Alternative Opportunities for Earning Credit

Many Marymount Manhattan students are adults returning to college to earn their degree, and we recognize the educational value of the life/work experiences that precede their entry or reentry into the college environment. Below are some of the most common forms of alternative credit.

Prior Learning Assessment
If you can provide evidence that you have "achieved the learning goals" of a course at MMC through your professional, non-college experience, you can get credit for that course. You can receive up to 30 credits through this program.

Your first step will be to enroll in a 2-credit pass/fail course called "Seminar in Experiential Education." In this course, you'll work with a professor in documenting your mastery of the learning goals of a course or courses. You will create a Prior Learning Assessment Portfolio, which will be reviewed by your instructor and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. You should expect to complete your portfolio by the end of the semester.

Some policies and procedures:

To be eligible for the program, you must have completed 24 college credits, 12 of them at MMC.
The 30 credits approved through PLA may not be used as part of the 30-credit residency requirement.
CLEP credits and other proficiency test scores are figured in with PLA credits and may not total more than 30 credits.
Students who plan to transfer to another college or to attend graduate school after completing their degree at MMC should check with these respective schools as not all colleges recognize prior learning credits.
PLA credits are not applied to the minimum number of credits required to earn honors at graduation.

Applications and additional information on procedures may be obtained from Judith Slisz, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. To determine if the PLA process is appropriate for you, please confer with your Faculty Advisor and Department Chair.

CLEP and CPE
Marymount Manhattan grants college credits to candidates who present scores for the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or the New York State College Proficiency Examination with a minimum grade of C. The student may earn up to 30 college credits and must take 12 credits at MMC with a grade of C or better prior to receiving CLEP or CPE credit.