USHE (Utah System of Higher Education) Prior Learing Assessment information: https://ushe.edu/initiatives/prior-learning-assessment/
UVU Policy 525: https://policy.uvu.edu/getDisplayFile/5ef4dfa9bc6e2b201de3cfe3
Utah Valley University offers Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) to enable students to enrich or accelerate their programs of study. CPL is inclusive and validates the prior learning of students, making education more affordable and accessible. A basic understanding of CPL can be found here: https://www.uvu.edu/cpl/ For further details on how the Computer Science department handles CPL, keep reading.
CPL University Eligibility
The following are UVU’s requirements that must be met to receive CPL:
All prerequisite courses must be completed.
The maximum amount of earned CPL credits allowed:
15 Credits toward an associate degree
30 Credits toward a bachelor’s degree
CPL Fees
There is a $15 non-refundable fee for the CPL process. There is another $5 per credit fee when credit is applied. Both fees are charged to your UVU account. In the end, as soon as your UVU account is paid in full, the credit will be applied to your transcript and show in Wolverine Track.
CS Dept Requirements
In addition to the university requirements, the CS department sets in motion further processes and requirements.
Types of CPL Offered: The CS department offers Challenge Credit and Experiential Credit only.
All other forms of CPL are handled by the Transfer Credit office here: https://www.uvu.edu/cpl/ or search "uvu cpl"
Courses Approved for CPL: CS 1400, CS 1410, CS 2300, CS 2420 and CS 3270.
All other courses are by exception and rarely approved.
Prerequisite Course Work
You must have passed the prerequisite course or passed the challenge exam for the prerequisite course before requesting CPL for the subsequent course. Please see the UVU course catalog for a listing of prerequisite requirements. UVU Catalog link: https://www.uvu.edu/catalog/current/courses/computer-science/
The UVU Catalog also provides descriptions of the courses we teach. Match the course descriptions to your …
Issues with Transfer Credit: Should you have a course you have taken with another institution, and in the transfer credit process did not receive credit for the course you expected, please work with the Transfer Credit office at 801-863-8216 or transfercredit@uvu.edu If this does not work out, work with your CS advisor. As a last resort, our dept chair can evaluate your request for credit. A copy of the course syllabus from the previous institution will be needed.
AKA : Testing Out
Challenging a course means you already know the content and the challenge exam is proof of that knowledge. There are no study guides available. At this time, the only courses we allow challenge credit for are: CS 1400, CS 1410, CS 2300, CS 2370, CS 2420 and CS 3270.
Process:
1. Work with instructor.
Talk with the mentoring instructor* for the course you wish to challenge. This will give you a good feel for the course material and help you decide if you will do well on the exam (some instructors skip this step). How to contact the mentoring instructor: To meet face to face, all instructor office hours are posted on our website (uvu.edu/cs), outside the CS Dept (CS520), outside their office door or they can be reached by email.
*Course Mentors:
CS 1400 – Professor Saikat Das (Saikat.Das@uvu.edu)
CS 1410 – Professor (waiting for assignment – can talk to George.Rudolph@uvu.edu)
CS 2300 – Professor Abraham Teng (Abraham.Teng@uvu.edu)
CS 2370 – Professor Neil Harrison (Neil.Harrison@uvu.edu)
CS 2420 – Professor Frank Jones (FrankJ@uvu.edu)
CS 3270 – Professor Brian Durney (BDurney@uvu.edu)
2. Eligibility check required.
When you are prepared to follow through with CPL and you want your eligibility checked (above CPL Requirements), contact the CS admin, Terry.Hill@uvu.edu Either the admin or a CS advisor will check your eligibility.
Steps 1 & 2 are interchangeable.
3. Taking the exam.
If you are eligible, the CS admin will arrange a day/time with you to administer the exam. The exam will be a written, paper exam (pencil or pen needed). No notes, calculators, phones, etc. are allowed during the exam. Arrive at the CS office, CS520, to take the exam. You will have 2 hrs to complete the exam. Since the office closes at 5pm, the latest an exam can start is 3pm. There is a $15 non-refundable fee for the CPL process. This fee will be applied to your UVU account.
3. Grading & Credit.
The exam is graded by the mentoring instructor. The instructor will email you with the results. If you have questions about the exam, some instructors will go over the exam with you - others may just provide general feedback. The CS admin will process the paperwork with the registrar's office to advise if CPL was earned or not.
If you passed the exam, another $5 per credit hour will be applied to your UVU account. Once your UVU account has been paid in full, credit for the course will be applied to your transcript and Wolverine Track.
Q & A
1. Do I need a placement score on ALEKS before taking the challenge exam? Only if you are relying on an ALEKS score for the prerequisite requirement.
2. If I pass the challenge exam, how does that show on my transcript? Credit for the course is applied as earned credit, no grade, and is not calculated in your GPA.
3. If I fail the challenge exam, can I take it again? No
4. If I fail the challenge exam, is it considered failing the course and show on my transcript? No. Only if you pass, you are awarded credit for the class, and it is included in your course work. It is pass/fail and as such, does not count toward your GPA.
5. If I had to drop the course in order to take the exam and did not pass, can I get my place back in the course I was registered for? No exceptions are allowed in the registration system. You will have to re-register for the course as before and potentially pay for late registration fees. If the course is full, you will have to wait on the waitlist, be late added or register for a different section of the course in question.
6. Can I coordinate challenge exams? Yes. For example: You can take CS 1400 and CS 1410 challenge exams consecutively but… you must first pass the CS 1400 challenge exam before you can take the challenge exam for CS 1410.
Experiential Credit is credit received for a particular course depending on proof of work experience (at least 1 yr). You will work with the course mentoring instructor or course instructor to determine if your work experience encompasses what is taught in the course and comply with any other requirements needed for proof of experience set by the instructor.
Experiential Credit is rarely awarded for upper division courses (3000-4000 level courses). Exceptions will be posted here if available.
- Approved courses: CS 1400, CS 1410, CS 2300, CS 2420 and CS 3270.
- Exceptions: N/A
Process
1. Eligibility check required.
Contact the CS admin at Terry.Hill@uvu.edu when you are prepared to follow through with CPL to verify your eligibility (above CPL Requirements).
2. Work with instructor.
The instructor will verify your knowledge of all topics covered in the course in question. Documentation, in a form that can be stored/filed/retrieved/read (no links or reference to internet sites/pages), will be needed for proof of at least 1 year's work experience using this knowledge.
3. The instructor will advise the CS admin (via email) their approval for experiential credit for a specific course(s) and attach all supporting documentation from the student's employer and student's proof of knowledge.
4. The CS admin will submit the paperwork for the Registrar's office to apply credit for the course(s). A $5 per credit hour fee will be applied to your UVU account. Once your UVU account has been paid in full, credit for the course will be applied to your transcript and Wolverine Track.
Q & A
1. How does the credit reflect on my transcript? It is applied as earned credit, no grade, and is not calculated in your GPA.
2. If I had to drop the course in order to qualify for experiential credit, can I get my place back in the course I was registered for? No exceptions are allowed in the registration system. You will have to re-register for the course as before (and potentially pay for late registration fees). If the course is full, you will have to wait on the waitlist, be late added or register for a different section of the course in question. Athletics
