Procedure

A. Eligibility

1. Portfolio assessment is offered to enrolled matriculated students.
2. Portfolio assessment credits are restricted to undergraduate students seeking a degree.
3. Students must pass the 3-credit course, CCS 201: Introduction to Prior Learning Portfolio Development or an equivalent prior learning assessment course from an accredited college.
4. Enrolled students must receive advisor approval to enter the portfolio development process by taking CCS 201.
5. Completion of the Information Literacy and Written English requirements is a prerequisite for CCS 201.

B. Credit Monitoring and Portfolio Application Procedure

Excelsior College recognizes that pre-portfolio advising is key to a student’s success. Students who elect to use the portfolio method submit an advisor approval form in order to receive approval from the advising staff before proceeding with portfolio development. The advisor approval form does not guarantee that the student will receive credit from the faculty evaluator(s) in the subject areas being petitioned. The advisor approval form does not bind a student to completing portfolio assessment in the areas being petitioned. The advising staff use the following criteria to determine if a student’s application to petition for portfolio credit is valid:

1. Credits do not duplicate previously awarded credit (in other words, students cannot earn credit twice for the same learning).
2. Credits cannot be fulfilled by existing standardized examinations (ECE, CLEP, DSST, ICCP or the foreign language exams offered by NYU and DLI).
3. Credits are targeted to meet unfilled requirements in a student’s current degree plan or goal.
4. Credits are based on college-level learning or learning that is equivalent to a college-level course.
5. Portfolio credit cannot be used to fulfill the information literacy or written English requirements.

C. Credit Restrictions

1. Minimum credits petitioned: Students must petition for a minimum of six (6) credits. The minimum number of credits to be petitioned in any distinct subject area is two (2). There are no restrictions on the maximum number of credits a student can petition through portfolio assessment.
2. Individual schools may place restrictions on the number and type of credits earned or requirements to be completed before the student petitions for credit through portfolio assessment.
3. Excelsior College uses a course-based model. Students petition for credit based on college course descriptions and are instructed in the CCS 201 course to look first at the Excelsior College course catalog for appropriate course matches. The schools may require students to use the Excelsior College course description as a basis for the petition, for example, if the course represents a core requirement. If a student petitions for a course not offered at Excelsior College, the course description must meet the following criteria. It must be

a. published in a catalog from a regionally accredited college or university,
b. considered to be a college-level course, and
c. considered current in the field credit for which it is being petitioned.

D. Deadlines

1. Students have up to six (6) months from the date their portfolio workspace opens in the Course Management System to submit their portfolio for assessment. Students can request one six (6) month extension of this deadline through the Assessment Unit.
2. Students intending to use portfolio credits toward their degree requirements are mandated to submit the completed portfolio to the Assessment Unit at least six (6) months in advance of their updated evaluations transcript cutoff date for the intended conferral class. These graduation processing parameters allow adequate time for assessment and transcription of the credit. Students who submit an incomplete portfolio package may experience a delay in their conferral date.

E. Fees

1. Fees for portfolio evaluations are charged for the number of credits petitioned, not the amount of credit awarded.
2. Fees for assessment must be paid when applying for the portfolio development workspace course. Fees are not refunded if the credit is denied.
3. Fees are subject to change without notice. Students should consult the current Undergraduate Fee Schedule for the current fee structure.

F. Credit Award Notification

Students receive the results of the portfolio approximately ten (10) to twelve (12) weeks after submission. Students are notified by letter and electronically through their status report of the credit decision.

G. Portfolio Credit Determination

The portfolio is evaluated on a credit/no credit basis, with a P grade recorded in the student’s record for approved credits. The faculty evaluator(s) is responsible for making the written credit recommendations. The final credit award is subject to the approval of the school faculty committee.

The faculty evaluator(s) must undergo approximately eight hours of training in the Excelsior model of prior learning assessment. In completing their assigned evaluations, faculty evaluators have four options for credit recommendations:

1. Credit recommended. Student demonstrated and documented college-level learning equivalent to that required for the specific course being petitioned (70 percent or C-).
2. Credit is recommended for another course title or for a credit amount/level other than what was petitioned.
3. Additional explanation or documentation (addendum) is required for the Faculty Evaluator(s) to make a credit recommendation. The Faculty Evaluator(s) will specify the requirements for the addendum on the feedback form. The student has sixty (60) days from the date of electronic notification to submit an addendum to the original portfolio to the Assessment Unit.
4. Credit not recommended. The student did not demonstrate and document college-level learning.

The school faculty committee will use the following guidelines in their recommendations to the Assessment Unit.

1. Follow the faculty evaluator(s)’ recommendations for the awarding of credit.
2. Follow the faculty evaluator(s)’ credit recommendations for the awarding of credit with changes or modifications specified by the school faculty committee.
3. Deny the credit recommendation. If the credit recommendation is denied by the school faculty committee, the student has thirty (30) days to submit an appeal in writing to the Assessment Unit (see Appeals Process). The school dean will mediate this appeal process.

H. Steps in the Portfolio Assessment Process

1.  Complete CCS 201 – Introduction to Prior Learning and Portfolio Development (or an equivalent course from another accredited institution). (See IIA4 and 5 for requirements related to this course.) Enroll as an Excelsior College student if not already matriculated.

2.  Complete an Advisor Approval Form (AAF) and submit it to their advisor for approval. The approved form is then forwarded to the Assessment Unit

3.  In collaboration with the schools, Excelsior College's Assessment Unit appoints one or more faculty evaluators to evaluate the portfolio and provides them with training if they have not already completed the Faculty Evaluator Training course. If no faculty evaluators for a specific course or courses can be identified within four weeks of receipt of the AAF, the Assessment Unit will return the AAF to the advisor who will work with the student to determine an appropriate course of action, amend the AAF accordingly, and resubmit it to the Assessment Unit

4.  The Assessment Unit forwards an electronic copy of the Advisor Approval Form and a payment form to the student. The student sends the Advisor Approval Form, payment form, and appropriate payment to the Bursar’s Office.

5.  The Bursar’s Office accepts payment and sends the Advisor Approval Form to the Office of Registration and Records for scanning into the Student Information System (SIS).

6.  A portfolio workspace course section is created for the student and the Assessment Unit is contacted to help prepare the student for completion of the portfolio.

7.  Student develops portfolio once granted access into the Portfolio Development Process (workspace course section). Students should email questions to the Assessment Unit staff at portfolio@excelsior.edu during the development phase of their portfolio. The student is responsible for notifying AU when the workspace submissions are complete.

8.  AU staff or a designee reviews the student’s completed workspace to verify that submissions are appropriate and complete, and if not, works with the student to resolve issues.

9.  Faculty evaluators are granted access to the student’s workspace through the Course Management System. The Assessment Unit provides faculty evaluator(s) with appropriate forms for completion and payment and reminds them of the standards for evaluation detailed in the faculty evaluator training.

10. Faculty evaluator(s) provide substantive comments, feedback, and credit recommendations to the Assessment Unit in the Faculty Evaluator Form through email.

1. If faculty evaluator(s) request an addendum, the student will have sixty (60) days ; to submit additional information to the Assessment Unit.
2. The same faculty evaluator(s) will review the portfolio with addendum.
3. The Assessment Unit provides a portfolio packet containing a cover sheet, instructions, synopsis of the standards to which both students and faculty evaluators were trained, qualifications of all faculty evaluators, and faculty evaluator forms with comments, feedback, and credit recommendations to the school faculty committee for approval.
4. Upon approval or denial of the portfolio credit from the school faculty committee, the portfolio packet is returned to the Assessment Unit.
5. The Assessment Unit notifies the student that the evaluation is complete, indicating that the results should be posted to the status report within 4-6 weeks. If some credits have been denied, the notification includes information about the appeals process.
6. The Assessment Unit forwards the approved portfolio packet to the Office of Registration and Records. Students are notified of credit denials. Credit denials will not appear on a student’s transcript. The academic advisors are notified through the SIS work queue of the credit award to be posted to the student’s transcript.
7. Final credit is awarded.

I. Appeals Process

If credit is denied by the school faculty committee, the student has thirty (30) days to submit a letter to the Assessment Unit requesting a reevaluation and stating the basis for the appeal. The original submission of the portfolio with the contents of the portfolio unchanged or altered must accompany the request. Upon receipt of the request, the Assessment Unit dean will consult with the appropriate academic school dean(s) and decide if the appeal by the student is warranted and either:

1. Deny the appeal or
2. Schedule a second evaluation by another faculty evaluator(s). The decision made by the second faculty evaluator(s) on the award or denial of credit must be submitted to the School Faculty Committee again for a final decision. The student can appeal a denial one time.