WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue University Global takes pride in providing its students with the opportunity to earn credit from prior learning experiences – be it work, military, or even volunteering.
Others are taking notice. On Tuesday (March 22), “The Alternative Credit Center at Purdue Global: Open Degree Programs, Portfolios, and Assessments” was selected for an Innovate Award by the Online Learning Consortium, a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators.
The Purdue Global Alternative Credit Center provides opportunities for both degree-seeking and nondegree-seeking students. It accepts eligible credits through portfolio development, open learning courses, course assessments, and work/life experience. Purdue Global offers free online services and personalized mentoring to help learners identify and organize prior work and life experience and skills that could count toward a degree or career growth.
“We are really proud of the work that we do within our Alternative Credit Center, recognizing the knowledge and skills our students have when they come to Purdue Global, and providing opportunities for them to earn credit and in so doing saving time and money,” said Jody DeKorte, Purdue Global vice president and dean of the School of General Education. “This really allows us to help students see that what they know counts.”
Associate Dean Michele Riley oversees the Alternative Credit Center and professional studies programs with support from faculty member Carolyn Stevenson.
“Purdue Global faculty are trained to evaluate each student’s work/life experiences,” Riley said. “The student presents their work and life experiences while showcasing the learning that occurs in this process. It is impressive to see the amount of learning our students have experienced.”
Purdue Global offers two courses on credit for work experience, where students can document their prior experiences and explain what they gained from these experiences in formal learning statements. This portfolio development and assessment process is designed with the high level of academic rigor found at accredited higher learning institutions. There is a strong emphasis on quality in the assessment process, which adheres to the 10 Standards for Quality Assurance in Assessing Leaning, as set forth by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Students subsequently use a course-match model to map their learning statements to the learning outcomes of college-level courses offered by regionally or nationally accredited institutions.
Students who submit a portfolio for review earn on average 35 credits and can save more than $11,000 on tuition.
Other recipients of the Innovate Award for this year are Northern Virginia Community College, Oregon State University Ecampus and Department of Chemistry, and King Khiled University.
“We are pleased to honor these outstanding institutions and educators for their innovative efforts in the areas of online, blended, and digital learning,” said Jennifer Mathes, chief executive officer of the Online Learning Consortium. “Their efforts with their colleagues and other institutions showcase leading programs in the education field.”
Information: Tom Schott, tschott@purdue.edu
Sources: Jody DeKorte, Michele Riley, Jennifer Mathes
