Getting Credit for Your Experience

[Ameeratul Layl]

:sl:

[MOUSE]Getting Credit for Your Experience[/MOUSE]

More and more colleges are giving students course credit not just for completion of their classes, but also for their life experiences. These schools evaluate the educational value of on-the-job training, work experience, or even reading for fun--and they translate these experiences into credits toward a degree.

"Prior learning gives students like me the opportunity to be awarded with credits that have been acquired through traditional and nontraditional schooling, work, or other life experiences," explains Jorge Maldonado, management analyst, and Webmaster of the Midwest Center for Postsecondary Outreach at Saint Paul College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Maldonado has extensive experience from his current job, improving higher-learning opportunities for the deaf and hard of hearing. His technical expertise earned him eight credits that he could apply toward his master's degree in information technology from Capella University.