  {"id":2012,"date":"2016-11-29T10:51:42","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T16:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/?page_id=2012"},"modified":"2026-04-02T16:32:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T21:32:57","slug":"credit-for-prior-learning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/student-resources\/credit-for-prior-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Credit for Prior Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"h3\">Turn Your Work and Life Experience into College Credit<\/h2>\n<p>91Ì½»¨ knows that knowledge doesn&#8217;t come just from reading a textbook or taking a class. <strong>Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)<\/strong> is a way for you, as an adult learner, to connect what you&#8217;ve learned in the workplace or community with academic credit and make it count toward a degree.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3\">If you answer &#8216;yes&#8217; to any of these questions, you are a good candidate for CPL!<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Have I ever been a member of the United States Armed Forces or Uniformed Services?<\/li>\n<li>Do I have an industry-recognized certification, or have I completed non-credit courses such as workplace training?<\/li>\n<li>Have I had at least 3 years of experience in my field or subject area?<\/li>\n<li>Do I have extensive volunteer or community involvement that uses my professional skills?<\/li>\n<li>Am I multi-lingual, or do I have life and\/or work experiences in other countries?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"h3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mycpl.minnstate.edu\/\">Visit MyCPL<\/a> to get started.<\/h2>\n<p>Log into <a href=\"https:\/\/mycpl.minnstate.edu\/\">MyCPL<\/a> with your Star ID, fill out the survey, and start a petition.\u00a0 A CPL advisor will then work with you throughout the remainder of the process.<\/p>\n<h5>Admitted students to 91Ì½»¨ may request credit in the following situations:<\/h5>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00255e\">Standardized and External (non-BSU) Exams<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Standardized proficiency examinations are recognized by many BSU departments and include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CollegeBoard Advanced Placement Examinations (<strong>AP<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>International Baccalaureate (<strong>IB<\/strong>) higher-level selected subsidiary level results and the IB diploma<\/li>\n<li>College-Level Examination Program (<strong>CLEP<\/strong>) subject examinations\n<ul>\n<li>Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.4tests.com\/exams\/exams.asp?cid=2\">free CLEP practice exams here<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Review <a href=\"https:\/\/clep.collegeboard.org\/\">CLEP exam options here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (<strong>DANTES<\/strong>) subject standardized tests<\/li>\n<li>CollegeBoard Scholastic Aptitude Achievement Test (<strong>SAAT<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.minnstate.edu\/board\/procedure\/335p3.html\">Various military service school transcripts<\/a> (<strong>DD-214 Forms<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.minnstate.edu\/board\/procedure\/335p1.html\">See all MinnState-recognized external assessment types here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No course may be repeated or grade raised by such an examination. Standardized exam credit transfer requires an official transcript from the testing authority in most cases. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/admissions\/transfer\/sending-transcripts\/\">Sending Transcripts page<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00255e\">Special or Internal Course Exam (for a specific BSU class)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Degree-seeking BSU students may choose to &#8220;test out&#8221; of taking a class, for a subject in which you already have a high level of skill or knowledge. Requests to take a special, comprehensive examination <strong>must be made to the course instructor.<\/strong> No grade may be raised or course repeated by such an examination. Consult with the course instructor and\/or faculty advisor to see whether a special exam is offered. Not every department offers special test-out exams. Nominal fees for preparing and evaluating exams, and awarding credits apply. <span class=\"wrap-text\"> Use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/Special-Exam-Request-form.pdf\">Special Exam Request form<\/a> to start the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00255e\">Evaluated Prior Learning (portfolio review)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prior non-college and experiential learning may be the result of a variety of life experiences, such as continuing education, work experience, or individual study. <em>University credit is not awarded on the basis of prior\/work experience alone<\/em>, but for the achievement of documented college-level knowledge and\/or skill.<\/p>\n<p>The methods of determining either recognition or university credit are predicated on prior learning that is considered to be at a university level. <strong>Each department determines the criteria, if any, which if satisfied, will result in the awarding of university credit<\/strong>. The departments have the prerogative of determining which courses, if any, may be evaluated for non-college or experiential learning. Not all courses have an equivalent non-college or experiential learning counterpart. *Note: Some BSU departments <strong>do not<\/strong> evaluate prior learning requests, but will consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/admissions\/transfer\/transferring-credits\/ap-and-clep-equivalencies\/\">standardized tests (CLEP, etc)<\/a> and course test-outs for required major course substitution. Check with the department chairperson in your major.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00255e\">Options for Veterans<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>BSU&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/services\/veterans\/\">Veteran&#8217;s\u00a0Assistance Center<\/a>\u00a0is the place to begin if you have learning experiences from your service to our country. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/services\/veterans\/resources\/\">Resources page<\/a> will help you get started.<\/p>\n<p class=\"intro\">91Ì½»¨ follows the Minnesota State policy regarding assessment of prior learning for academic credit. The purpose of this policy is to provide students with opportunities to demonstrate university-level learning gained in non-credit or experiential settings.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.minnstate.edu\/board\/policy\/335.html\">View the current Minnesota State CPL policy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turn Your Work and Life Experience into College Credit 91Ì½»¨ knows that knowledge doesn&#8217;t come just from reading a textbook or taking a class. Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is a way for you, as an adult learner, to connect what you&#8217;ve learned in the workplace or community with academic credit and make [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":528,"featured_media":0,"parent":69,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-2012","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/528"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2012"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3444,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2012\/revisions\/3444"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/distance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}