iPLA Tools and Resources

The American Council on Education (ACE) National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training contains the ACE credit recommendations for formal courses or examinations offered by various organizations, from businesses and unions to government and military. The ACE College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT®) helps adults gain access to academic credit for formal courses and examinations taken outside the traditional classroom.

CollegeSource® Online is a database of 75,239 digital college and university catalogs and websites from the U.S. and other countries.

CAEL's research and publications, extensive data on adult learners and degree attainment, as well as in-depth research and guidance on Prior Learning Assessment and its effectiveness are available at no cost.

Empire State College Professional Learning Evaluations are college-credit recommendations developed by Empire State College for certain professional licenses, certificates, training activities, or other professional, college-level learning acquired outside of a college or university.

The Global Learning Qualifications Framework (GLQF) is a culmination of more than 90 countries and various organizations’ account of what constitutes college-level learning.

The Individualized Prior Learning Assessment (iPLA) Guide provides students with information about the iPLA process at Empire State College.

National CCRS (formerly National PONSI) evaluates training and education programs offered outside of the traditional college classroom setting and translates them into college credit equivalencies.

PLA Inside Out (PLAIO): An International Journal on Theory, Research and Practice in Prior Learning Assessment is the first scholarly online journal entirely devoted to the recognition and assessment of prior experiential learning.

PLA Planner is the software tool used by Empire State College that enables students, working with their primary mentor, to submit their prior learning for evaluation. Internet Explorer or Firefox are the recommended browsers. Browsers must be configured to allow "pop-ups" from this site.

Evaluators also use PLA Planner to review iPLA requests and submit their reports.

The Student Degree Planning Guide (SDPG) provides the technical information needed for a student to create a degree program plan for an associate or bachelor's degree.

Guides for frequently requested topics cover some of the subjects most frequently requested by students for individualized prior learning assessment (iPLA).

Guidelines for the Approval of State University General Education Requirements Courses are the guidelines that SUNY publishes for all of its institutions to follow to determine if a course meets one of the required areas.

Empire State College students, like all students within SUNY, have to fulfill general education requirements, which help students develop breadth in their degrees.