1. Las Positas College
  2. Academic Services
  3. Credit for Prior Learning (Faculty)

Academic Services

Credit for Prior Learning

For Faculty

Faculty please note that in order for students to receive credit for prior learning, your courses must go through the curriculum process outlined below.
If you have an questions please reach out to lpc-priorlearning@laspositascollege.edu 

Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)

A currently enrolled student in good standing with an educational plan on file may be awarded credit for prior learning with faculty consent. Request for credit may be made for general education, program, or elective coursework. Types of credit for prior learning include: credit by exam, credit by portfolio, credit by industry recognized training (IRT), and credit by military joint service transcripts (MJST).

Methods for awarding credit for prior learning are as follows:

  • Credit through satisfactory completion of examination
  • Faculty assessment of a portfolio or documentation of college-level knowledge/skills
    • and/or college-level training not acquired at an institution of higher learning, such as industry recognized credentials or training (IRT)
  • Evaluation of a Military Joint Service Transcript (MJST)

Disciplines with Courses Available for CPL

  • AJ
  • APIS
  • AUTO
  • CIS/CNT/CS
  • FREN
  • FST
  • MUS
  • [Discipline] - This could be your program, but you have to submit your courses! 
  • Courses already available for CPL are listed on the Transfer Evaluation System website under American Council on Education (ACE)

About Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)

How does it support our students?

  • Validates work and learning already completed
  • Helps students move through our pathways
  • Promotes equity 
  • Avoids repetition
  • Benefits the community where they live and work by creating closer communications with industry experts
  • Helps working adults reskill and achieve quality credentials that increase their economic mobility
  • Promotes degree completion because students are roughly twice as likely to complete a degree than those who do not have CPL.
  • Saves students an average of 6-10 months in time to a degree compared to their non-CPL counterparts

How does this benefit our college?

  • Respects students and their work as well as our equity focus
  • Builds enrollment
  • Opens space for future community and industry partnerships
  • Research shows that “Students accumulate more credits through coursework at the institution than their counterparts, which translates to increased enrollment for colleges.”

How can it benefit your program?

  • Can bring more students to your program
  • Can get students to higher levels of your program
  • Impacts on faculty mainly related to time

CPL Good to Know:

  • In terms of unit limits for CPL, the LPC Catalog says, “The amount of credit which may be earned and counted toward a certificate or degree is no more than three-quarters of the units needed for completion.”
  • No cost to students for JST CPL but cost for all other forms of CPL
  • Students will need to meet with a counselor to verify that getting CPL supports their degree goals.
  • CPL credit is accepted at CSUs and some UCs


What is the process?

Thank You for opting to offer Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) to your students and helping to further support equity at Las Positas College. The table below outlines how to move through the Faculty CPL course request process to student submission of the student-facing Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) petition.*

*Prior to Step 1, faculty will have either decided they want to offer CPL for their course or will have received a request from a student for CPL. These student requests come either through a meeting with the Veteran's counselor or through the request form found on the CPL webpage.

Step 1: Credit for Prior Learning Faculty Request

If you have a course that you would like to request for CPL, regardless of the type of CPL (JST, Exam, Portfolio, etc.), you will first need to request that the specific course be made available for CPL in CurricUNET (CNET) - this can be an expedited process. You must do two things. First, complete the CPL Faculty Request form, which asks that you review this decision with the discipline chair and your Academic Dean. Second, submit that form via email to the Curriculum Committee Chair or the Curriculum & SLO Specialist. When emailing the form, name the specific course you would like to add CPL for and what type of CPL it will be eligible for: exam, portfolio, military JST, or industry-recognized training.

Step 2: Curriculum Committee Approval

After you submit the form in CNET, the course change will go on an upcoming Curriculum Committee (CC) meeting for approval. We ask that the requesting faculty attend the meeting, present their proposal, and field Committee questions. It will be agendized for First Reading at one CC meeting, and for Voting at a second CC meeting (effective date: immediate).

Step 3: Review and/or Grade the CPL (Exam, Portfolio, Documentation of Industry-Recognized Training) & Submit Final Petition

Once Committee-approved, the course is ready for CPL; so you/faculty can move forward with the assessment (ex. give the exam /assess the student’s portfolio) and the CPL request below.

Exam or Portfolio: In the case of exams and portfolios, please meet with students to administer the exam or review/grade the portfolio. Once the student has shown they have met the required outcomes, they are eligible for CPL. In order for credit to be awarded, the student should complete the CPL Exam/Portfolio petition request, which is available on LPC’s website.

Industry-Recognized Training: Once the course is approved for CPL for industry-recognized training (IRT), the remainder should be completed by the student and Admissions and records following the Industry-recognized training petition (Steps 3-5 on the IRT Petition form).

Military JST: For Military JST (Joint Services Transcript), once faculty have made the change in CNET to accept CPL for JST, the only other thing needed is to approve the course in the Military Articulation Platform (MAP). Faculty can do this from the email request sent automatically by MAP. Specific JST-aligned courses will be recorded in the MAP and the Transfer Evaluation System, or TES. Students should complete the JST CPL Form (link coming soon).

Faculty Resources