Preparing for PLAs: A Step-by-Step Process
To learn more about PLA and to complete the PLA Self-Assessment Guide go to www.tesu.edu/degree-completion/pla. To prepare for development of an electronic portfolio you will:
- Inventory Your Knowledge and Skills.
Review your job history, hobbies, areas of study or special training, volunteer work and other activities. Then make a list of all the areas of college-level knowledge and skill you have acquired as a result of these experiences. Further information is available at www.tesu.edu/degree-completion/pla.
- Choose the Areas for Which You Want to Earn College Credit.
Evaluate each area of your prior college-level learning to determine which ones to select for PLA. Your decision about each subject area should be based on two factors: whether you can prove that your knowledge is equivalent to a college-level course and whether you need college credits in that subject area. With the exception of physical education courses, field experience, student teaching, cooperative study, practicum courses, English Composition I and II, internships, seminars, “Selected Topics” courses, current independent study or stand-alone lab courses, any college-level subject is eligible for PLA, although there are some subjects that are not well-suited for portfolio assessment. It is strongly recommended that your selected PLAs be reviewed and deemed appropriate by the Office of Academic Advising for your degree program or certificate program.
- Find a Standard or Individualized PLA Course Description to Match Your Learning.
For each subject you have chosen, select an appropriate course description from either the Standard PLAs or the Thomas Edison State University PLA Course Description Database, which can accessed at www2.tesc.edu/plasearch.php. For Individualized course descriptions you may also search through catalogs from regionally accredited colleges to locate a description that best reflects your knowledge, if Thomas Edison State University does not already have a course to match your learning in its course description database. Course descriptions must come from catalogs that are no more than two years old. The catalog entries you select must represent courses taught in semester hours (not quarter hours) at regionally accredited colleges or universities. Please note that if you select a course description from another institution’s catalog, there is no guarantee that it will be assigned the same course code by Thomas Edison State University. If you plan to enroll in an Individualized PLA, fill out and submit the Undergraduate Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Portfolio Proposal Form and be sure to identify the semester in which you hope to take the PLA. This form can be found at www.tesu.edu/current-students/student-forms.
It will be reviewed by the University. If the application is accepted, a PLA course section will be set up and you will be informed that you may register for it. You must submit your proposal form at least two weeks prior to the end of the registration period for the desired semester so that a mentor may be identified before the registration period ends.
- Register for the PLA Course.
You may register for standard PLAs directly with the Office of the Registrar just as you would for any course, except that Individualized PLAs do not have the online registration option because they are specially activated for you. See the section in this Catalog on Course Registration. Once the semester begins, you may contact your mentor and begin to follow the timeline provided in the Assignments section of the course.
- Describe What You Know and How You Learned It.
After reviewing the course description and learning outcomes set out in your myEdison® PLA section, you will create a portfolio by writing a narrative that describes your college-level learning and addresses the subject area content as defined by the learning outcomes. You will also explain how your knowledge was acquired and introduce the materials you are providing as evidence. This narrative, which may vary in length and format depending on the subject area, is developed under the guidance of your mentor and is your forum for demonstrating to the mentor that you possess sufficient college-level knowledge to warrant credit for the subject.
- Provide Evidence of Your Knowledge.
In your portfolio, you will assemble a compilation of material that documents your knowledge of the course content and outcomes. Evidence submitted is not limited to written documents such as a resume or an annotated bibliography, but can also include video and audio clips as well as scanned documents. Examples may include a performance evaluation, certificates, samples of your work, letters of verification from employers or others who have firsthand knowledge of your abilities, or any other material that offers proof.
- Put it All Together.
After you have registered for a PLA, interacted with your mentor to write an appropriate narrative and collected sufficient evidence to prove your knowledge of the course, your PLA portfolio is complete and ready for final assessment. If a piece of evidence is not conducive to electronic transmission, you may mail it to the mentor, but only copies should be sent as evidence cannot be returned. There are two types of Prior Learning Assessments, Standard and Individualized, and these differ only in the initial registration process.