Credit through Portfolio Assessment

Portfolio assessment is a collection of materials compiled to demonstrate previous college-level learning (undergraduate) or knowledge obtained after completing a bachelor's degree (graduate) that is relevant to a student's degree plan.

黑洞社区 recognizes that college-level learning occurs in a variety of settings. Portfolio assessment is one process to document learning that took place outside the classroom. Through Portfolio Assessment students may earn undergraduate or graduate credit for knowledge that was obtained through work experience (military or civilian), in-service/corporate training programs, volunteer activities, workshops, and/or personal study. To earn portfolio credit, students must prepare a portfolio which will be reviewed by a qualified faculty member.

How it works:

  • Review relevant course descriptions.
  • Undergraduate students: Complete the Credit for Prior Learning Tool
  • Graduate students: Contact the appropriate Program Chair to discuss your qualifications.
  • If approved, assemble a portfolio that includes examples of your work, training certificates, licenses, results of evaluations, and any other documents that support your experiences.
  • The portfolio must include evidence relevant to the area in which credit is sought and demonstrate clear achievement and thorough understanding of the subject matter.
  • A trained faculty member will review and assess your portfolio.
  • You receive the outcome of this assessment, which may be an award of academic credit for your prior learning.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the cost of a portfolio assessment?
    • $123 per credit-hour for undergraduate portfolio assessment ($369 per 3-credit course)
    • $158 per credit-hour for graduate portfolio assessment ($474 per 3-credit course)
  2. Can anyone take a portfolio assessment?
    Yes. You must identify specific a course in your degree program for which you have documented, verifiable knowledge. After speaking with a prior learning specialist, you will connect the Program Chair for your degree program. The Program Chair does the final vetting to ensure you're a good fit for portfolio assessment. See Credit for Prior Learning Tool to learn more.
  3. What if I am a graduate student interested in portfolio assessment?
    Since there are significantly less courses in a graduate program, we suggest you reach out directly to the Program Chair of your respective program.
  4. What is the grading like for portfolio assessment?
    The portfolio assessment is Pass/Fail. There are not letter grades, which is why it is extremely important the student is confident in the content taught in the course. Portfolio assessment can sometimes be just as arduous, if not more so, than taking the course itself.
  5. How long is a portfolio assessment?
    Doing a portfolio assessment can be very flexible in terms of time. So long as the student and instructor can fit it in their schedule, it can be in block or semester format. Once in the portfolio assessment, all of the content and instruction is loaded and the student has the ability to complete the work prior to the end of the course.
  6. Can I do more than one portfolio assessment?
    So long as you are approved by the Program Chair of your program, you are able to complete up to 75 undergraduate credit towards your degree program. Graduate students should speak with their Program Chair to determine how much credit, if any, may be earned through portfolio assessment (up to 6 credits).
  7. What if I don't pass the portfolio assessment?
    If you do not pass, you will receive an Unsatisfactory grade (U) and be required to retake that course again in the typical class format to satisfy that program requirement. Any credits awarded will not affect your GPA.
  8. Is portfolio assessment covered under financial aid?
    No, portfolio assessment is not covered under financial aid and must be paid out of pocket.
  9. Does portfolio assessment count as residency credit?
    Yes, since we use our own faculty to run the portfolio assessments within our institution, each portfolio assessment a student completes is considered residency.
  10. Where is the portfolio assessment completed through?
    黑洞社区 uses Canvas as our learning management system (LMS) which is where all portfolio assessments are housed. Upon a student registering, the content will be loaded into Canvas where a student goes to complete the work.