Prior Learning from Experience

Evergreen values the experience adults bring to college. Through the Prior Learning from Experience (PLE) program, adult students have the opportunity to earn academic credit for knowledge acquired through life and work experience.

This video gives a brief introduction to the program.  For further information, contact the Office of Admissions, Academic Advising, or Nancy Parkes, the faculty who teaches Writing from Life and PLE Document Writing.

The Goal: A PLE Document

To be awarded credit, you must develop an extensive written document that demonstrates college-level learning as a result of your life and work experience.  Your document will describe the experience and analyze the knowledge gained through a combination of autobiographical and expository writing and research. Credit is earned through a combination of coursework and evaluation of your completed document.

The Process

To begin your PLE program, you must take the 4-credit Writing from Life course, offered fall, winter and spring quarters.  In this class, you will begin to analyze your experience and develop the skills and techniques necessary for documenting the knowledge you have gained.

Upon completion of one quarter of Writing from Life and recommendation from your faculty for that course, you can apply to the Dean of Evening and Weekend Studies to be admitted to the PLE program and register for the PLE Document Writing course.  While taking this class, you will develop your PLE document with the support of faculty and other students in the program.

You will have 4 consecutive quarters (not including summer quarter) to complete your PLE document, during which you can register for PLE Document Writing for 4 or 8 credits per quarter. You can enroll in this course in any quarter, except summer.

Once you have earned a minimum of 8 or maximum of 16 credits in PLE Document Writing and your document is complete, you may decide to request additional credits by submitting your document to faculty review.  You can earn a maximum of 45 credits through the combination of PLE coursework and evaluation of your document. 

Costs

For the purposes of tuition and financial aid, the Writing from Life and PLE Document Writing courses are treated the same as any other course.

If you decide to request additional credits for your document, you will be billed for the additional credits that are approved after the faculty review of your document.  The credits will not be granted until you have paid for them, and financial aid may not be applied to these charges.  You will have 30 days from the receipt of the tuition bill to pay for these additional credits.  If payment has not been received or an extension has not been filed within 45 days of the billing date, you will be notified that your file has been closed and additional credits will not be awarded.

Limitations

• PLE does not award credit for any experience gained after admission to Evergreen, such as experience gained while on academic leave.
• PLE credit may not duplicate any other academic work.
• PLE does not award credit for vocational or craft skills or self-improvement experience.
• Academic credit applied for through certificated learning, documented participation in professional development workshops, military school or training, police or firefighter training, or real estate licensing are not applicable to PLE and will be assessed by the Office of Admissions after you are admitted to Evergreen.  Contact the Office of Admissions for more information on these options.
• To earn a degree from Evergreen, 45 of your last 90 credits must be earned at Evergreen. Credit earned through enrollment in the Writing from Life and PLE Document Writing courses counts as credit earned at Evergreen.  However, any additional credits granted for your PLE document are treated in the same way as transfer credits – they apply toward the credits needed for graduation, but they are not counted as part of the 45 Evergreen credits necessary for graduation.