Alternative Ways to Earn Credits

Concordia University Texas recognizes the learning that takes place through external licensing organizations and agrees to award academic credit for the following licenses. 

Credential	Licensing Organization	Documentation Required	Transfer Credit
EMT	Texas Dept. of Health, Bureau of Emergency Management and National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT)	Copy of License Training transcript from non-credit program	Paramedic: BIO 3311and 3411 plus 12 hrs. upper level elective and 18 hrs. lower level elective Intermediate: BIO 3311 and 3411 Basic 6 hrs. elective
Firefighter	Texas Fire Commission	License Training transcript from non-credit program	Basic: 9 hrs. elective
Human Resource Professional	Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)	Current certification	PHR: BADM 3340 Human Resource Management SPHR: BADM 3340 Human Resource Management and BADM 4340 Organizational Staffing
Texas Basic Peace Officer	TCLEOSE	License Training transcript from non-credit program	CRIJ 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice CRIJ 2328 Police Systems and Practices CRIJ 3302 Criminal Law KIN 1301 Personal Wellness
Real Estate Salesperson	Texas Real Estate Commission	License, Training transcript from non-credit program (now available on TREC website)	Elective: 8 hrs.
Certified Legal Assistant	National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA)	Certification	Elective: 12 hrs.
Project Management	Project Management Institute	Certification	BADM 3330 Project Management

 

Prior Learning Assessment Portfolio

Most of the knowledge with which people function on a daily basis is acquired outside the classroom -from parents, friends, personal reading, travel, experience on the job, etc.

"Life experience," "work experience," "experiential learning," "previous learning experiences," etc., are used to identify the growth which takes place over the course of an adult's lifetime. Concordia uses the term "acquired experiential learning."

Concordia, like most regionally-accredited institutions, does not award credit for life experiences. Credit is awarded for the learning acquired from life experiences. The acquired learning must be related to the Concordia curriculum and, specifically, to courses taught at Concordia. The important thing to remember is that a student's acquired learning will mean nothing to the Portfolio Reviewers unless the acquired learning can be documented. It is also important to be able to demonstrate that the skill(s), knowledge and competencies are at the college level.

Upon initial reflection, students may question whether they have anything in their background worthy of being awarded credit. A good principle to keep in mind is that life is filled with learning awaiting documentation.  Your academic advisor is the person who can assist you in determining what constitutes appropriate documentation of experiential learning.  

The Portfolio Assessment Process

Earning credit through the development, submission and assessment of a portfolio is a way to showcase knowledge acquired through experiential learning.  If a student decides to pursue this avenue, he/she must realize that the process will require a thoughtful review of the knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired and an understanding of what documentation is available to support the declaration of learning. 

A student intending to submit a portfolio for PLA evaluation must submit it no later than six months prior to their anticipated date of graduation.  PLA credit is awarded in the term in which the portfolio is granted credit and approved by the Provost.  Concordia does not accept PLA-type credit from other institutions.

For more information contact your Student Support Coordinator or your Academic Advisor.

CLEP Exam Credit

Currently enrolled students may submit CLEP scores for evaluation for credit.  Students must score at or above the ACE recommended passing grade on the appropriate CLEP examination (usually 50 but may vary with certain tests). Concordia University Texas will award equivalency credit for the following:

Concordia Course Title	CLEP Examinations
ACC 2301 Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting
BIO 1401 Principles of Biology	General Biology
BUS 3311 Principles of Management	Principles of Management
BUS 3321 Business Law	Introduction to Business Law
BUS 3350 Principles of Marketing	Principles of Marketing
CHE 1341 Chemistry I and CHE 1342 Chemistry II*	General Chemistry
ECO2301 Intro to Macroeconomics	Principles of Macroeconomics
ECO 2302 Intro to Microeconomics	Principles of Microeconomics
ENG 1316 Academic Research & Writing ENG 1317 Introduction to Literature	College Composition Analysis/Interpretation of Literature
ENG 2303 American Literature	American Literature
ENG 2305 Survey of British Lit	English Literature
FRE 1401 French I and  FRE 1402 French II*	French
GER 1401 German I and GER 1402 German II*	German
GOV 1303 Intro to American Government	American Government
HIS 1301 History of the U.S. to 1877	US History I
HIS 1302 History of the U.S. from 1877	US History II
HIS 2321 Western Civilization to 1715	Western Civilization I
HIS 2322 Western Civilization from 1715	Western Civilization II
MTH 1352 Pre-calculus MTH 1351 College Algebra	Trigonometry/College Algebra/Trig College Algebra
MTH 2401 Calc I & MTH 2402 Calc II*	Calc/Elementary Functions
PSY 2301 Lifespan Development	Human Growth and Development
SOC 1301 Introduction to Sociology	Introduction to Sociology
SPN 1401 Spanish I and SPN 1402 Spanish II*	Spanish

*ACE recommended test scores will determine if Modern or Classical Language, calculus or chemistry credit will be awarded.

For more information, consult the Academic Catalog.