PLA Academic Portfolio Assessment

Academic Portfolio Assessment

Students write PLA academic portfolios at USM with the mentorship and support of the USM faculty and the PLA staff.  Academic portfolios are formal, written communications, which for full credit, include supporting documentation of college-level knowledge, competency, and ability. The student's documentation proves their understanding of and competence in the subject matter, and may require some form of demonstration or performance in addition to the written portion.  At its completion, the student submits the portfolio to the Office for Prior Learning Assessment, formally requesting undergraduate (and in some cases, graduate) credit for their extra-collegiate learning.

Students may request general elective credit, elective credit within a department, or course equivalency. Elective credits may be earned regardless of one's major, but their applicability for meeting graduation requirements varies by school or college.

Those interested in this credit option, before beginning the undergraduate portfolio process, must register with the Office for Prior Learning Assessment. There is a generalized timeline for the portfolio process which PLA offers you as guidance, though it is not binding. If you are looking for the general portfolio assessment fee form to pay for your credits, download it here.

PLA does offer the opportunity for graduate students in certain areas to complete an academic portfolio. If you are a graduate student, please read the graduate portfolio guidelines. 

Specialty Academic Portfolios

The Office for Prior Learning Assessment has developed specialized academic portfolios that offer a more streamlined process in particular subjects, while still allowing you to work closely with PLA as well as selected faculty in the specialized area.

• For example, if you seek to demonstrate your facility and fluency in French, you can complete an academic portfolio in French (actually writing the portfolio in French). You would contact the PLA director first, then after meeting approval with Joyce Lapping, you would schedule an appointment with our contact in the department of Modern Classical Languages and Literature (MCLL) to complete your portfolio. 
• Or if you have substantial experience in a school setting, perhaps as an educational technician, or a substitute teacher, or a volunteer tutor, you can advance yourself with 3-6 credits in an academic portfolio in education. The portfolio will be evaluated by a faculty member in the Teacher Education Department after a prior meeting with Joyce Lapping in PLA.
• Are you a USM employee? Are you an employee anywhere within the University of Maine System? Have you successfully graduated from the Supervisor Development Institute (SDI) and been a supervisor for at least two years? With the SDI academic portfolio, you can earn up to 3 credits, do not need to be a matriculated student to earn this credit, and can have those credits paid with a tuition waiver (at USM only)!  Register with this form.
• If you have served as a Resident Assistant or Certified Academic Tutor at USM for at least two years, you can earn up to 3 credits with this specific academic portfolio.
• And, if you have completed projects for the 12-week or 9-month session of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship at Rockport, Maine, you are eligible to earn up to 15 Art credits at USM through the CFCR academic portfolio. Even shorter sessions can earn you up to 3 credits with an Art faculty mentorship at USM and the portfolio. Payment is specialized as well, so use this form.