Earning Credits through Prior Learning and Experience
For some students, professional experience or life experience may be accepted as university credit and be recorded as such onto the student’s Lindenwood transcript. Credit earned in this fashion is referred to as credit for experiential learning.
The following skills or experiences may be considered equivalent to university credit for purposes of receiving experiential learning credit:
- Professional skills acquired on the job.
- Participation in business seminars.
- Experience in community affairs.
- Professional training in particular fields.
- Non-credit-bearing coursework that contain academic content.
Notes: (1) Credit is awarded only for university-level knowledge and the learning gained from the experience. Experiential learning credit is not granted for non-university level learning, having completed routine professional tasks, having acquired outdated or forgotten knowledge, or for private experiences.
(2) Limits for experiential credits earned may be imposed on the acquisition of such credit for certain technical skills and specialties.
(3) Credit is not given for learning that duplicates a university course the student has already taken.
Students may request to receive up to 6 hours of credit for experiential learning, depending on the requirements of their degree programs. The total number of credit hours awarded for experiential learning may vary according to the time spent on particular activities and the nature of the learning experience. The total number of credit hours awarded for experiential learning will be counted toward the maximum number of credits allowed as transfer credit. The current transfer credit limit is 9 credit hours.
Note: Lindenwood cannot guarantee how any other university might interpret transfer credit earned from the Experiential Learning Credit program.
Students who wish to have experiential learning credit posted to their Lindenwood transcript must pay a fee of $100 per credit hour. Credit will not be applied to the transcript until the fees are paid.
If the student does not have one of the professional credentials listed on these pages or does not have credit from a course that is specifically listed as being accepted for experiential learning credit, that student may be required to create a portfolio in order to earn university credit for the experience before that credit is posted to the student’s Lindenwood transcript.
The portfolio must validate the student’s experience by providing proof (by certificate, diploma, syllabi, letters of testimony, and/or samples of work accomplished) that such experience led to university-level knowledge. An essay describing the knowledge gained in the learning experience must accompany all other documentation provided.
The manager of alternative credentials will help the student develop a portfolio. The manager will identify potential experiences that may be posted to the student’s transcript as university credit and discuss the organization of the portfolio with the student.
Students wishing to receive experiential learning credit in their majors must apply for this credit before taking courses in their majors. Once the portfolio has been approved, the student will be charged a portfolio fee of $310 plus $100 per credit hour. Credit will not be applied to the transcript until payment is received. Financial aid may be applied to experiential learning, but the student must be enrolled in classes at the time the request for funding is made.