Guidelines for Credit for Prior Learning

DEFINITION:  Students who have had graduate-level education through traditional or nontraditional means, and can demonstrate achievement, may be eligible to earn credit by following WSU’s Credit for Prior Learning process. Departments have varying policies as to any CPL that will be deemed equivalent to their courses. The equivalency framework must be approved by the Graduate Council prior to being used. Once the equivalency is determined and posted to the student’s record, it is only acceptable in the department/program in which the Graduate Council approved it. The Graduate Council may impose a recertification timeframe for approved CPL equivalencies. CPL credits are posted as transfer work and not counted as hours earned at Wichita State.

COURSE WORK:  In order to be considered for CPL credit, the prior learning must include Graduate level education received through traditional or non-traditional means, which allows for the demonstration of achievement. Examples include, but are not limited to, external professional certification programs, in-district non-credit educational/professional development programs for teachers, etc. Work experience on its own generally does not qualify for CPL consideration.

APPROVAL PROCESS:  In order for a department to create an Approved Path for CPL, they must complete the following steps:

  1. Submit a CIM program proposal indicating a change in the requirements for the degree program, allowing CPL for degree completion, and attach all supporting materials outlined below. All information entered in CIM will be included in the catalog; proposal documentation should be uploaded as attachments in CIM.
  2. The proposal should include:
          a. Documentation for each requested path and how it relates to graduate program requirements
          b. Description of the CPL path (objectives, competency, requirements for completion, etc.)
          c. Description of mechanisms used to assess CPL (i.e. exam to ascertain content knowledge)
          d. How many credit hours desired for the CPL (max of 6 credit hours)
          e. Any other relevant information (time limits on earned credentials, etc.)
  3. Standard approval process for all CIM proposals will occur, but when it reaches the Graduate School it will be taken to the Graduate Council for review. During approval, Graduate Council will confirm the number of credit hours to be accepted, and may set a time limit on the approved path upon which another review will be required.
  4. Communication will be sent to the department on behalf of the Graduate Council as to the final decision.
  5. If approved, department will be sent guidelines for how to have the credit applied to specific student records.

LIMITATIONS: 

  1. CPL is available at the program level for all students in the approved program. Assessment of credentials for individual students is not possible.
  2. CPL can only be awarded in the program that requested approval for the specific approval path. If student changes program, the CPL hours cannot be used and will be removed from the transcript.