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FIRST STEPS

PLA Process

flowchart

10 Steps to Obtaining PLA Credit

1. Is PLA for you?

Read through these 10 steps and the learning outcomes overview, then decide if this process is applicable to you. If you feel there is a match between your learning and the learning outcomes, this is a good indication that you will be successful in PLA.

2. Seek advice

Contact an advisor at a college near you. Discuss, and obtain appropriate forms and printed materials related to:

  • The admission and registration process
  • Requirements for the Business Technology Program
  • Your eligibility for PLA
  • Your educational plan

3. Develop your educational plan

Document the following:

  • Your educational goals. (For example your educational goal might be to complete the Office Assistant Certificate.)
  • How these goals relate to your career plans.
  • Learning experiences already acquired that relate to educational and career goals
  • Steps you must take to meet admission requirements to complete the program.
  • Different routes you will take to obtain credit for the courses required for your program (PLA, course enrolment, transfer/advanced credit).

4. Develop a personal history profile

Prepare a package containing:

  • A recent resume that includes work, volunteer and personal experience and education
  • Copies of transcripts from each institution you attended
  • Other documents related to your work, volunteer or life experience (certificates, letters of recommendation, recognition or validation, newspaper articles and the like).

5. Review the stages of the PLA assessment process

Become familiar with the assessment methods that may be used, and the various roles that you the learner, the faculty advisor, and the faculty assessor play in the PLA process. Review the types of evidence and evidence requirements, as well as the learning outcomes and associated criteria for providing evidence.

6. Contact your Faculty Assessor

The assessor at Vancouver Island University reviews your personal history profile and helps you further develop your educational plan. In addition, the assessor helps you to select the appropriate assessment methods for determining if you meet the learning outcomes for the course(s) for which you plan to seek credit.

7. Prepare evidence

Use the assessment tools associated with the learning outcomes to prepare and organize your evidence to support your request for credit.

8. Submit your evidence

The faculty assessor reviews the evidence as it is presented, to obtain an overview of the whole, and provides feedback to you.

The assessor then compares the evidence to the learning outcomes, and documents any instances where there is uncertainty about whether one or more of outcomes has been met. The assessor then identifies further assessment options to top up learning as necessary.

9. Meet with the Assessor for follow-up

During the follow-up interview the results of the assessment of your evidence are reviewed, and any necessary further assessment options are identified.

This interview provides an opportunity for you to accentuate strengths, and for the assessor to gather further information and the depth of evidence necessary to complete the assessment.

Your explicit statements of knowledge and performance are helpful to the assessor, but implicit factors are also taken into consideration. Follow up on implicit factors through oral questioning helps the assessor to clarify your understanding.

10. Decision

The faculty assessor determines the level of performance and understanding you have demonstrated and the submits the decision to the appropriate Vancouver Island University personnel. PLA credit is documented on the Vancouver Island University transcript. Step #9 may be repeated as necessary prior to submission of the decision.