Credit for Experienced-Based Learning

Not all learning takes place inside a classroom. Adult students, in particular, often have a reservoir of professional learning and accomplishments they can bring to Loyola's degree completion programs.

With that in mind, Loyola offers our students several options to earn credit for professional life experiences that qualify as college-level learning. Participating in our Prior Learning Assessment program can provide substantial savings of time and tuition for students as well as a personal sense of accomplishment for past achievements. 

Prior Learning Assesment Portfolio

Our Prior Learning Asssessment (PLA) Portfolio program:

• Gives students a chance to earn credit for up to 4 of 10 eligible courses. 
• Is available to incoming students through our required Introduction to SCPS course (CPST 200) and to current students through training workshops.
• Places an emphasis on "learning" in a professional setting.
• Uses a submission system of student-built portfolios evaluated by members of SCPS's faculty. 

Using our e-portfolio software, students build a portfolio documenting college-level learning they have received over their career and submit for evaluation.  To be eligible to submit a portfolio for review, students must complete one of the PLA training sessions or complete CPST 200. 

We give students a 12-month window to submit up to 4 separate portfolios, with the possibility of earning up to 12 credits. Earning credit is not guaranteed, but each portfolio can be re-submitted for a second review if credit is denied the first time. The 10 PLA portfolio-eligble courses can be found here. 

Credit through Examination

Students may choose to complete test examinations to earn credit for courses. Loyola accepts test scores from:

• Advanced Placement (AP) Exams, which is a series of tests developed by the College Board initially for AP High School courses, including 34 exams in 19 subject areas.
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Exams,tests of college material offered by the College Board.
• DSST Credit by Exam Program, formerly known as the DANTES Program, it tests knowledge of both lower-level and upper-level college material through 38 exams.

To learn more about our credit through examination program, contact us at adult@luc.edu. 

ACE/NPONSI (National Program on Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction)

The American Council on Education has evaluated many noncollegiate learning experiences and training programs, including military experiences, that are sponsored by major companies and institutions. For students to receive credit for these programs, the learning experience must have occurred during a time period and class length as determined by ACE. Loyola follows ACE recommendations in awarding credits toward the bachelor's degree.

Transfer Credit

Loyola has developed transfer guides for many of the two-year colleges in Illinois. Our transfer guides cover the University Core courses. To see a complete list of these community colleges with links to the transfer credit information, please view our transfer guides. Students can transfer a maximum of 64 semester hours or 96 quarter hours from all two-year colleges combined.

Although we do not have transfer credit guides available for schools from outside of Illinois, Loyola does accept academic courses from regionally accredited colleges and universities to satisfy Core Curriculum and major requirements. Descriptions of the courses that satisfy Loyola's Core Curriculum requirements are available online. All students must satisfy the residency requirement to receive a bachelor’s degree from Loyola. Students must take their final, uninterrupted 45 hours of instruction or a minimum of 64 hours in residence at Loyola University Chicago.