Earning Credit for What You Know
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Earning College Credit
The Organizational Leadership and Learning (OLL) program provides the opportunity for students to earn college credit for learning and development accomplished outside of the traditional classroom through the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) process. The process does not award credit for life experience. Rather, we provide our students the opportunity to earn credit through many methods that demonstrate students' college-level knowledge, skills, and abilities.
The following are opportunities for credit for prior learning at UofL:
Challenge Tests:
This is the University's own credit-by-exam program. Students can earn credit by taking a final exam without taking a course. The University also accepts credit earned from other testing programs, such as College Board's College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST). Find out more about the CLEP exam program at
http://louisville.edu/admissions/apply/test-credit/clep-credit.
Portfolio Assessment:
Have you completed training at work and asked yourself, "Is this college-level learning?" We have asked the same question and the answer is maybe. Through "LEAD 300/307. Prior Learning Assessment", all students curate a portfolio of workplace training and experience to request college-level credit for their work. The course is designed to help students identify knowledge, skills and abilities gained, at what level and with what mastery. Each student in OLL requests credit for prior work.
LEAD 300/307. Prior Learning Assessment
LEAD 300/307. Prior Learning Assessment is a required course in the Organizational Leadership and Learning major. Through the course, students create a credit for prior learning portfolio and become acclimated to writing requirements and style guidelines within the major.
Some of the elements of the portfolio include
- a workplace narrative autobiography
- documentation and written reflection on workplace training
- documentation and written reflection on occupational experiential learning
- worksheets showcasing hours/time dedicated to prior learning as well as knowledge, skills, and competencies gained
- narrative alignment of prior learning with O*Net job classification language
Faculty guide students through the process step-by-step to complete a full portfolio at the end of the class.
As a part of the course requirements, students must request at least nine but no more than 48 credits. Depending on how many credits are transferred from other institutions, not all students will need as many credits as they could be able to earn through CPL. Prior to the course, a student’s academic advisor provides a degree audit showcasing the maximum number of credits an individual student needs to request through CPL.
To get started: apply for the program, set up a meeting with an academic advisor and enroll in LEAD 300/307!
Licenses and Certifications: Students may also have earned credit through a program requiring licensure or certification. These courses or programs are eligible for CPL credit. Again, take a look at our evaluated programs page to see if your certifications are listed. If not, please contact us for more information.
Military Training: Students who have military experience have likely earned college-level credit, depending on the military training documented in Joint Service Transcripts (JST) and other military related documents. The OLL degree program uses the ACE Guide to help students learn about college-level learning offered by their employers. We then use this same information to help students prepare a portfolio submission for college credit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Credit for Prior Learning is the evaluation of a students' learning earned before college. Most adults without a college degree have workplace training and experience equivalent to college-level credit. Credit for Prior Learning allows students to earn credit for that prior learning.
Credit for Prior Learning has many values. Students can:
- Save costs. Credits earned through Credit for Prior Learning mean fewer elective credits required toward the degree.
- Save time. Students can earn a degree faster by focusing on most important courses in the major.
- Increase their likelihood of getting a degree. Most students in the program are working adults with many pressures on their time. Completing a Credit for Prior Learning portfolio is linked with graduation success!
- Document skills and learning. The practice of creating a portfolio of learning is valuable for being able to market skills, update a resume and showcase competencies to employers.
Students can earn credit for workplace training, workplace experience, licensure or certification trainings, and collegiate courses not automatically transferred through UofL's transfer evaluation process (e.g., welding or aviation mechanics). Our faculty guide students through a process of identifying, evaluating and documenting potential learning worthy of Credit for Prior Learning.
Students must request at least nine CPL credits through the LEAD 300/307 course, and 48 credits is the maximum number of credits students can earn.
At UofL, students take the LEAD 300/307 course, typically in their first two semesters in the program. Upon completion of the course, students submit a portfolio requesting credits.
Credits appear in one of four courses on a students' transcript: LEAD 290, 390, 291, and 391.
LEAD 300/307 is a required class in the major for all students in OLL. While there are no additional fees for CPL, students pay tuition for the three-credit class, costs of one book and a one-time cost for LiveText, an assessment platform required of all students in UofL's College of Education and Human Development.
The bachelor of science in organizational leadership and learning (BSOLL) is one of only two programs at UofL designed to accept CPL from a broad range of occupational experiences and trainings.
Yes, CPL counts toward residency credits.
- Cardinal core: These credits represent a student's general education learning.
- Major courses: These credits represent a student's specialized learning within the Organizational Leadership and Learning major.
- Work Specialization (Credit for Prior Learning) Credits: These credits represent a student's learning through CPL. These credits are like elective credits but awarded specifically through the CPL portfolio process. Students can always opt to take more elective credits and earn fewer CPL credits if that is of interest.
While no prior work is required, students often spend much time gathering and listing all prior trainings and work. Therefore, one way to prepare is to create a file of any certificates, emails or confirmations of workplace training. You might also save copies of unofficial transcripts from all institutions you have attended in an easily-retrievable location. Lastly, you might start a list of work experience and trainings along with their dates and duration.