Prior Learning Assessment Portfolio
Indiana Wesleyan University assesses students’ non-credited learning for academic credit toward an undergraduate degree. Non-credited learning is that which has taken place outside the traditional college classroom. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), an educational association founded in 1974 to promote the acceptance of the awarding of university credit for experiential learning, has led the way in developing and implementing assessment techniques. Indiana Wesleyan University uses the guidelines developed by CAEL.
The student-prepared Prior Learning Assessment portfolio is the most commonly accepted method used to evaluate non-credited learning. These portfolios are collections of narratives and documentation which articulate a student’s academically relevant, non-university learning. Portfolios can vary greatly in form and content, but in their preparation all students assume the responsibility for self-analysis, preparation, and presentation. The preparation itself is a learning experience.
At Indiana Wesleyan University the purpose of the portfolio is twofold:
- The portfolio enables Indiana Wesleyan University to evaluate and assign university credit for a student’s university-level learning. No grades are assigned; only credit awarded.
- The portfolio represents a learning plan which helps integrate prior learning experience with the student’s educational and professional objectives.
The student is responsible to develop the portfolio independently, following guidelines provided by the Coordinator of Prior Learning Assessment. The PLA Portfolio Instructions include all information necessary to prepare and submit material for evaluation. All assessment of items submitted is performed by faculty assessors whose knowledge and expertise qualify them to evaluate learning gained through experience.
The portfolio will be viewed only by those who have an official reason for doing so: the assessment staff, faculty evaluators, and accrediting association members. Any data from portfolios that may be made public will be generalized and will in no way be attributed to an individual unless the individual student has given a signed authorization. Students are also advised not to include any materials in the portfolio that will violate the legal and moral rights to privacy of other individuals.
In preparing the portfolio, the student must pause and recollect a history of learning and growth in order to develop a meaningful "learning autobiography." The student describes and analyzes learning experiences and then provides documentation that clarifies and validates the learning, e.g., letters, statements, products of work according to the PLA Portfolio Instructions.
The Indiana Wesleyan University Honesty, Cheating, Plagiarism, and Forgery Policy also applies to the Prior Learning Assessment Portfolio.
Undergraduate students accepted to or enrolled in any of the CAPS associate or baccalaureate degree programs are eligible to complete Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). Graduate students may apply for PLA credits in approved graduate programs. Credit hours awarded may be counted toward general education, elective, or select core requirements as applicable to the undergraduate degree or as specified for approved graduate programs. Baccalaureate students may earn a maximum of 40 hours of credit through PLA. Associate degree students may earn a maximum of 18 hours through PLA. Undergraduate students may use PLA credit to accrue toward the 60 hours of credit required for admission to the bachelor’s core curriculum and/or to meet degree requirements while in the core and/or after the core has been completed.
The student must in be in good standing at the university, both financially and academically, when a portfolio is submitted. Applicants denied entry into a degree program or students who are suspended are not eligible to complete the portfolio process.
