In This Issue:

• CALL Expands Prior Learning Assessment Opportunities
• NSU Works With Students To Transfer Earned Credits

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CALL Expands Prior Learning Assessment Opportunities

ALEXANDRIA – How many years have you worked? How many years have you spent time gaining experience and knowledge that you thought would never prove useful for college credit? The Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana, or CALL, promotes Prior Learning assessment, or PLA. Prior learning assessment is the opportunity for adults to earn credit for college-level learning acquired through work, training, volunteering, or personal experiences. PLA is available at all CALL campuses in a variety of formats. Prior learning assessment opportunities have existed at many colleges in the state for several decades. These opportunities include earning credit through national standardized testing such as College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP) or DANTES Subject Standardized Test® (DSST). But a new form of PLA is taking over Louisiana: Portfolio Assessment. Portfolio assessment is the process by which a student will learn to create and submit a portfolio to determine if college credit can be awarded for a particular course. CALL institution members require their students, who are interested in earning credit through portfolio assessment, to participate in a workshop or full semester course in which these students explore their prior learning. Through this process, these students determine if they can demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes through a portfolio. Colleges identify courses where portfolio can be useful. Worked in an office setting for many years? Then, as long as you can do the work and prove it, your skills my earn you credit for Business Administration 101 or Accounting. Think about the ability to enter college, and right off the bat earn 9 hours of college credit. It puts you one step closer to the degree you always wanted. For an extended overview on PLA check out our webpage: http://www.yourCALLLA.org/prior_learning_assessment CALL member institutions include Bossier Parish Community College, Northwestern State University, Louisiana State University-Eunice, McNeese State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, and The University of Louisiana-Monroe. For more information about CALL or portfolio assessment, please log onto http://www.yourCALLLA.org

For more information on CALL, go to http://www.yourcallla.org.

NSU Works With Students To Transfer Earned Credits

NATCHITOCHES – WCollege credit doesn’t come with an expiration date. If you completed college courses, but never finished your degree, those classes from several years ago can help you graduate much quicker. “We regularly deal with students who may have been out of school since the 70’s or 80’s and they are relieved to find out that their previous college credit is still good,” said Andrea Maley, the director of Admissions at Northwestern State University. “Our staff has a great deal of expertise in evaluating college transcripts. We work to make sure students receive all of the credit they are entitled to.” According to Maley, it does not matter where the credit was earned. Most credits from a community college or four-year college will transfer to Northwestern as long as the institution has regional accreditation. Northwestern has also worked out agreements with several Louisiana community colleges making the transfer of credits easy. The credits that will apply toward a degree will depend on the degree sought by the student. Adult students ages 21 -24 years old who have a high school diploma or the equivalent, and have never attended a college or university in the past have the option to be admitted as either a part-time degree seeking student or a full-time non-degree seeking student. Once the adult learner has earned at least 12 college level hours with a minimum 2.0 grade point average, and needs no more than one developmental course, they can enroll full-time as a degree seeking student in the major of his or her choice. Adults ages 25 or older who have a high school diploma or the equivalent are admissible to NSU. Adults ages 25 or older who do not have a high school diploma or the equivalent may be admitted on academic probation to a degree program with qualifying scores on the Compass test.

For more information on CALL, go to http://www.yourcallla.org.