Your experiences matter, and life experience credits will get you one step closer to completing your education. But how do you go about turning your life experience into life experience college credit? Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way:

Step One: Identify a life skill or experience that could translate to college credit for life experience

First, assess whether you have the experience that could count toward life experience college credit. Fortunately, this list is endless, as most institutions are open to awarding credit for experience– as long as you present it well. Some types of “prior learning” are almost always eligible for credit, such as military service, fluency in a foreign language, and experience working as a teacher. But it certainly doesn’t stop there. Online degree programs have awarded credit for a wide range of experiences, including taking music lessons, living abroad, attending a conference, or assisting in a political campaign.

Step Two: Find out if your program offers life experience college credit

Once determining that you have a skill that may qualify for credit, approach your distance learning program and find out if it offers the option of life experience credit. According to the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), more than half of all colleges award this type of credit, but sometimes it is very limited to only a small percentage of the student population. If you are intent on receiving college credit for life experience, it’s best that before you even enroll in a program that you check with the school’s admissions office and completely research the school’s credit evaluation process.

Step Three: Determine how your institution evaluates life experience and turns it into college credit

Each college reviews and evaluates your life experience differently depending on the program’s funding and resources. It takes time and effort to go through this process, and it’s important that you make your experience sound as impressive as possible.

Though there are currently a variety of evaluation processes, the CAEL is hopeful that as prior learning credit becomes more prevalent, a standardized form of review will be used nationally. The CAEL is developing a plan to create a system where a variety of documents will be reviewed by national experts to assess whether a candidate should receive the credit. Until this infrastructure is put in place, your online degree program could require you take a test, turn in a portfolio to an academic adviser, provide evidence of professional licensing, or provide proof of receiving prior corporate training.

Step Four: Make it happen

Though receiving college credit for life experience can save time and money as you obtain your online education, applying for the credit requires a real commitment. An online student must prove to his college or university that he is deserving of the credit. It may take a few months and numerous meetings with academic advisers before the credits actually show up on a transcript. So be ready to put in the time, bring out your best persuasive writing skills, and sell your valuable life experience.

For more information:
Life Experience Credit information