Credit for Prior Learning

A portfolio is a written description of what you’ve learned in your life or work experiences and how they equate to specific courses offered at SUNY Niagara. You may need documentation such as certificates, brochures, letters of reference, and so on, to support your statements of competency, knowledge, and/or skills. Here are the steps you should take:

Challenge exams are designed by SUNY Niagara faculty to assess whether students not enrolled in a specific course can demonstrate a sufficient degree of knowledge and/or competency to receive credit for that course. Challenge exams are done on a course-equivalency basis. Before you take a challenge exam, read through SUNY Niagara’s course descriptions. Choose a subject area from the available list, then click “Get Courses” for a complete listing. Once you have narrowed down the possibilities, contact the appropriate division office and ask to see a course outline. This document will contain a list of topics covered in the course and reference textbooks you may examine in order to decide whether you have sufficient background knowledge to request the exam. A faculty member or the appropriate division chair will interview you to help you make this determination. After you have completed the required forms from Academic Affairs and paid the challenge exam fee (currently $80 per exam), the faculty member will administer the exam. Challenge exams and all necessary forms must be completed within the semester in which the student applies. The exact time and date of the exam are determined by the instructor and the student. Not all courses can be challenged. You cannot be enrolled in the course you are challenging.

Experience gained in the military, particularly in technical training programs and specialty schools, may be worth credit. Send DD Form 214 to your county clerk to be certified. This form then must be sent to the Admissions Office, where it will be evaluated to determine which credits apply to your program.

In this national credit-by-examination program, tests are based upon typical courses offered at most colleges. The examinations stress broad conceptual knowledge rather than factual information. By passing the exam, you may bypass actual enrollment in certain courses in your major. The most popular of the national credit-by-exam programs is the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), a division of Educational Testing Services, and DANTES Exams. Brochures describing these exams and the application to receive equivalency credit once the exam is taken are available in the Testing Center, A-167, or call 614-6863.