At Some Georgia Colleges, Students Can Earn Credit for Prior Learning Experience

The University System of Georgia has launched a program that gives college students credits for prior learning experiences. State education officials hope more schools will adopt the program. Right now, 13 out of Georgia’s 35 colleges and universities participate in the Prior Learning Assessment program.

The initiative allows students to earn college credit several different ways. Trish Paterson, the university system’s executive director for college access initiatives, says one way is by submitting a portfolio showing what a student has already learned about a subject.

“They are actually going in and looking at the course outcomes of a particular course,” Paterson says, “They are trying to figure out where their life experiences might fit into those course outcomes and then they’re providing documentation that they have, indeed, learned these things.”