Credit for Prior Learning

You may be closer than you think. The Career and Organization Studies program recognizes that students learn skills in a variety of ways and in a variety of environments. Our portfolio process helps students identify and document college-level workplace learning. Based on an evaluation of the portfolio, students may earn as much as 30 credit hours towards Bachelor of Science degree within the Career & Organizational Studies Program.

To prepare the portfolio, students enroll in COS 1000 Portfolio Development where they are guided through the various stages of portfolio development.

There are four major stages of portfolio development:
  • gain a basic understanding of educational theories and background concepts
    that validate the experiential learning process
  • become familiar with portfolio guidelines and identify topics of expertise
  • gather and compose the information needed to prepare the portfolio and
    execute the preparation process
  • submit the portfolio for review and assessment

The COS portfolio process aligns with national standards sponsored by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

Portfolio Timeline

The COS 1000 Portfolio Development Course is only offered in the Fall semester. Students writing a portfolio will have one year to complete and submit their portfolio.

For example: If a student enrolls in COS 1000 in Fall 2010, their portfolio is due the first day of class in Fall 2011.

Portfolio Fee

There are costs involved in offering a quality experiential learning portfolio. These costs include copying, postage, and evaluation fees as well as the time commitment on the part of the portfolio advisor.

Students choosing to develop an experiential learning portfolio with credit awarded through COS 3200 will be charged the following fees:

A Submission Fee whose dollar amount is equivalent to one semester hour of tuition.

A Chapter (3 semester hours) Evaluation Fee whose dollar amount is equivalent to one-third of one semester hour of tuition for each 3 SH chapter submitted. The total Evaluation Fee will vary depending upon the total number of chapters submitted.

Additional Information

To find out more about COS 1000 or if you have adequate experience for prior learning credits contact:

Diana Wyatt
Dawyatt@eiu.edu