At Charter Oak, each portfolio is prepared to challenge (match to) one specific course taught at a regionally accredited college or university, in what is known as a course equivalence approach. Each portfolio should contain a course description with knowledge components (topics and learning outcomes), a narrative essay that demonstrates your knowledge of the subject and how it matches the course, and documented evidence that supports your claim for credit. The current instructions with a complete list of the required components are online in the student forms section of MyCharterOak.
Common Elements of Portfolios
- Course description and knowledge components with topics and learning outcomes to serve as the standard against which your knowledge is measured.
- Narrative in which you describe what you did, what you learned, how you applied your knowledge, and how it relates to the course learning outcomes.
- Documented evidence from a variety of sources to support your claims to knowledge.
Submitting Portfolios for Assessment
After successfully completing IDS102, (which includes your first portfolio) you will be eligible to submit additional portfolios for assessment. There is no limit to the number of single-course portfolios that you can submit for assessment. However, it is important to work closely with your Academic Advisor to ensure that portfolio credit will be accepted for the course(s) you propose to challenge and the course(s) will work within your degree plan.
You must receive permission from the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Office before submitting a portfolio for assessment. The instructions and forms, with links to the current fees, are online in the student forms section of MyCharterOak. Be sure that you understand and follow the College's Student Code of Conduct and Academic Honesty policy.
Portfolio assessment takes about two to four months from the time we receive your portfolio. When our assessment is complete, you will be notified of the results via your Charter Oak email and the credit will be posted to your transcript within approximately 10-15 business days.
Please Note: Portfolios submitted without an approved Portfolio Course Proposal or by students who have not completed Charter Oak's IDS 102: Prior Learning Portfolio Development course will not be accepted and will not be returned. Please do not send any portfolio materials without receiving permission first.
Portfolio Program | Portfolio Course
Contact the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Office with questions.