The primary purpose of the PLA 2000 course is to assist the student in preparing a portfolio that will be used to support the student's claim for credit. The PLA 2000 instructor, or PLA Counselor, will provide guidance and assistance along the way as needed. The introduction presented here in the syllabus is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all information necessary to seek credit for prior learning. It is intended to give each student an overview of the process.

The steps for creating the portfolio to submit for possible credit:

1. Select the course that best matches your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
2. Find out if the course is available for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). Review the courses listed on the PLA Resources page on the PLA site. If you do not find the course, contact the instructor or PLA Counselor to ask about a course.
3. Complete the Application for Credit Through Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) for each course.
4. Work with the faculty assessor (depends on subject area of course) to verify the requirements for PLA credit.
5. Develop the documentation to support your claim for the prior learning required to earn credit for the course.
6. Submit your documentation for review by the faculty assessor. In some cases the faculty assessor might request the student to provide further evidence of learning.
7. When the faculty assessor notifies the student that she or he is recommending that credit will be awarded, the student should submit the final portfolio including all work in electronic format to Dr. Jerry Merwin, PLA Counselor.

The final portfolio submission should be on CD-ROM and should include a copy of the Application for Credit Through Prior Learning Assessment and all documents, presentations, videos, or other files submitted to the faculty assessor.

We have two sample portfolios for students to view as models in their preparation of the portfolio:

• NURS 4060 Sample Portfolio
• PERS 2730 Sample Portfolio

These sample portfolios include examples of Applications for Credit and demonstrate the methods for showing the links between the course objectives and supporting files. Remember that the final portfolio content will vary depending on the course requirements and recommended methods of documentation.

Locate information about the courses available through PLA on the PLA Resources page. Depending on the course, you might find a syllabus, evaluation, guidelines, and/or other resources. These materials should guide you in completing the Application for Credit.

If you do not find the course outcomes or objectives, please be sure to contact Jerry Merwin about that information. We will seek the needed information through faculty assessors who have developed the materials.

All portfolio submissions must be accompanied by the Application for Credit and provided in digital format. The specific files might be Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), Acrobat PDF, or other formats approved in advance by your instructor.