1.  How do learning experiences receive credit recommendations?
2.  How can the credit recommendations be used?
3.  Who may submit learning experiences for evaluation?
4.  How do I know which learning experiences have been evaluated?
5.  How do I request that a transcript of my evaluated learning experience be sent to my college?
6.  Is college credit automatic?
7.  Are policies the same at all colleges?
8.  Is there a limit to the amount of credit colleges will award?
9.  Do colleges charge a fee for the credit?
10. Which colleges are willing to consider awarding credit?
11. How should I notify a college about evaluated learning experiences I've taken?
12. What if a college wants more information?
13. What if a college isn't familiar with National PONSI?
14. Can you earn credit for learning experiences that haven't been evaluated?
15. How do I choose a college to enroll in?
16. What if I don't have time to attend classes?
17. Where can I find more resources?

1. How do learning experiences receive credit recommendations?
National PONSI staff assist organizations in choosing which learning experiences to submit for evaluation based on their potential to receive credit recommendations. After the learning experiences are selected, National PONSI staff then assemble a team of evaluators, usually comprising three college faculty in the subject matter area, to visit the organization on site. During the visit, the evaluation team, supervised by a National PONSI staff member, reviews texts, lesson plans, graded exams, homework assignments, and records of grades, and any other appropriate instructional/programmatic materials that will illuminate the scope of each learning experience. The evaluation team determines if a learning experience is at the college level and, if so, they make a recommendation about the amount of credit that would be appropriate for a college to award for each experience.

2. How can the credit recommendations be used?
The most common use of the credit recommendations is to obtain college credit, either by a college actually awarding credit or waiving a required or prerequisite course. Individuals have also used the credit recommendations to qualify for job advancement, obtain salary increases, meet educational requirements for professional licensure or certification, or obtain entry into new areas of employment.

3. Who may submit learning experiences or programs for evaluation?
Organizations whose learning experiences are conducted on a formal basis (in contrast to less structured on-the-job training), but which do not lead to an accredited college degree, may submit these experiences for evaluation. Students may not submit learning experiences for review. They may, however, encourage the organization to consider an evaluation by National PONSI. They may also contact National PONSI with the name and address of the training director or other appropriate individual at the organization that sponsored the learning experiences. National PONSI staff will then contact the organization to explain the evaluation and credit recommendation system.

4. How do I know which learning experiences or programs have received a credit recommendation?
Contact the office within your organization that is responsible for administering formal learning experiences, and ask for a list of those that have been evaluated, the recommended number of credits, and the dates for which the credit recommendations apply. You can also check listings in CCR Online for current member organizations or former member organizations. If you find a learning experience that you have taken from these listings and you do not know whom to contact, check with the National PONSI office for assistance.

5. How do I request that a transcript of my evaluated learning experience be sent to my college?
Please be advised that National PONSI does not issue transcripts. If you are certain that the organization has been a member of National PONSI and that your learning experience has been recommended for college credit, you should contact the official responsible for maintaining student records at that organization to request that an official signed transcript be sent to your college or university. You may also wish to request a student copy if you do not already have one.

It you are unsure whether your learning experience has been recommended for college credit, there are two ways to check. 1. Go to the Table of Contents of our online Directory, CCR Online, which lists our current members. If your organization is listed, click on the organization name and then scroll down to the list of learning experiences that have been recommended for college credit. Click on your learning experience, if it is listed, and find the amount of credit recommended. Then, locate the address where you should write for a transcript, which is near the top of the organization's first page in the Directory under source of official student records. 2. If your organization is not listed under the Table of Contents page, then go to our former member pages, A-L or M-Z. If your learning experience has been recommended for college credit, we regret that it is very unlikely that we will have current information on where to obtain a transcript. We will be happy, however, to email you a copy of the description that appeared in an earlier edition of our Directory, which includes the amount of recommended credit. You can share this with your college advisor, who may use it as a basis to consider whether and how to award credit.

If your learning experience is not listed, we cannot assist you. We recommend that you collect as much information as possible about the learning experience and contact the admissions office at your college to request that they assess your prior learning for possible college credit.

6. Is college credit automatically earned when someone successfully completes a learning experience evaluated by National PONSI?
No. National PONSI credit recommendations are recommended credits. A credit recommendation results in actual college credit when a college or university awards you credit for it and posts the credit on your student record.

7. Are policies for granting credit the same at all colleges?
No. Academic institutions set their own policies regarding whether they will award credit for learning experiences completed at other colleges and universities or noncollegiate organizations, and these policies vary. Some colleges may grant credit for successful completion of a course or program sponsored by a noncollegiate organization for which another college will not. Another college may not grant credit but may, instead, waive a prerequisite or a required course. Some policies are institution-wide; others are set by each academic unit or department. An individual should check with the college he or she is interested in attending to determine its policies. Officials found on the list of cooperating colleges can serve as initial points of contact. If a college is not listed, the Registrar's or Admissions Office may be the appropriate office; if not, they should be able to provide the name of an official to contact.

8. Is there a limit to the amount of credit an academic institution will award for noncollegiate learning experiences?
Some colleges and universities have no official policy limiting the number of credits which can be earned through transfer from other academic institutions or from noncollegiate organizations. Many other colleges report they do set a limit, usually 15 to 30 credits for a four-year degree program. Institutions may also limit the amount of credit granted toward any given subject area. Further, an institution that does not have a degree program that complements the noncollegiate learning experiences the individual completed may decline to award credit or may modify the amount of credit awarded. Two-year colleges, while generally very willing to consider awarding credit for National PONSI evaluated learning experiences, usually have limited flexibility in awarding a large amount of transfer credit because many of their associate degree programs are very structured. When an individual seeks credit for a large number of National PONSI evaluated learning experiences or a large amount of credit, it is more likely that a four-year institution or a nontraditional college whose mission is to offer adult oriented, distance learning, or nonresidential degrees would have more latitude within their degree programs to award credit.

9. Do colleges charge a fee for granting credit for evaluated learning experiences?
Many colleges and universities charge no fee to the student. When a fee is charged, it is more often an assessment fee rather than full tuition. Such fees are often charged to defray the costs of evaluating a student's prior learning, which may include National PONSI evaluated learning experiences.

10. How do I find out which colleges are willing to consider awarding credit for the National PONSI evaluated learning experiences I've completed?
View a list of the names of cooperating colleges and universities and contact information at each institution. Inclusion on this list of cooperating colleges does not mean that an institution automatically awards the credit recommended; requests for credit are typically evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The way a noncollegiate learning experience fits into an individual's degree program must also be taken into account.

Conversely, it should not be concluded that an institution will never award credit for noncollegiate learning experiences, including courses or programs evaluated by National PONSI, because the institution does not appear on this list. In addition to the colleges and universities on the list of cooperating colleges, there are many others that will consider awarding credit through an individualized portfolio assessment of prior learning. National PONSI credit recommendations may become part of such portfolios. If a college is not listed, you should contact the Registrar, the Admissions Office, or the chairperson of the degree program you wish to enroll in.

11. How should I notify a college about the evaluated learning experiences I've completed?
Contact the office within your organization responsible for administering the National PONSI evaluated learning experiences and request that an official transcript of the experiences you have successfully completed be sent to the college(s) you select. The official transcript will enable a college official to verify successful completion and the dates of attendance. You should provide the name and address where the official transcript should be sent. The organization will then transmit it directly to the college(s), since most academic institutions will not accept those delivered by students.

Check your college choice against the list of cooperating colleges and universities. If your institution is listed, you may also wish to contact the college official listed there to advise that an official transript is being sent by your organization and to ask if there are any other steps you should take to receive college credit.

We also recommend that when you contact the college and have your organization submit an official transcript, you include a copy of your learning experience taken from CCR Online  or include the link to that page in your email. This will ensure that the college official can match your learning experience with the listing in CCR Online.

12. What if a college wants more information about the evaluated learning experiences I've completed?
If the college is requesting information about National PONSI because it is not familiar with the college credit recommendation system, please refer to the next question for advice. If the college requests more information about a learning experience than is contained in your transcript, a description of the learning experience can be found in CCR Online. If additional is requested (for example, a course outline), you should request this from the organization where you completed the learning experience.

13. What if a college isn't familiar with National PONSI?
A college often asks for more information when it is not familiar with National PONSI or the college credit recommendation service. If questions arise, you should contact National PONSI and provide your name, social security number, degree pursued, and titles of learning experiences you are requesting credit for, as well as the name, address and email of the college official you spoke with. A letter explaining National PONSI’s college credit recommendation procedures will be prepared on your behalf. You may also suggest that the college official visit the National PONSI website.

14. Can someone earn credit for learning experiences offered by noncollegiate organizations that are not listed in College Credit Recommendations or CCR Online?
Yes, some institutions will evaluate a potential student's prior knowledge by means of an individualized assessment of prior learning or through examinations either developed by the college or those administered by nationwide proficiency examination programs. These national examinations may be used to validate study in learning experiences not listed in the National PONSI Directory. A growing number of colleges and universities accept credits earned through these examinations. Information about a college's policy on the use of individualized assessment of prior learning and acceptance of nationwide proficiency examination programs can often be obtained through the Admissions Office.

15. How do I choose a college to enroll in?
Certainly, your college choice will depend in part on what degree program you are interested in pursuing and whether a particular college offers that degree program. Other considerations might be costs of attending and whether the college offers part-time degree studies, evening courses, minimal or no residency requirements, special academic counseling and information services, and awarding credit for previous learning off-campus, including learning experiences recommended for credit by National PONSI. For information on colleges willing to consider awarding credit based on National PONSI credit recommendations, see our list of cooperating colleges.

 If you live in an area where there are several colleges, review their catalogs and talk with their admissions counselors to see which college's degree programs can best meet your educational goals. If there are few institutions in your area, your choices will necessarily be limited. You may then wish to consider those nontraditional colleges that are oriented toward serving working adults and which generally do not have residency requirements. (See following question.)

16. What if I want a college degree, but don't have the time to attend classes?
To continue from the previous question, there are fully accredited nontraditional colleges that offer flexible degree programs geared toward working adults. These colleges would be good choices if you do not have the time to attend classes because of family and/or work responsibilities. To find out more about such institutions consult Bear's Guide or Peterson's Guide.

17. Are there any resources available that may help me decide on which college and degree program may be best for me?
Information and assistance may be available in several places. The organization which conducts the learning experiences you completed may have information on educational options and resources in your local area.

Public libraries often offer special services for adult learners. Contact your local library to see if it provides any that interest you or whether it can direct you to other community-based organizations that may offer such services.

Many colleges and universities have special advisory services designed expressly for working adults. Check with the admissions office at the college(s) of your choice and inquire about such services as degree and career counseling, part-time degree options, evening or weekend courses, distance learning courses, correspondence courses, child care services, or other services that would enhance your college experience.

Updated July 10, 2007

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