Prior and Experiential Learning

Friends University recognizes that learning may take place in settings other than the college classroom. Many adult students have acquired knowledge from training or life experiences (a job, self-education or practical experience) that is equivalent to that provided in the classroom. Where college-level learning from these experiences can be verified and properly documented, Friends University will award up to 30 hours of college credit to bachelor degree program students and up to 15 hours of college credit to associate degree program students.

Prior and Experiential Learning can be submitted as Professional/Technical Training (PT) and/or Life Learning Essays (LLE’s). Associate degree program students are eligible for Professional Technical (PT) credits only. Faculty members from a cross-section of academic disciplines assess the training and experiences for experiential education in Kansas. The maximum amount of experiential learning credit that may be awarded is 30 credit hours. Experiential credit is not recognized as credit meeting residency requirements for degrees.

Experiential credit can save money and reduce the length of time needed to achieve a baccalaureate degree. Although numerous other colleges also recognize experiential learning, each institution sets its own standards on what and how many credits it will accept in transfer. Students intending to transfer or attend graduate school should inquire of that school how experiential credit will be accepted.

Professional/Technical Training Credit Options

Professional/Technical (PT) trainings can be awarded college credit based on an evaluation by the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) office in consultation with Friends University faculty.

Vocational Schools – Certifications and Licenses
Students who have had training in recognized technical, vocational or non-accredited post-secondary educational institutions may earn credits by submitting their transcripts for evaluation. Narratives (see Submitting a Request for Credit) are not required for the submission of these credits. The following are examples of such organizations:

  • Cosmetology schools
  • Police Academy training (under the direction of a four-year university, i.e. KU)
  • WTI, WATC (before 2009), ITT, technical school credits
  • Bible colleges

Submission requirements for vocational school credit: Completed Professional/Technical training petition form and transcripts outlining actual seat-time/hours logged, or earned credit hours.

Work-Based/Professional Development Trainings
Work-based/professional development training includes any formal courses provided by employers, or training received that’s related to the job. Students may acquire their training transcripts from the HR department of their company to submit their work experience for a degree from those experiences to the PLA office. Knowledge gained from professional development or religious study courses may also apply for credit. As a guideline, a minimum of 40-45 hours spent in a classroom situation is required to even be considered for one hour of college credit.

Submission requirements for work-based/professional development training credit: Portfolio

  • Completed Professional/Technical training petition for credit form
  • PT evaluator rubric
  • Evidence of learning, acceptable forms include:
    • Documentation of the number of classroom hours 
    • Transcripts outlining actual seat-time/hours logged, or earned credit hours (attainable from Human Resource departments, Registrar’s offices, etc.)
    • Certificates & licenses (hours must appear on the document)
    • Memos on letterhead/stationery from supervisor verifying student attended workshop, seminar, training, etc. Description of training must accompany the letter.
    • Agenda and/or itineraries of workshops, seminars, etc.
    • Other requests as approved by Prior Learning Assessment office
  • Learning narrative – this narrative describes the sources, nature and extent of your learning. Credit will be awarded based on an evaluation of the quality of the learning and not on the number of hours spent in a classroom situation. The student must demonstrate that college level learning has occurred in these trainings by describing in narrative form what knowledge was gained and how the learning has been used and/or evaluated. Minimum of one page per credit hour requested.
  • Friends University academic worksheet

Pre-Evaluated/Automatic Credit
The following trainings have already been evaluated by Friends University faculty and receive automatic credit when submitted through the Prior Learning Assessment office.

  • First Aid, CPR,  and Lamaze certificates are awarded at one (1) credit hour EACH (meets General Education requirement for Natural Science lab)

Submission requirements for pre-evaluated/automatic credit: Completed Professional/Technical training petition for credit form and a copy (front and back) of first aid and CPR card, and/or copy of Lamaze certificate. NOTE: If a Lamaze certificate is not available, a student may submit a two to three page narrative of their learning experience with a copy of the birth certificate.

Community College Hours (Over 78)
Students who have earned more than 78 hours from a two-year school may convert the excess hours at a 3:1 ratio into PT credit.

Submission requirements for over 78 community college credit: Completed Professional/Technical training petition for credit form and Friends University academic worksheet identifying eligible courses.

ACE and NCCRS
The American Council on Education (ACE) and the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) provides evaluations of trainings so that universities may grant academic credit to adults for formal courses taken outside college courses. Friends University uses the recommendations from ACE/NCCRS to award college credit.

The following are SOME of the organizations ACE has evaluated. For a full listing of ACE evaluated organizations, click here.

  • Banking – American Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association
  • Insurance licenses - American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, Insurance Institute of America
  • Computer Certifications - Microsoft Corporation
  • Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.
  • Electrical Journeyman - National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for the Electrical Industry
  • Air Conditioning – International Training Institute for the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Industry
  • Automotive – National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence
  • Emergency Services – National Emergency Training Center (EMI)

For a full listing of NCCRS evaluated organizations, click here.

Submission requirements for ACE/NCCRS credit: Completed Professional/Technical training petition for credit form, documentation of training and/or certificate of completion, and a copy ACE/NCCRS credit recommendation.

U.S. Military Service
College credit is recognized for military service where college credit recommendations have been established by the American Council on Education (ACE), Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System (AARTS), and Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript System (SMART). Veterans must submit their separation form DD-214 to apply for military service credits.

Submission requirements for military service credits: Completed Professional/Technical training petition for credit form, ACE, AARTS or SMART transcript, and form DD-214 (unless already on file with the registrar).

Download Required Forms:  

POINTS OF INFORMATION FOR PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL TRAINING SUBMISSIONS

  1. Allow approximately four weeks for evaluation.
  2. Credit may not be double-awarded. For example, if CPR is awarded by the Registrar’s office as a community college transfer credit, then students may not receive PT credit from the PLA office.

Life Learning Essay Credit Option

Life learning essays (LLEs) can be written to express the knowledge and experiences related to a specific subject area. Each essay must meet the learning outcomes and/or course description of a Friends University course. Students interested in writing using the LLE credit option should contact the PLA office for course approval.

NOTE: There are several important factors that are required in all essays regardless of the particular subject being discussed. In order for an essay to be evaluated for college credit, each submission must be a minimum of eight (8) pages (excluding cover and reference pages) and include the following FIVE items:

  • Completed Petition for Credit Request Form.
  • Friends University Course Description – Evaluators use this to grade or award credit. Course descriptions can be found in the course catalog on the University website at www.friends.edu/academics/catalog-and-course-schedules. The essay should be based upon the course description and should match the outcomes closely. Credit may not be double-awarded for college courses. For example, if credit is awarded for Small Business Management by the Registrar’s office as a college transfer credit, then students may not submit an LLE on this subject.
  • Four Stages of Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning addressed in the essay:
    • a. Specific/Concrete Experience – The evaluator will examine the essay to see that it contains both knowledge and experience. Experience provides a frame of reference for knowledge. An evaluator might ask:
      • What happened? When did it happen? Who was involved? What was the student's involvement? What followed as a result?
    • The essay must go beyond how the experience was acquired. There must be an obvious relationship in the essay between knowledge and experience. Explain how the knowledge was acquired. If the experience included reading, the evaluators will want to know what you read, how the reading was selected and how the knowledge was used. (Written in first person; approximately two to four pages.
    • Observations & Reflections/Personal Learning Outcomes – Evaluators look for evidence of comprehension. It is not sufficient, for example, just to present a fact or principle. An evaluator might ask:
      • Does the student understand what this means or implies? Can the student explain it? Is there evidence that the student has thought about this knowledge or what can be done with it? What did the student learn from this experience? What skills were acquired? What new knowledge was gained? What insight was developed? What relationships were affected, and how? In other words, the evaluator is looking for evidence the student has interacted with knowledge and, in doing so, gained an understanding of it. This interaction, or evidence of mental processing, may take the form of the ability to explain the subject, break it down, critique it, rearrange it or combine it with other knowledge on the subject. These intellectual skills and abilities reflect thinking processes and must be evident in essays. Remember to demonstrate knowledge of the subject. (Written in first person; approximately two pages)
    • Formation of Abstract Concepts and Generalizations – Another thing evaluators look for is the student's ability to generalize; i.e., to derive or formulate a general concept or principle from particular situations. The evaluator cannot award credit for knowledge that was limited to a given experience as, for example, knowing the company's policies and procedures for disciplining employees. The student must be able to articulate four to six concepts and principles that would apply or hold true in other settings. The student must identify concepts, principles and/or generalized learning. (Written in third person, stated in terms that are so clearly general that they can be easily applied to the larger population; approximately two to three pages)
    • Application of Concepts in New/Other Situations – The student must demonstrate how the same principles formalized can be utilized in other areas not related to the original experience. What predictions can be made now based on the knowledge gained? The student must be able to articulate the same concepts and principles in section three that would apply or hold true in his/her own personal settings. The student must apply these concepts, principles and/or generalized learning to his/her future situations. (Written in first person; approximately two to three pages)
  • Works Cited/Bibliography Page (APA format) – References made to books, manuals, articles, etc., confirming college-level learning has occurred.
  • Documentation of the Experience – The final thing evaluators look for is appropriate documentation of the learning experience. All essays must have documentation. Documentation is the verification of specific learning experiences. Note: DO NOT submit original copies of materials. Documentation may include, for example, marriage licenses, birth certificates, divorce decrees, testimonials from witnesses, obituaries, newspaper articles, employment projects, etc.

Download Required Forms:

POINTS OF INFORMATION FOR LIFE LEARNING ESSAY SUBMISSIONS

Allow approximately four weeks for evaluation (submissions between May 1st and August 1st  & December 15th and January 15th may take longer due to faculty availability).

 

All submissions are to be sent directly to: 

By mail:
Friends University 
Prior Learning Assessment – Sanya Wiles
2100 W. University Ave., 123 CAPS Bldg. 
Wichita, KS 67213

By email:
sanya@friends.edu

Phone: 316-295-5885
Toll Free: 800-794-6945 ext. 5885 
Fax: 316-295-5050