Obtaining college credit for work experience – known as Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) or Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) – has emerged as one of the best methods to connect professional experience and academic success. CPL is an expedited and cost-effective approach to a degree that is particularly beneficial for adult learners who are balancing education and employment (adult learners college credit), military personnel transitioning to civilian life, and professionals seeking career advancement. By converting work-related knowledge into formal, transferable college credits, learners are able to save on tuition and expenses, reduce the time to earn their degree, and receive formal recognition for skills and knowledge they have already acquired.

This guide outlines what CPL/PLA is, what a range of assessment pathways look like (from standardized assessments to portfolio review), and the policies that are contributing to a rise in CPL/PLA initiatives. The guide will also review compelling data – including statewide reports providing hundreds of thousands of credits in CPL/PLA per year through to national studies showing higher rates of degree completion among students granted PLA – which supports the position that CPL/PLA are more than an option or an alternative, they are now a mainstay. Finally, it provides a step by step roadmap to assist you with your individual journey toward the assessment of credits for your own work experiences.

What is prior Learning Credit (CPL) /Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)?

Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is the catch-all name for institutional practices designed to assess and award credit for college-level learning achieved outside formal classroom settings — which could be through work, military service, employer training, certifications, professional licenses, volunteering, or self-study. The assessment method may involve writing exams, assessing portfolios reviewed by faculty, certifications, and granting college credit for exams (CLEP, DSST, AP) and military transcriptions evaluated using ACE recommendations. The CPL goal is to identify college-level learning that has been demonstrated, wherever they have occurred. (American Council on Education)

Why is the CPL governance important – Data and Outcomes?

Massive policy shift: There is movement on supporting CPL at the state/system policy level in the form of dozens of states having system state policies: A 2024 national landscape report by ACE states that numerous systems have some prior-learning approval process at the state level (e.g., CLEP/DSST, portfolio assessments, and military training acceptance). The varying levels of policy activity is fueling a move toward CPL becoming a more commonplace option for many students. (American Council on Education)

Scale & Savings:  Utah (in public system) reported 232,943 college credits to students through prior-learning assessments- for the most recent annual report, an increase from previous levels; this shows systematic scale and impact on credit for reducing tuition: (ushe.edu)

Better Persistence & Completion: Studies of PLA across dozens of institutions (the targeted study CAEL/ PLA Boost), and other PLA studies, suggest that students receiving PLA credit tend to persist and complete their degree. More specifically, CLEP passers exhibited ~5.5% higher degree completion for complete degree programs vs. fellow peers.  These are not trivial impacts: Months or even years off a degree do matter, especially for adult learners. (CAEL)

Widespread Exam Recognition: Approximately 2,900 colleges/universities endorse CLEP exams, and many institutions endorse DSST exams too (often cited to 1,900+ colleges). Each of these exams represents a significant recognition of higher ed practice which is widely applicable to working adults. (clep.collegeboard.org)

Common Pathways to Earn College Credit from Work Experience

Standardized programs for earning credit by examination (the fastest route to earning credit) are listed below:

CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) — organized by College Board; most CLEP exams will be worth 3–6 semester credits (a one-semester class is generally = 3 credits, while a number of exams require two semesters = 6 credits). Approximately 2,900 institutions will allow you to use a CLEP score for credit; because receiving institutions set their own policies, it is best to check the course equivalency with the institution. Although ACE recommends a score of 50 for credit in most examinations – if you earned considerable testable knowledge on the job (ex: accounting, management, history, foreign language, etc.), it is an ideal choice. (clep.collegeboard.org)

DSST (to be known as DANTES/Subject Standardized Tests in the past) — DSST examinations are similar to CLEP in that they are ACE-recommended and comprise examinations of workforce-relevant subjects (business, computing, ethics, management) on top of being accepted by a number of institutions. DSST began to gain popularity among Military and Adult learners. (dantes.mil)

A Step-by-Step Overview for You

Portfolio assessment (where faculty reviews your evidence of work commitment)

You develop a portfolio that represents your college-level learning from work to include: job descriptions, performance reviews, training certificates, work samples, reflective essays that map your experience to learning outcomes and letters of verification from supervisors. Faculty reviewers help earn college credit for work experience and determine whether learning constitutes the equivalent of a course.

Cost and logistics can vary

Many colleges charge you a nonrefundable fee to submit or review the portfolio (e.g., $25-$150 administrative fee; some institutions even charge a per-credit assessment fee or fee per portfolio, common ranges on institutional pages are $50-$400 depending on institution and how many credits you are requesting). The timeline for review can be weeks to months. Examples: Eastern Illinois University had a $100 portfolio evaluation fee at one of the programs plus $400 per course credit charge; other colleges had $50 per credit or $150 review fees. You will always want to check the college’s policies specifically to the institution.

Employer/industry training and professional certifications

Many colleges will recognize and accept vendor or industry recognized credentials (e.g., CompTIA, Cisco, PMI, or employer-based training, to name a few) when reviewed and mapped to course learning outcomes. ACE has a guide and recommendations for many workforce and military training programs; colleges rely on ACE recommendations and their own mappings.(American Council on Education)

Military transcripts and evaluations

Military training and military experience, for instance, is routinely evaluated by ACE; colleges are regularly awarded academic credit for military occupational training on a Joint Services Transcript or the credit recommendations of ACE. There is also often recognition in state policies requiring public institutions to recognize military evaluated credit. (American Council on Education)

Step-by-step: How to Convert Work Experience into College Credits?

Identify the Program and Institution You Wish to Attend: The credit for learning obtained through experience will vary from institution to institution and based on the program. Therefore, it is best to start with the institution where you plan to receive your degree, as they determine, by their policies, which credits will apply to your program of study.

Collect Evidence of Learning: Some common forms are job descriptions, letters validated by a supervisor, letters of acknowledgment of performance, copies of the transcript from the vendor where you received your training, sample projects or deliverables you completed, performance reviews, and any other type of project or deliverable that you think will inform the institution about the learning process, in addition to a reflective essay mapping the content of each means of verifying the learning through each course learning outcome.

Review the Institution’s CPL or PLA Catalog Page and Policies:  Find out if the institution get college credit for work experience  or prior learning whether is the CLEP/DSST/AP tests they accept, whether they do portfolio assessments or not, what fees they charge to assess and grant credit, and any restrictions or limits that the institution specifies (for instance, many institutions specify a limit to the number of credits that can be earned through CPL = approximately 30 CLEP credits). (clep.collegeboard.org)

Consider Your Options for Assessment : If your experience points to CLEP or DSST subjects, study the subjects and take the assessment because it is quicker and often less expensive. If your experience is practical based on your job, consider submitting a portfolio and using the institution’s assessment rubric. If your practical training or learning resulted in an external certificate, you can request that the institution grants you credit for it according to the ACE guidelines or their policy.

Prepare and Submit :  For evaluating the portfolios it’s best to comply with the institution’s template. After you have a draft, it might also be helpful for an advisor or one trained by CAEL to review your first draft. If you take the assessment option, register through the official CLEP/DSST website and then request that the complicated or online company send your official score report to the institution. (clep.collegeboard.org)

Appeal or Just Ask Them to Map to Course Outcomes : In some cases, if a department declines to award credit (or provides an elective course credit only) you may be able to contact the department again, and appeal and submit new evidence or ask them to reconsider and map the evidence you provided to different course outcomes.

Cost, Time, and Common Amount of Credit 

CLEP or DSST Exams: Generally each exam may provide credit worth three to six credits. Most  are three credits, but some are across two semesters therefore offer six credits. The cost for taking a CLEP or DSST assessment is substantially lower than taking the equivalent seminar or classes even after considering fees (pay tuition for CLEP (registration fee) and then pay the test center fee, collectively this will still be less). Also, CLEP scores are available immediately after the assessment and then request them to a specific institution–except in language assessments that require writing. (clep.collegeboard.org)

Assessment of Portfolios: Institutional assessment fees for portfolios vary widely across institutions. For example, review the public college webpages to see examples of admin fees ranging from $25 to $150 in addition to per-credit assessment fees (to review equate a cost of e.g., $50-150 per credit). Bear in mind that the portfolio is not simply submitting work projects. The investment in time is often (10-40 hrs of finalized projects, or submission materials or outlining the project to show how the other outcomes aligned).  (CNM)

Savings and Impact to Education: If there is college credit for job experience, precisely CPLs can help reduce the number of college courses you pay for. An example in Utah of hundreds of thousands of credits awarded to students through CPL or expedited through CLEP shows that both are scalable and an indicator to help fulfill a greater degree completion. (ushe.edu)

Strategies for Maximizing Credit Gain for Prior Learning

First step: Start with the destination institution. Each designated institution has its own policy; thus, if it counts at one college, it does not indicate that the second college will accept it.

Age evidence based on learning outcomes, rather than job functions : In other words, faculty are going to use their institutional process of establishing equivalency to course learning outcomes; therefore, you must establish the learning to be collegial.

Use multiple pathways : For example, you can use CLEP/DSST to show that you possess ample subject knowledge, and use your portfolio for basic “soft skill” tasks/skills to demonstrate the use of your prior learning.

Document your credentials : It helps if your boss or workplace is willing to write you a documented acknowledgment letter. Provide tangible artefacts (presentation materials, reports, code or design).

Use their resources : You may or may not want to reach out to the PLA advisors or CAEL bibliothèque resources, or modern states (free online CLEP course) to lessen some of the work or expense of evaluating your learning (Modern States).

Common Errors

Assuming it all transfers or it all is accepted across the board : Not all colleges accept every CLEP agreeability, DSST exam or others, again verified from the designated institution before completing any CPL route (catalog.sjsu.edu).

Not documenting evidence enough: Oftentimes, the vague job descriptions do not yield credit. You must have evidence of artefacts and reflective narratives connecting that credit to subject learning outcome.

Missing caps and residency rules :  Some colleges have caps on the total amount of credits you are able to take as a CPL, or vice versa, required credits to complete the degree in-residence, meaning check with your designated institution program rules for early program preparation.

In summary

The landscape of work experience college credit programs has changed to dynamic opportunities to receive credits for prior learning. It is not an outlier, it is now researched, rational, and a well thought out process to lessen the duration of degree completion and some credit potentially. With the dominant acceptance of the CLEP/DSST exams for college entry across the country, each state and institutional CPL continue to grow, and efficacy has continued with several courses granting credits, so for everyone who has experiential learning at the college level, CPL is a valid research based option to earn credits for.

Take the first step; choose the institution and program desired, determine PLN credit acceptance process, and assessment process (exam, portfolio, certification review, etc.) and begin with evidence based on lived practice experience and education. In many cases the effort with a few exams or life experience college credit portfolio is likely to determine a considerable amount of experience based credit, months and thousands of tuition dollars.

At Atlantic International University, we hope to provide this opportunity of credit for experiential learning to each and every member of the academic community. We listen to and work with students, and create personalized academic programs that honor students’ unique experiences. If you are ready to convert your professional knowledge and experience to academic credits and enhance your degree, please consider responding to AIU and joining today and bring personal action to your future.

Prime Resources (to Begin With)-

• CLEP (College Board) — official exams & policies. (clep.collegeboard.org) 
• DSST / Prometric — credit-by-exam program. (Prometric) 
• CAEL — research, PLA best practices, and “PLA Boost” findings. (CAEL) 
• ACE National Guide / policy landscape (2024). (American Council on Education) 
• Modern States (free CLEP prep). (Modern States)
  

Author Bio

Ananya Biswas, Senior Content Strategist at Atlantic International University, blends creativity with strategy to craft compelling narratives. With 9+ years of expertise in content strategizing, creation and marketing, she champions in meeting high quality content standards and empowers global audiences through impactful storytelling and brand engagement.