Credit for Prior Learning - Massasoit Community College

Apply for Academic Credit for the Life Experience You Have

Knowledge isn’t just limited to what you have learned from a textbook. Link your life experience with academic learning and credit at Massasoit. Students enrolled in a degree or certificate program at Massasoit may earn Credit for Prior Learning (CPL).

Credit may be earned in a variety of ways including credentialing for certifications and training such as: Fire Academy training, EMT, military training (JST), and network security as well as portfolio assessment, and challenge exams. Students interested in any of the Credit for Prior Learning options should create a profile by visiting the My Experience Counts web site.

Before you get started…

Credit for Prior Learning will only be awarded to students officially enrolled in a Massasoit Community College Degree or Certificate program. If you have not previously attended Massasoit you should visit our Admissions page to apply and complete all of the appropriate admissions steps. If you have not attended Massasoit in the past two years, you will need to go through the Advising, Career, and Transfer Center to be readmitted.

After confirming or establishing your status as an enrolled Massasoit student

Review your program’s requirements, identify and take note of which course(s) seem to match your prior learning.
If you are a returning student, familiarize yourself as to what courses have already been completed in the MyMassasoit portal via DegreeWorks
If you are a transfer student, insure that a full transfer evaluation has already been completed, and that those courses are posted as transfer credit on your audit via DegreeWorks*
Credit for Prior Learning is outcomes based, so you should review the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) for the course(s) you identify to confirm whether they match your prior learning. SLO’s are usually available on the academic department/program’s webpages.

Note: Transfer coursework from other regionally-accredited colleges/universities and Advanced Placement (AP) Exams are usually processed through the Admissions department, not through Credit for Prior Learning. For information/steps, see our Transfer Credit for Admitted Students page.

To assess your experience, students are required to submit the Petition for Credit for Prior Learning (PDF).

Advanced Placement Exam
The CollegeBoard’s AP exams are accepted for courses that have been approved by Massasoit faculty. AP credits are processed through the Registrar’s Office and require an official CollegeBoard score transcript.
AP Exams Accepted at Massasoit Community College
Cost: fee paid to College Board
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College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
CLEP is a series of standardized exams designed by CollegeBoard to assess knowledge acquired through non-traditional methods. You are a good candidate for CLEP if you have acquired substantial knowledge in general education subjects, such as English, math, history, or psychology. For more information, see our CLEP – The College Level Examination Program page.

Cost: fee paid to CLEP
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DSST Subject Standardized Test
The DSST subject test is a nationally recognized exam administered through Prometric and covers a wide range of technical business and academic subjects.
Cost: fee paid to DSST/Prometric
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Departmental Challenge Exams
Are you looking to demonstrate your knowledge on a subject? Take a departmental challenge exam. Developed by Massasoit faculty, departmental challenge exams are for courses for which nationally recognized exams do not exist and an exam is appropriate. A grade of C- or better is required to earn college credit through a departmental challenge exam.

Portfolio Assessment
A portfolio contains a collection of documents and reflective writing that showcases the competencies, formal training, and general knowledge attained through prior work or general life experience.
Students interested in developing portfolios are provided with appropriate guidelines and the final portfolio is reviewed and evaluated by faculty who verify that the documentation represents learning that is at the college level.

Below are the basic steps of the Assessment process:

Coordination between the student and the appropriate Division Dean to determine whether the petition for credit for prior learning is viable and to recruit faculty to conduct a portfolio assessment
Recording and reporting of credit for prior learning awarded through portfolio assessment

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