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Portfolio Credit

At the request of the student, the University will evaluate previous experience in nontraditional forms of learning. To be validated for course credit, life experience learning must be comparable in outcomes to the content of courses and experiences, and to the knowledge, insights, and understanding developed through existing college programs. The experiential credit is for the knowledge gained and not for the experience itself, and must correspond with an existing Waynesburg University course. Many students have valuable experiences that do not translate into academic credit.

Any student petitioning for life experience credit is required to submit a portfolio to the appropriate department chair or program director. A portfolio must include at least:

  1. Detailed personal resume and job description(s);
  2. Student analysis of his or her learning experiences and the knowledge and skills that he or she has gained; and,
  3. Records of Testimony — Verification of the life experience where appropriate. For example, a) letters from supervisors, co-workers, clients, or b) work samples such as artwork, reports, articles, budgets. A detailed set of instructions can be obtained from the Registrar’s Office.

In addition to submitting a portfolio, the student may be required to take an examination to verify the life experience learning.

The department chair or program director will discuss the portfolio with the student and appropriate faculty members. The chair may recommend that life experience credit be granted, or not be granted, for specific courses offered by that department. A positive recommendation from the chair goes to the Provost or designee for final approval. If the decision of the chair is not to recommend the granting of life experience credit, the student can appeal, in writing, to the Academic Standards and Procedures Committee. If the committee decides there is merit to the student’s petition, a recommendation for approval will be forwarded to the Provost or designee for final approval.

A maximum of 15 credits for life experience learning can be awarded to a student. These life experience credits will not be assigned a grade and will not be used to compute the student’s grade point average.

A fee of $80 per credit hour requested will be charged for evaluation of the student’s portfolio.