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Prior Learning Credit

Credit for Prior Learning may be granted to students enrolled in any program, at the discretion the appropriate Dean of the School in which the program is located.

NOTE: Students may apply for Prior Learning Credit for a course only if a proficiency exam or a CLEP exam does not exist for that course.

NOTE: Credit for Prior Learning cannot be granted for courses in which the applicant has ever been enrolled in at SUNY Canton.

The maximum number of Prior Learning credit that may be applied is 15 credit hours for an associate degree and 30 credit hours for a baccalaureate degree. Such credit will be evaluated according to the following procedure:

  1. The student must apply for Prior Learning Credit during the first year of matriculation in the program. Applicants must complete the Application for Prior Learning Credit and submit the form to the Dean of the School in which the program is located.
  2. The Dean, in consultation with other Deans as appropriate, will arrange for a Prior Learning Credit Advisor selected from the School’s faculty to assist the students in preparing the necessary documentation in support of the number of credits requested. The portfolio must clearly evidence mastery of a preponderance of the learning outcomes as listed in the course outline(s) in order for a request to be viable.
  3. The student will submit a formal letter of request and a portfolio containing all documentation and pertinent adjunct supportive material to the Prior Learning Credit Advisor within the first ten weeks of the student’s second matriculated semester. The student will be notified of the decision within five weeks after submitting the portfolio.
  4. The portfolio will be evaluated by one or more faculty members recruited by the Dean as content reviewers. 
  5. The Prior Learning Credit Advisor will provide the content reviewer(s) with a copy of the most recent appropriate course outline(s), including detailed learning objectives.
  6. The content reviewers will submit their recommendations to their Dean. The Prior Learning Credit Advisor can serve as one of the content reviewers.
  7. Following the decision of the Dean, a notice will be forwarded to the student, the Prior Learning Credit Advisor, and the Registrar regarding the amount of credit granted and the courses for which the credit will be counted in the student’s program.
  8. Forty dollars ($40) per credit hour will be charged for the review of the materials. This fee must be paid and registration procedures completed prior to the beginning of the review. Payment will be made at the One Hop Shop in the Campus Center. 

    NOTE: It is the responsibility of the student to follow up and ensure that the form gets to the Dean. Student Accounts will not forward the form if the student is paying through Transact Payments.

  9. Forty dollars ($40) per credit hour will be charged for prior learning credit granted. This fee must be paid prior to the granting of credit. Payment will be made at the One Hop Shop in the Campus Center. 
  10. Credit will be recorded as “CR” on the student’s official transcript under the appropriate course number, but only following the student’s satisfactory (2.00 GPA or higher) completion of one full-time semester or its equivalent in the student’s program.