Earn College Credit for What You Already Know
AACC understands the value of experiential/prior learning gained by adult students outside the classroom. If you have gained skills and knowledge from:

• Work experience
• Seminars/Workshops/Training
• Noncredit college courses
• Independent study
• Military service
• Community activities
• Hobbies
• Volunteer activities

you could receive college credit for prior learning. The most important factor is to determine your educational goal and if any credit for which you might be eligible would be applicable to your program of study. This is a very important first step. If you are undecided about your goal, a conversation with a college advisor will help you.

Getting Started
All college work completed at other institutions must be evaluated for transfer  before you can pursue the nontraditional prior learning assessment route.

If you are military and wish to receive credit for your military experience you must submit official transcripts for evaluation. If you have business or industry certifications or have participated in programs that you believe have been evaluated by the American Council on Education for college credit eqivalency, you need to submit documentation to verify your participation in such programs so that any credit can be applied to your program of study. Evaluation of any sponsored learning programs needs to completed by the staff in the records and registration office at AACC, before evaluation of experiential/prior learning can begin.

What are the methods for assessing prior learning?
AACC recognizes several College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Exams for evaluating credit for prior learning. The advantage to CLEP exams is that they are nationally recognized by many colleges and universities and fairly inexpensive. Each school sets its own policy on required scores. The AACC catalog lists the CLEP exams it recognizes, the AACC equivalent course and passing scores. In subjects which CLEP exams are not available, AACC departmental exams may be available. The exams are graded on a pass/fail basis and will be listed on your academic transcript as transfer of credit. As such it may not transfer to other schools, which is a disadvantage. If CLEP and departmental exams are not available, portfolio assessment might be the best option to demonstrate that your experience and knowledge is equivalent to college-level learning. 

In What Programs is the Portfolio Assessment Available?

• Architecture
• Business
• Engineering Technologies
• Human Services & Gerontology

You can earn credit by completing a portfolio and having it assessed by AACC faculty who have expertise in the discipline.The college follows the guidelines and standards for prior learning articulated by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). (Visit the CAEL Web site to learn more about the standards and other services CAEL offers including the new Learning Counts initiative which is essentially an ACE-evaluated portfolio of prior learning assessment.) At AACC, an online credit (ACA 200) or noncredit (POR 300) course is used to take you through the process step-by-step. Any credit earned by portfolio is  listed on your transcript as transfer credit. Students should check with their transfer institution about issues of transferability. A student can earn a total of 15 credits through these nontraditional transfer methods (credit by departmental exam and credit by portfolio.)

See a list of courses that are currently available for credit by portfolio evaluation.

How do you know if this is right for you?
If you are interested in the AACC portfolio assessment program, you can check your eligibility by taking a Self-Assessment. If it appears that you are eligible, contact Fran Turcott at 410-777-2340 with questions about portfolio assessment or any of the information on this page.