Faculty Resources

On September 16, 2019, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges approved a revision to Title 5, Section 55050 that redesigns how students at California Community Colleges receive credit for prior learning. The new regulation aims to make the process more consistent and equitable for students who come to community colleges with college-level skills and knowledge acquired in a variety of non-classroom settings. Merced College adopted these changes in December 2020 (AP/BP 4235).

Research suggests that CPL benefits students and colleges by increasing completion and closing achievement gaps. In California, this means CPL can help the system achieve the goals outlined in the Vision for Success and increase college funding through improving measures on the Student-Centered Funding Formula metrics.

Board Policy 4235 (Credit for Prior Learning) as well as the CPL Faculty Resource Center located on the Online Superhighway via Canvas are two excellent resources to learn more about the different methods of assessment acceptable for Credit for Prior Learning.

• AP (Advanced Placement)
• IB (International Baccalaureate)
• CLEP (College Level Examination Program)
• Military Service/Training
• Industry Recognized Credentials
• Student-Centered Portfolio Assessment
• Internal Credit by Examination (ICE) from within the District

Faculty interested in making their course CPL eligible, should contact the CPL Coordinator, at cpl@mccd.edu.