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Using the CCR Online Directory

 - Uses of College Credit Recommendations and CCR Online
- Structure of CCR Online Directory
- How to Read an Exhibit
- Verifying Student Records
- Awarding Credit Based on the Recommendations
- Duplication of Credit
- Assistance From National PONSI Staff

Uses of College Credit Recommendations and CCR Online Directory

College Credit Recommendations, National PONSI's 2002 print Directory, and CCR Online, National PONSI's more recent online Directory are intended primarily for use in the academic counseling of students. The credit recommendations and descriptions of learning experiences provide information to college officials as they consider granting credit to students for learning acquired in noncollegiate settings. Many college officials also use College Credit Recommendations and CCR Online to identify and actively recruit nontraditional students who have completed learning experiences evaluated by National PONSI. In addition, training directors find it helpful to compare their own courses and programs with those listed in the Directory to assess their potential for college credit recommendations.

In order to make the best use of CCR Online, careful consideration should be given to this section of the CCR Online web. It explains how to interpret exhibits, how the credit recommendations might be used, and how to obtain assistance from the National Program on Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction. Particular attention should be paid to the section of this web titled, Former Participating Organizations, which lists inactive members of National PONSI, along with the inclusive dates of their credit recommendations. This can serve as a useful starting point for ascertaining whether an organization and its courses have ever been evaluated by National PONSI. National PONSI's website should be consulted for organizations and courses that may have been evaluated after the publication of this document.

Users of CCR Online, who are consulting this website in conjunction with the 2002 edition of College Credit Recommendations should note that these publications are not cumulative. Up until the 1983-84 edition, all courses that National PONSI had evaluated and recommended for credit since the Program's inception were listed in each publication of the Directory. Subsequent editions list courses only for organizations that are active members of National PONSI, and only those courses that the organizations wish to keep listed (i.e., sometimes organizations may drop from their listings courses that no longer have active credit recommendations). Therefore, it should not be assumed that because an organization or a course does not appear in the 2002 edition of College Credit Recommendations or in CCR Online, it has never been extended a credit recommendation. When trying to ascertain if a credit recommendation exists for learning experiences that predate the period covered by the current Directory, it is recommended that college officials consult back editions. If these volumes are not readily accessible, the information can be obtained from the National PONSI office.

In addition, since CCR Online contains descriptions and credit recommendations primarily for learning experiences evaluated since the publication of the 2002 edition of College Credit Recommendations, many of the organizations represented here have additional credit recommendations that can be found in earlier print editions. When this is the case, it is explicitly noted, and users are directed to consult the print publication for further information. 

Finally, it should also be noted that even the courses and programs listed in both the 2002 edition of the Directory and CCR Online together may represent only a sample of the educational programs conducted by the participating organizations. Program members may sponsor other learning experiences that have not been submitted for evaluation. Furthermore, many nonparticipating organizations in the United States conduct a wide range of high quality educational programs for their employees or members that are not included in the Directory or CCR Online because they have not been submitted for review. Readers are cautioned against making adverse judgments about the educational programs of any noncollegiate organization merely because they are not listed here. When individuals seek credit for such learning experiences, institutions may wish to evaluate them using their own resources for prior learning assessment; alternatively, institutions may also wish to encourage the sponsoring organization to request an evaluation by National PONSI.

Structure of CCR Online Directory

The CCR Online Directory gives users access to the following information:

1. List of current member organizations
2. List of all former member organizations with titles of learning experiences and inclusive dates when credit recommendations for each learning experience were in effect.
3. Background information on National PONSI, including its relationship with the New York State Board of Regents, history of the Program's development, and results of college surveys to determine use of the college credit recommendations
4. An overview of the process through which college credit recommendations are established, and Program policies and proceduresList of individuals who have served on review teams as evaluators
5. List of cooperating colleges
6. Descriptions of evaluated learning experiences and their credit recommendations; these are grouped under the names of the sponsoring organizations on the CCR Online Table of Contents page; a search feature can also be accessed from that page.

How to Read an Exhibit

After each organizational heading there is an introduction that provides general information about the organization, its training and educational activities, and the source of official records on student performance in its courses and programs. Following the introduction, each exhibit identifies the learning experience and provides specific information about learning objectives, content, and the credit recommendation. Each exhibit provides the following information:

Title: Official title used by the organization. In some cases, an additional title or subtitle has been assigned by the review team for purposes of explanation and clarity; this title, listed in parentheses below the official title, is not used by the organization.

Number: Official course or program number, when provided by the organization, in parentheses following the title.

Location: The site(s) where the learning experience is offered. Independent study courses, online courses, computer-based instruction, and proficiency examination programs are identified as such.

Length: Duration of instruction in contact hours and, when appropriate, in days or weeks. The contact hours represent the minimum amount of time devoted to instruction. In some cases, the length of a course or program may be adjusted slightly in successive administrations to accommodate the background of different groups of students. The length is followed by any additional relevant information describing how instruction is distributed (e.g., between lecture and laboratory). Correspondence and independent study courses, proficiency examination programs, and interactive video or other forms of computer-based training are identified as such.

Dates: The beginning and ending dates of the credit recommendation, expressed by month and year. When "Present" is given as the second date, it indicates that the recommendation is currently active (in the case of print publications, "Present" means that the credit recommendation was active as of the publication date of that document). The credit recommendation applies to a person who began and successfully completed the learning experience at some point between the first day of the month and year given as the beginning date and the last day of the month and year given as the ending date of the credit recommendation.

When a credit recommendation for a course ends, it is now noted in CCR Online. To confirm the currency of a credit recommendation, it is important to purchase annual access to each new edition of  CCR Online, since a course listed as "Present" in an earlier print edition may now have an ending date. Current information can always be obtained from the National PONSI office.

Objectives: Prior to December 1986, the objectives section was written similar to descriptions in college course catalogs, which explain the purpose for which a course is offered. Objectives are now stated in behavioral terminology, describing what a student will be able to do upon successful completion of the learning experience. This is intended to provide college officials with more specific information on the level of knowledge and/or skill attainment acquired by an individual who successfully completes the evaluated learning experience, and thus better assist them in assessing how the evaluated learning experience might fit within or complement the requirements of a given degree program.

Instruction: A description of the major topics covered, and, in some cases, teaching methods, materials, and equipment used. Together, the objectives and instruction sections supplement the credit recommendation by providing essential information about the nature of the learning experience.

Credit recommendation: The level of credit, the number of semester hours recommended, the appropriate subject area(s) where credit may be assigned, and the date reviewed.

1. Levels of Credit:
a. Associate Degree/Certificate Category. This category represents course work normally found in curricula in two-year institutions leading to an associate degree in a vocational area, sometimes called the Associate in Occupational Studies. It also represents course work normally found in yearlong credit-bearing certificate programs designed to provide students with occupational skills. In both of these instances, course content is specialized, and any accompanying shop training emphasizes procedural rather than analytical skills.
b. Lower Division Baccalaureate/Associate Degree Category. This category represents course work found in programs leading to the Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degrees, and introductory-level course work normally found in baccalaureate degree programs. Emphasis is on learning basic principles that have broad application.
c. Upper Division Baccalaureate Degree Category. This category represents course work usually completed during the last two years of a baccalaureate program. Courses generally involve specialization of a theoretical or analytical nature beyond the introductory level.
d. Graduate Degree Category. This category represents course work leading to a graduate degree. The courses tend to be oriented toward independent study, original research, critical analysis, or the professional application of specialized knowledge within a discipline.

NOTE: In some instances, credit is recommended in more than one category. A decision must be made by the college as to which category of credit best applies to a student's educational program.

2. Semester Hours: All credit recommendations are made in semester hours. Learning outcomes, as demonstrated by student work on examinations or other assignments, are the foremost consideration in determining how many semester hours of credit are recommended. For courses that are administered in a traditional lecture-discussion format, the amount of instructional time included in the learning experience is also an important consideration; using as a baseline the standard of 15 contact hours (50 minute hours) per semester hour of credit recommended for the classroom component of courses, and 30 to 45 hours (depending on the discipline) per semester hour of credit recommended for supervised laboratory experience. However, credit recommendations are not derived by simple arithmetic conversion of contact hours to semester hours. A credit recommendation might be revised downward if learning outcomes did not support the amount of credit suggested by the number of hours of instruction. The credit recommendation might also be revised downward from the amount suggested by the total instructional hours if a substantial amount of the material contained in the course were considered not comparable or not generalizable to college-level instruction. Conversely, in keeping with National PONSI's outcome-oriented assessment philosophy, a credit recommendation might be revised upward if one or more factors (e.g., advanced instructional delivery technologies, exceptionally low student-teacher ratio) suggest that the course participants may be achieving more than would be typical in the specified instructional hours.

3. Subject Area(s): The recommended subject area(s) in which credit might be awarded. The designation of these general areas is intended to be descriptive but not necessarily exhaustive; therefore, there may be other subject areas not mentioned in the exhibit to which the credit recommendation might appropriately apply. (Occasionally, credit is recommended for a specific course; e.g., Accounting I, Money and Banking, AC Circuits.) In some instances, however, (particularly technical subject areas) a credit recommendation in one subject area (e.g., Electrical Construction and Maintenance) effectively precludes application to another subject area (e.g., Electrical Engineering Technology).

4. Date of Review: The month and year in which the credit recommendation was established are listed in parentheses following the subject area(s). If two or more dates are listed, the credit recommendation for the course or program has been revalidated by a review team either because the course or program evidenced substantial change during the Annual Review process or because Program policy dictates that a course or program undergo periodic revalidation to determine whether the credit recommendation should continue to apply. (See Appendix A for Program policies regarding updating credit recommendations.)

Versions: An exhibit may evidence various versions. A new version can result if a course or program undergoes a significant change with respect to length, objectives, and/or instruction. These changes are reflected in the appropriate part of the course exhibit. The dates section reflects the point when any of these changes occurred. Such changes may come to light either during the Annual Review process or the scheduled cycle for revalidation of credit recommendations (please refer to Appendix A for further information on policies and procedures for monitoring the credit recommendations).

If changes to course length, objectives, or instruction do not compromise the credit recommendation, then the credit recommendation section is unchanged; otherwise, a new version of the credit recommendation is required. If a change in a course or program is substantive, thus compromising the present credit recommendation, and an organization does not wish to have the course or program revalidated, then the exhibit remains unchanged but an ending date is affixed.

Versions of a course that cover a period of time more than five years before the publication of a given edition of College Credit Recommendations may not be included in the current course exhibit. A note is appended to any such exhibit to indicate the edition of the Directory in which the earlier version of the course last appeared.
Questions that arise regarding interpreting an exhibit can be directed to the National PONSI office.

Verifying Student Records

Students who apply for credit for learning experiences sponsored by noncollegiate organizations should be required to submit official records to verify successful completion. Each organization will supply official records upon a student's request. The source of official records for each organization is identified in the introduction to each organization's section in the Directory and Supplement.

Awarding Credit Based on the Recommendations

Descriptions of evaluated learning experiences and credit recommendations are provided in the Directory and Supplement to assist college officials in assessing the applicability of a student's education in a noncollegiate organization to his or her program of study. Actual credits granted will depend on an institution's degree requirements and general policy on granting credit for college-level learning achieved outside that institution, the student's prior educational background, and the degree program the student wishes to pursue.

Credit for each evaluated course or program may be applied to a student's program of study in various ways: (a) applied to the major to replace a required course, (b) applied as an optional course within the major, (c) applied as a general elective, or (d) applied as a waiver of a prerequisite.

Duplication of Credit

When reviewing courses, evaluation teams generally attempt to ascertain whether other experiences offered by the noncollegiate organization that have been previously recommended for credit duplicate the courses currently under review. In these instances, a note is affixed to the end of the exhibit to alert college officials to this duplication. However, a student may take several other courses or programs, at the same organization or at other noncollegiate organizations, which have not been evaluated, or at colleges and universities, which are apparently in the same subject area and at the same academic level. College officials should, therefore, carefully review the learning objectives and instructional description in each exhibit for learning experiences the student completed and for which credit is requested. If it is ascertained that major topics of instruction and learning objectives are duplicated among several learning experiences, officials may wish to adjust the credit recommendations in order to avoid granting duplicate credit.

Assistance From National PONSI Staff

College Credit Recommendations and CCR Online are National PONSI's vehicles for disseminating the results of evaluations. A learning experience might not be found in either place for one of several reasons: (1) it has not been submitted for evaluation, (2) it was reviewed but the description and credit recommendation have not yet been finalized and posted, (3) it was evaluated and did not receive a credit recommendation, or (4) credit was recommended, but the sponsoring organization, for its own reasons, declined the credit recommendation. Whatever the case, Program staff will respond to individual requests about the status of an organizations courses and programs. Complete contact information can be found below.

Updated November 15, 2005