Credit for Prior Experiential Learning

Prior experiential learning is learning acquired outside of a formal academic setting. It provides knowledge, understanding, or intellectual skills expected of students who pursue a baccalaureate degree at a liberal arts and sciences college and takes place prior to admission. Prior experiential learning usually results from independent reading or study from employment, from serving an internship or from some other related activity. To obtain credit for prior experiential learning, students must be able to articulate in some acceptable way what they have learned and must be able to demonstrate that it is equivalent to the academic work done by college students. Credit will only be granted for experiences occurring after the completion of high school.

Students who have been accepted for admission by the College and who desire credit for prior experiential learning must submit an application (available in the Office of the Registrar) to the Chair of the department in which credit is being sought. The Department Chair shall evaluate the application or submit it to other academic departments or to the appropriate faculty committee for further evaluation. The evaluation will include a personal interview and whatever form of demonstration is necessary to determine whether academic credit (without grades) should be awarded. If the application is approved, it will be forwarded to the Office of the Registrar for final approval by the Registrar and processing and to the Office of Student Accounts for collection of the Experiential Credit award fee. If approved, the experiential credit is added to the student’s record with a grade of ‘CR’.

No more than 30 credits for prior experiential learning may be included in credits required for graduation. No more than 75 credits earned through the combination of transfer credit, equivalency examinations and prior experiential learning may be applied toward a Hartwick degree.