Credit for Prior Learning
Options to earn undergraduate and graduate credit for what you know to help you complete your degree
GVSU recognizes that your learning that extends beyond the classroom. Whether that's work experience, military service, professional learning, technical training or knowledge you've learned through volunteer and service work, we value your diverse perspectives and want to help you earn credit for what you know. Explore all the options to earn credit below.
Transfer credit may be awarded for credits/hours earned at another College or University. If you attended other institutions in the past, you can submit all official transcripts to the registrars office to be evaluated for potential transfer credit. Send transcripts to [email protected]. Learn if your previous college classes transfer to GVSU by looking at our course equivalency guide to get an idea of how your classes might transfer to Grand Valley.
Exams that are developed and administered by nationally recognized boards. Grand Valley reviews and accepts test results with sufficiently high scores for college credit.
- challenge exams are university exam that allows you to demonstrate how your knowledge and learning fulfills the learning outcomes of a specific course.
- Challenge exams are developed and assessed by faculty in that department
- Cost is variable, math and language tests are free. Engineering is $50-$100
Undergraduate Portfolio Assessment
If you have work experience, professional license or certificate, have completed workplace training programs, or in other ways have learning that corresponds to college level learning then you should consider building a portfolio to demonstrate that knowledge
Cost is $150 for each portfolio you choose to have assessed
Experiential credit may be awarded for non-college professional learning or licensure acquired in business, industry, government as well as military training.
At the graduate level, professional learning credit can be earned through the following methods:
- Challenge Exam: A graduate program may offer oral, practical, and/or written challenge exams approved by their department curriculum committees to assess students' mastery and application of graduate level knowledge and skills.
- Individualized Assessment: This type of assessment may include portfolio review, performance-based assessment, and demonstration of mastery and application of graduate level knowledge and skills.
- Cost is $250 for each assessment
If you would like to talk with someone about what might be the best option for you to earn credit for your experiences, please reach out to the following people
Undergraduate contact: Prior Learning Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Kate VanDerkolk - [email protected] - 616-331-7180
Graduate Contact: Contact your Graduate Program Director (GPD) for more information