|
Trinity Experiential Lifelong Learning (TELL)
Trinity College is one of a growing number of colleges and universities
which are receptive to the idea of awarding credit for the learning
acquired through non-college experience prior to entering or returning
to the pursuit of a college degree. Such learning, frequently called
prior experiential learning, may result from such activities as work
experience, volunteer work, community service, travel abroad or
internationally, military or Peace Corps experience, independent reading
or conversations with experts. Throughout this section, we will be
referring to learning that has resulted from your experience since high
school and that occurred when you were not enrolled in or under the
supervision of a college or university, as prior experiential learning.
If you are among these adult students who have entered or returned to
college, and if you are interested in receiving credit or recognition
for prior experiential learning, this information is designed to assist
you to maximize the amount of credit or recognition that you might
receive from Trinity College.
Students interested in prior learning assessment will enroll in a
course, the TELL Seminar (INT 300) which is designed for students who:
- Have been approved by an advisor to submit a portfolio in one or
more disciplines.
- Have been accepted into the TELL program by the School of
Professional Studies.
The course will focus mainly on method; during the Seminar students
will conceptualize the relationship between who they are and what they
have learned, and will organize materials reflecting the acquisition of
expertise in a recognized liberal arts discipline.
The major project of INT 300 is the preparation of one or more
portfolios documenting the student's prior learning. Faculty evaluators
will evaluate this portfolio for the possible awarding of credit.
Successful completion of
INT 300 does not guarantee that students will receive experiential
learning credit. The evaluation in the seminar will reflect the
students' ability to organize and to document material and to submit
assignments on time.
While experiential learning has become a major movement in higher
education, the difficulties in assessing these experiences are easily
recognized. The purpose of this information is to assist you step by
step with the task of:
- Deciding whether you qualify for award of experiential credit.
- Preparing an application for TELL.
- Creating, developing and assembling a portfolio that will describe
and document college-creditable skills and knowledge.
Preparing a portfolio is not an easy process, and if done correctly,
it can be time-consuming. Despite the difficulty, there are a number of
important benefits which will result, regardless of credit or
recognition you might receive.
Once you have completed a portfolio, you will have a realistic
understanding of your present levels of competence--in order to plan
further educational activities leading toward a degree -- as well as an
understanding of the assessment procedure itself, so that you will be
able to provide valid information to others in order to probe what you
know and can do, suggest to others how they might proceed in their
attempts to fairly and accurately evaluate you, and make informed
judgments as to whether or not procedures that are being used by others
are the best and most appropriate available.
These capabilities are especially important to you as you continue your
education both formally and informally.
Rationale and Criteria
Many adult students have felt that some of their non-college experiences
are equivalent to what is taught in college and that they should receive
credit for those experiences toward a college degree. Colleges generally
do not award credit for raw experience itself, however. Awarding
credit or recognition is generally for the verifiable learning outcomes
of non-college experiences: that is, if those experiences have
applicability to
academic learning (liberal arts).
If you decide to enroll in Trinity College's TELL program, you will find
that the college will not award credit simply for your years of
experience. You will be required to demonstrate what important
knowledge, skills or values (competencies) you have attained as a result
of your experiences.
Generally speaking, your competencies (knowledge, skills and/or values)
must meet certain criteria:
- The knowledge should be publicly verifiable. You should be able to
document and demonstrate to an expert in the field that you possess
the knowledge.
- The knowledge should be equivalent to college-level work in terms
of quality. In general the prior knowledge and experience should be
related to courses in the catalog or to the requirements for
graduation.
- The knowledge or experience should have an academic subject matter
or knowledge base. Credit will not be given for manual skills nor
for a narrowly prescribed routine or procedure.
- The learning should have general applicability outside of the
specific situation in which it was acquired. For example, credit
will not be awarded for knowledge of specific personnel procedures
and
application which apply to only one company. However, credit
might be awarded for knowledge and experience in the principles of
human resource management, of which personnel applications is one
small component.
|
