tennessee Transfer Pathway (TTP) requirements must be accepted as transfer credit toward the degree if the student transfers to any Tennessee state university. Acceptance is only guaranteed if the student has completed an A.A. or A.S. or A.F.A. or A.S.T. degree from institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) System.
    4. Transfer applicants who have earned an A.A. or A.S. or A.F.A. or A.S.T. degree from institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system will have fulfilled the general education requirement of any Tennessee state university.
  11. Fees
    1. CLEP
      1. College Board fee - See CLEP Exam Topics on the College Board website
      2. Test Administration fee at Chattanooga - See “CLEP Exams (College Level Exam Program)” on the testing center page.
    2. Challenge Exam - See Chattanooga State Marketplace
    3. Portfolio Evaluation - See Chattanooga State Marketplace
    4. Requested score reports/transcripts from ACE, AP, ACT, SAT etc. are subject to a fee that will be the responsibility of the student.
  12. Appeal
    1. Upon completion of the ePortfolio, if the student is not granted credit, he/she has 30 days to submit an updated portfolio to attempt to meet all requirements.
    2. If the student is not issued credit at this time and requests to appeal the “No Pass” grade, the student can refer to the “Appeal of a Grade” section of the catalog and follow the required steps to appeal the “No Pass” grade.
  13. Staff Professional Development - Assessing faculty/staff should meet the Portfolio Reviewer Qualifications listed below:
    1. Subject Matter Expertise
      1. Educational experience and credentials appropriate to faculty position (e.g. based on SACSCOC or other accrediting body guidelines)
      2. Experience teaching the discipline
      3. Knowledge of relevant college-level course objectives and outcomes
      4. Knowledge of overall curriculum and degree requirements
      5. Evidence of disciplinary writing skills and ability to mentor writing in the discipline
    2. Pedagogical Expertise of Assessor
      1. Training/application in writing and assessing goals, objectives and learning outcomes
      2. Training in matching evidence of college level learning with learning outcomes demonstrated in portfolios
      3. Experience with reflective practice or reflective writing
      4. Teaching and learning philosophy that includes a commitment to the value of experiential learning
    3. Training in consistency of the PLA process at Chattanooga State
      1. Includes completion of assessor training course or workshop, or a local adaptation thereof by ChSCC by an individual who has undergone the training (e.g. CAEL certification).
      2. Institutional credentials sufficient to recommend award of credit
  14. Review
    1. Chattanooga State will review PLA program policies and procedures every five years corresponding with our SACSCOC Ten-Year Re-Affirmation and the Five-Year Review. The review will evaluate all aspects of PLA policy, procedures, and portfolio audits, for consistency with state, regional and national practices.
    2. Additionally, Chattanooga State will report a PLA Program Profile to TBR detailing:
      1. Volume of PLA credits awarded annually (per PLA subcategory and total)
      2. Average volume of PLA credits per award
      3. PLA recipient data including, but not limited to, a demographic summary of PLA recipients (age, race, and GPA) as well as measures of recipient success (per PLA subcategory and total).

 

Submitted to Policy Review Committee on September 23, 2024

Submitted to Policy Review Board on October 25, 2024

Approved by Policy Review Board on November 20, 2024 

 

Previous Version(s)

Approved by Chattanooga State Policy Review Board on April 11, 2018

Approved by President on September 7, 2016