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Austin Peay Center @ Ft. Campbell
 

  I have a great deal of experience in my job and/or in the Army that I believe should be worth some college credit.  How can I get credit for those live experiences?

Life/Work Portfolio Experiential Learning Credit Options at the Undergraduate Level:

Austin Peay State University offers the Experiential Learning Program for assessing college-level knowledge gained through work and life experience.  Prior learning may be evaluated through a variety of assessment tools.  The tools may include departmental examinations, performance assessments or documented training programs, as determined by academic departments.  Each department may determine whether it will participate in the experiential credit process.  The following departments have indicated they will participate in the Experiential Learning Program:  Communication and Theater, Professional Studies, Health and Human Performance, and Computer Science and Information Technology.

A student may earn a maximum of 15 semester hours at the undergraduate level through experiential learning credit.  The APSU prescribed credit allocations for experiential credit fall within the established Southern Association of Colleges and Schools parameters for experiential credit.

Portfolio Development:

Upon approval by the appropriate chair a student may develop a portfolio for a course or courses offered by Austin Peay State University to gain college-level credit.  Portfolios are submitted to the faculty advisor and/or the department chair(s) of the appropriate department(s).  The process ideally includes a preliminary study of the portfolio, an interview with the student, and the determination of credit to be awarded by the faculty assessor.  A student seeking experiential credit via a life/work portfolio must complete an APSU non-credit portfolio development course through the Center for Extended and Distance Education.

The Following Regulations for Experiential Learning Credit Will Apply:

1.  Experiential learning credit will be granted upon the written recommendation of the chair of the department and/or designated faculty assessor having jurisdiction over the courses involved with department chair approval.
2.  The applicability of experiential learning credit toward specific degree program requirements is subject to departmental approval.
3.  A student may not fail a course at Austin Peay State University or any other institution and later receive credit for the same course through an experiential learning option.
4.  Credit earned from non-accredited institutions may not be used as a basis for credit earned via a portfolio.
5.  A student may not enroll in a course for credit or audit at Austin Peay State University and subsequently seek credit through an experiential learning option.
6.  No letter grades will be entered on the transcript for experiential learning credit.  The credit will be treated in the same manner as transfer credit:  a "P" (Pass) will be assigned and it will not count in the grade point average.
7.  A student earning experiential credit must meet the minimum residency requirements of 25 percent of the total number of credits required for the degree at Austin Peay State University.  This would include the specified residency hours of upper-level courses in the department of the declared major.  The student should be aware that some program residency requirements exceed the University minimum residency requirements.

The privilege of seeking experiential credit is available to both full-time and part-time degree status students.  A student should meet with his or her program advisor at the beginning of the academic career at Austin Peay State University to determine how experiential learning credit may be applicable to the degree.  For further information contact the Dean of Extended and Distance Education at (931) 221-7816 or by e-mail at groppels@apsu.edu. 

Students must choose CLEP, departmental challenge examinations or other approved mechanisms to receive credit for prior knowledge when available in lieu of seeking credit via a portfolio.

Candidates for Portfolio Credit Are: