The Process

You will work with your Faculty Review Committee to develop a portfolio of your significant accomplishments and acquired learning, called your Personal Learning Portfolio.

The Personal Learning Portfolio is a review of the comprehensive learning you have acquired during your work and life, or other professional experiences. It is the beginning point for the process of documenting that work and life experience, or other.

Once you have developed your Personal Learning Portfolio, you will associate your work and life learning experiences with matching college and university courses. And you will then need to carefully document your learning.

Documentation Process

You will work with your Advisor to identify and carefully document learning that has been realized from your life's events and experiences. Your documentation may include items such as an extensive work, verifiable resume, letters from former supervisors, and work results from projects you have completed. Any type of training could be evaluated and possibly converted into college credit.

You will then assemble the documents in a portfolio and clearly illustrates the results.

The Personal Learning Portfolio exercise is challenging. Your Advisor will be careful to document each credit we award. We expect the process to be fair and legitimate. That way, your credits and your degree will retain their long-term value, and you can be proud of what you have accomplished.

Although all potential students may apply for Personal Learning Portfolio credit, it is recommended that only learners with significant life experience undertake the exercise.

Other Areas

If you believe that your life and work experience merits more than 33% of your required credits, we have developed methods to test for subject matter expertise. You may take general subject matter tests, such as CLEP, Dantes, or another similar test. An oral test may be conducted via telephone and or computer for additional credit.

We also offer customized subject-matter projects that may be applied for college credit.

You may also undertake directed study courses that give you the chance to formally study and document your knowledge in a subject area. Directed study exercises are courses that are tailored just for you, because we want you to get the maximum available credit.

Remember, at least 15 new credits, or other approved project must be taken through TIU, or one of its approved international affiliates, and all financial obligations satisfied, before the conferral of any degree.