Attachment C

Graduate Credit For Prior Learning

Graduate students enrolled at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, may establish graduate credit for prior learning in courses offered through the below University of Arkansas Graduate Credit for Prior Learning Program.

Credit established by prior learning assessment must be evaluated in terms of the specific program the graduate student wishes to pursue. The decision regarding the appropriate application of such credit to a program will be made by each program and approved by the Graduate Dean. Credit established by prior learning will be applied at the end of the program through the mark of CR on the student’s record. Grades are not assigned.

Credit for Prior Learning may not be used to satisfy minimum residency requirements as established by the Graduate School or individual programs. Credit for prior learning is recorded on the transcript only for students currently enrolled in the Graduate School at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

The following procedures apply to earning graduate credit for prior learning assessment:

  1. Each academic unit shall determine if any courses offered by their unit shall be offered through the credit for prior learning program.
  2. Any course(s) offered by the academic unit through the credit for prior learning program must be regularly offered (not special problems, individual study, research hours, dissertation/thesis hours) as a graded course and must be approved by the Graduate Dean.
  3. Each academic unit offering graduate credit by prior learning assessment must establish uniform procedures applicable to all graduate students for determining eligibility to complete the assessment as well as the administration and grading of assessments for courses designated for credit under this policy. These procedures shall include (1) detailed learning outcomes for each of the courses designated for credit under this policy, (2) rubrics that show how prior learning assessments will uniformly be evaluated and relate to the learning outcomes for each course, and (3) an evaluation process for assessments under this policy that includes evaluation by no fewer than three members of the graduate faculty of the unit. These unit procedures and any future alterations to those procedures must be approved by the Graduate Dean.
  4. The Office of Testing Services or an approved remote proctoring service may administer such assessment if approved by the academic unit offering the course.
  5. A passing grade on the assessment must be “B” or above. A second attempt for credit for prior learning in that course will not be permitted.
  6. Academic units may designate non-credit graduate course content, approved by that unit and the Graduate Dean, and offered through Global Campus, as part of the Credit for Prior Learning Program if the non-credit content is equivalent to a credit bearing course. Academic units may administer an assessment after a student completes the non-credit course content, either before or after their admission to the Graduate School. If successful in the assessment, the student may apply for graduate credit for such an assessment after (1) having been admitted to the Graduate School at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and (2) completing a graduate microcertificate, graduate certificate program, or graduate degree program of which such credit has been approved by the program to apply towards. Graduate credit earned in this manner must be applied within five years from the date which the student completed the assessment. No time extension of this five-year period is permitted.
  7. The following limitations apply to the application of graduate coursework earned through the Credit for Prior Learning Program towards graduate microcertificates, graduate certificate programs, and graduate degree programs:
    1. No more than 3 credit hours may apply towards a graduate microcertificate.
    2. No more than 6 credit hours may apply towards a graduate certificate or a master’s degree of 40 credit hours or less.
    3. No more than 12 credit hours may apply towards master’s degrees of more than 40 hours or a doctoral program.