Acceptance of Credits from Other Institutions
Credits earned at accredited institutions of higher education will be accepted. The age of the credits does not affect whether your credits will be accepted. College Unbound determines the amount of credit and level of credit accepted based on policies established by its faculty. No more than 90 credits from other institutions will be credited toward a College Unbound bachelor’s degree.
Proof of validation is required in all cases where an institution has awarded credit on a basis other than completion of a conventional academic course of instruction. Credits from non-accredited institutions may be validated through a portfolio assessment process or through standardized testing, if available and appropriate.
Prior Learning Assessment
College Unbound recognizes that college-level learning can take place outside the classroom and has processes to help students earn credit for that learning.
1. Credit for Testing/Standardized Exams
- College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
- DSST -- Prometric DSST Program
- GRE -- Graduate Record Exam Subject Tests
- UExcel -- Excelsior College Examination Program
- OHIO -- Ohio University End-of-Course Exams
- NYU -- New York University Language Exams
- TECEP -- Thomas Edison College Examination Program
2. Credit for Training
- Trainings evaluated for credit by the ACE (American Council on Education) and/or National CCRS (National College Credit Recommendation Service)
3. Credential Evaluation
- Credential or professional license awarded by a state, national, or professional organization that required a proctored exam that have been reviewed and recommended for credit by American Council for Education (ACE), and/or National CCRS.
4. Transfer Credit for Military Experience
- Most military training and experience is reviewed for college credit by the American Council for Education (ACE).
5. Portfolio Assessment
- CAEL/Learning Counts -- Council for Adult and Experiential Learning Portfolio Assessment
Learning in Public (LIP) Credit
College Unbound recognizes that college-level learning can take place outside the classroom and has processes to help students earn credit for that learning. Learning in Public (LIP) is College Unbound’s process for prior learning assessment (PLA).
Eligibility - To receive LIP credit, the student must be a degree-seeking College Unbound student. Students are encouraged, but not required to take OLC220 before submitting a LIP portfolio.
LIP Award of Credit
- As long as it matches the relevant learning outcomes, LIP credit can be applied to any degree requirement except the following core courses:
- OLC215, Introduction to Organizational Leadership & Change
- OLC355, Reframing Failure
- OLC315/SBS305, Contextualizing Work: Research Methods I
- OLC400, Capstone
- World & Workplace Lab courses
- LIP credits earned through portfolio assessment count toward the academic residency requirement. LIP credits earned through all other methods are considered transfer credit and do not count toward academic residency requirements.
Assessment Methods - The following guidelines and methods are acceptable for assessing learning for awarding credit.
Methods that earn test credit:
- Military Training: Credit recommendations listed in the American Council on Education (ACE) Military Guide serve as the basis for assessing transferability of military training and occupations. For military training that has not been evaluated by ACE, credit will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
- Standardized Exams: Credit will be awarded for passing scores on the national for-credit examination programs:
- College-Level Exam Program (CLEP)
- DSST – Prometric DSST Program
- GRE – Graduate Record Exam Subject Tests
- UExcel – Excelsior College Examination Program
- OHIO – Ohio University End-of-Course Exams
- NYU – New York University Language Exams
- TECEP – Thomas Edison College Examination Program
- Certificates, Credentials & Licensures:
- Credential or professional license awarded by a state, national, or professional organization that required a proctored exam that have been reviewed and recommended for credit by ACE, and/or National CCRS (National College Credit Recommendation Service).
- Other current industry-recognized credentials validated through the issuing agency or organization may be used to award credit, as approved by the college. Evaluations of learning done by the college will consider the qualifications and involvement of experts in guiding the learning, engaged time, opportunities for expert feedback and assessment, and stated outcomes. College Unbound will use the Global Learning Qualifications Framework (GLQF) to determine college-level learning, and College Unbound learning outcomes to determine placement of credits.
- Professional and Community-Based Training:
- Trainings evaluated for credit by ACE (American Council on Education), and/or National CCRS (National College Credit Recommendation Service).
- Locally evaluated employer and community training may be used to award credit, as approved by the college. Evaluations of learning done by the college will consider the qualifications and involvement of experts in guiding the learning, engaged time, opportunities for expert feedback and assessment, and stated outcomes. College Unbound will use the Global Learning Qualifications Framework (GLQF) to determine college-level learning, and College Unbound learning outcomes to determine placement of credits.
Methods that earn Portfolio Credit:
Portfolio Assessment - CU offers two ways for students to demonstrate learning with portfolios. In each case, learners assemble annotated collections of evidence documenting their learning in portfolios.
- Portfolio + Learning Narrative: In narrative portfolios, the portfolio evidence is presented in the context of the story of the learning. Narrative portfolios may include written and/or video narratives.
- Portfolio + Course Match: Using CU or syllabi from any other accredited college or university, students show how their learning experience and the evidence in the portfolio demonstrates that they have achieved the course outcomes stated in the syllabi.
In both cases, evaluations of learning done by the college will consider the qualifications and involvement of experts in guiding the learning, engaged time, opportunities for expert feedback and assessment, and stated outcomes. College Unbound will use the Global Learning Qualifications Framework (GLQF) to determine college-level learning, and College Unbound learning outcomes to determine placement of credits.
Learning in Public (LIP) Credit
Learning in Public (LIP) is the process of identifying, reflecting on, and crediting learning that takes place outside a college course. LIP creates a path for you to earn college credit for your workplace and life experience.
Many forms of learning traditionally go unseen by colleges. At CU, LIP allows students and faculty to acknowledge, honor, and potentially credit not only classroom lessons, but your life lessons too!
On the
LIP Resource page, you will find information on how to build a LIP portfolio, structured LIP sprints, examples of LIPs, CU's policies around LIP credit, and guidance for LIP assessors.
