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 students will:
- Inventory Knowledge and Skills.
Review job history, hobbies, areas of study or special training, volunteer work, and other activities and make a list of all the areas of college-level knowledge and skill acquired as a result of these experiences. Further information is available at www.tesu.edu/degree-completion/pla.
- Choose the Areas to Earn College Credit.
Evaluate each area of prior college-level learning to determine which ones to select for PLA. The student’s decision about each subject area should be based on two factors: whether the student can prove that the knowledge is equivalent to a college-level course and whether the student needs 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 selected PLAs be reviewed and deemed appropriate by the Office of Academic Advising for the student’s degree program or certificate program.
- Find a Standard or Individualized PLA Course Description to Match Student's Learning.
For each subject chosen, students select an appropriate course description from either the Standard PLAs or the Thomas Edison State University PLA Course Description Database, which can be accessed at www2.tesc.edu/plasearch.php. For individualized course descriptions students may also search through catalogs from institutionally accredited colleges, approved under the TESU Transfer Credit Policies and Guidelines, to locate a description that best reflects their knowledge, if Thomas Edison State University does not already have a course to match the student's learning in its course description database. Course descriptions must come from catalogs that are no more than two years old. The catalog entries selected must represent courses taught in semester hours (not quarter hours) at institutionally accredited colleges or universities, approved under the TESU Transfer Credit Policies and Guidelines. Please note that if a student selects 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. Students planning to enroll in an individualized PLA, should fill out and submit the Undergraduate Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Portfolio Proposal Form and be sure to identify the semester in which they 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 the student will be informed that he or she may register for it. Students must submit the 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.
Students may register for standard PLAs directly with the Office of the Registrar just as they would for any course, except that individualized PLAs do not have the online registration option because they are specially activated for the student. See the section in this Catalog on Course Registration. Once the semester begins, students may contact the mentor and begin to follow the timeline provided in the Assignments section of the course.
- Describe What Is Known and How It Was You Learned.
After reviewing the course description and learning outcomes set out in the myEdison® PLA section, students will create a portfolio by writing a narrative that describes the college-level learning and addresses the subject area content as defined by the learning outcomes. Students will also explain how the knowledge was acquired and introduce the materials they are providing as evidence. This narrative, which may vary in length and format depending on the subject area, is developed under the guidance of the mentor and is the student’s forum for demonstrating to the mentor that the student possesses sufficient college-level knowledge to warrant credit for the subject.
- Provide Evidence of Knowledge.
In the portfolio, students will assemble a compilation of material that documents their 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 work, letters of verification from employers or others who have firsthand knowledge of the student’s abilities, or any other material that offers proof.
- Put it All Together.
After the student has registered for a PLA, interacted with the mentor to write an appropriate narrative, and collected sufficient evidence to prove his or her knowledge of the course, the PLA portfolio is complete and ready for final assessment. If a piece of evidence is not conducive to electronic transmission, students 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.