Credit for Prior Learning
Faculty Resources
What is Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)?
Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is credit awarded for validated college-level skills and knowledge gained outside of a college classroom. It’s a strategy to grant students credit for what they already know and can do. Credit for Prior Learning is most often awarded by exam, portfolio, industry training, and/or military joint service training / experience, but can also be awarded by satisfactory passing of the AP, IB, or CLEP exam.
A currently enrolled Las Positas College student in good academic standing with an educational plan on file may be awarded credit for prior learning with faculty consent.
About Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)
How does it support our students?
Credit for Prior Learning supports our students by validating work and learning they've already completed, aiding in the swifter movement through thier pathway/program resulting in greater degree completions, promoting equity, avoiding repetition of courses, and helping working adults reskill and achieve quality credentials that increase their economic mobility and create closer communications with industry experts which benefits their community.
How does it benefit our college?
Credit for Prior Learning benefits Las Positas College by creating open space for future community and industry partnerships, building enrollment by supporting student retention and persistence, and respecting students and their work by reducing the time to graduation and assuring quality and equity across various academic experiences.
Did you know? Research shows that, “Students accumulate more credits through coursework at the institution than their counterparts, which translates to increased enrollment for colleges.”
How can it support your program?
Credit for Prior Learning can support your program by attracting more students to it by awarding them credit for lower-level courses which in turn then creates the opportunity for them to register for the higher-level ones.
Programs with CPL-Approved Courses
- Administration of Justice
- Automotive Technology
- Computer Information Systems
- Computer Networking Technology
- Computer Science
- Fire Service Technology
- French
- Journalism and Media Studies
- Music
- Spanish
Courses available for CPL are listed on the Transfer Evaluation System website under American Council on Education (ACE).
How Do I Make My Courses CPL Eligible?
In order for students to receive credit for prior learning for your courses, they must go through the curriculum process outlined below. This can be done in as few as two meetings and the approval is effective immediately.
- Credit for Prior Learning Faculty Request
- If you would like to make your course eligible for credit for prior learning, please fill out the CPL faculty request form and email it to the Credit for Prior Learning team at lpc-priorlearning@laspositascollege.edu. This inbox is managed by the CPL Coordinator and administrative assistant. If this request is for a new course, then in addition to submitting this form to the Credit for Prior Learning team, please also include the request for CPL in your new course proposal on CurriQunet.
- Curriculum Committee Approval
- Once the CPL team receives your request, they will communicate the request to the Curriculum Chair and Curriculum Specialist who will then include the request on an upcoming Curriculum Committee (CC) meeting agenda for approval. It will be agendized at one CC meeting for First Reading, and then come back for Voting at a second CC meeting with an immediate effective date upon approval. The requesting faculty must be present at First Reading to discuss their proposal and answer any committee questions.
- Credit for Prior Learning Documentation/Tracking
- Once approved by the Curriculum Committee, the Curriculum Specialist will communicate the course’s approval to the CPL team and document the approval in CurriQunet by uploading an attached file. The CPL team will then update the student-facing webpage with the newly approved course, and work with faculty to support them with next steps specific to the type of CPL they requested.
Additional Information & Resources
- Las Positas College Faculty CPL Request Form (PDF)
- Las Positas College: Transfer Evaluation System (TES)
- Military Articulation Platform (MAP)
- AP 4235 Credit for Prior Learning (2020)
- BP 4235 Credit for Prior Learning (2020)
- CCC Credit for Prior Learning Toolkit (2020)
- Curriculum Institute - Credit for Prior Learning (2023)
Presentations
If you have an questions please reach out to Melissa Korber and/or Danielle Bañuelos or email our shared inbox at lpc-priorlearning@laspositascollege.edu