Get college credit for life + work experience

Prior learning credit, also called credit for prior learning, is degree credit awarded for professional training, certificates, credentials, certifications and licensures. Franklin has pre-evaluated 600+ work and life experiences for industry-recognized proficiencies, and awards credit that equates to specific Franklin courses.

If you completed your training or certificate as part of a degree program at a two- or four-year institution, please have your transcripts sent to transcripts@franklin.edu. Electronic transcripts sent by the applicant are not considered official. Instead of evaluating the certificate, we will evaluate your transcript, which will allow you to receive credit beyond what we award for a non-college certificate or training. 

If you completed your training or certificate in any other way, please submit your certificate, certification, credential, license, or professional record to plc@franklin.edu for review and processing.   

After your official evaluation has been completed, please review it to ensure that all eligible credits have been applied.  

For items included in the database, once your documentation has been received and processed, you will receive an email from plc@franklin.edu to inform you that the credit has been applied. For items that have not been pre-evaluated, you will be emailed with a credit decision. You are encouraged to contact your advisor to see how the credit applies to your degree program.

No. Certificates and training that have been pre-evaluated have standard credit decisions on file. Experiences that have not been previously evaluated and meet established criteria (assessment, outcomes, rigor and non-continuing education) are put through a faculty review process that includes a rubric to guide the final decision.

You can provide documentation for your experience before, during or after the admission process.

For current students within a term or two of graduation, please note that submitting a training or certificate to fulfill a graduation requirement is not advised or encouraged. In this case, a proficiency test is the better option.   

Franklin’s searchable database contains pre-evaluated certificates, certifications, credentials and licenses that are on file with the transfer credit office. In order to stay ahead of the fast-changing nature of industry-aligned credentials, we will continue to review and evaluate prior learning offerings for degree credit.

If you do not see your experience listed, you can submit it for evaluation to plc@franklin.edu. Please note the specific course for which you are seeking credit. Unsure which course? Please review the Course Catalog.      

To be evaluated for credit, your experience must meet the following criteria:

• Contain an exam, test, or assessment to evaluate your knowledge and learning.
• Have specific and clear outcomes. To receive credit for a course, the outcomes for your training have to match at least 70% of the outcomes of a course. 
• Rise to the level of college level learning. A 4-credit hour course at Franklin is at least 6 weeks long and requires completion of very specific assignments. The content of your experience must be rigorous enough to warrant college credit. 
• Not be continuing education. While credit can be awarded for a credential or license, it is not automatically awarded for the continuing education needed to maintain that credential. Continuing education courses that have been approved for prior learning credit can be found in MyCertificates + Training.

If you completed your certificate or training as part of a degree program at a two- or four-year institution, please have your transcripts sent to transcripts@franklin.edu. Electronic transcripts sent by the applicant are not considered official. Instead of evaluating the certificate, we will evaluate your transcript, which will allow you to receive credit beyond what we award for a non-college certificate or training. 

After your official evaluation has been completed, please review it to ensure that all eligible credits have been applied.  

Franklin recognizes public safety certificates and training from across the country. While Franklin tools hold equivalencies for Ohio, those credit decisions apply to any police, corrections, EMT or fire professional in the country.  Example: A paramedic in Wisconsin can search “Ohio Department of Public Safety” to see the standard credit decisions for public safety professionals and see a paramedic receives 30 credit hours. Submit aligned certificates to plc@franklin.edu for review and processing to receive that standard credit decision.

No. The credit can only be used to satisfy degree requirements one time.