National Criteria for CPL Assessment

What are the National Criteria for Quality Assurance in Assessing Learning for Credit?

  • Credit or its equivalent will be awarded only for learning, and not for experience.
  • Assessment should be based on standards and criteria for the level of acceptable learning.
  • Assessment should be treated as an integral part of learning, not separate from it, and should be based on an understanding of learning processes.
  • The determination of credit awards and competence levels must be made by appropriate subject matter and academic or credentialing experts.
  • Credit or other credentialing will be appropriate to the academic context in which it is awarded and accepted. The program of study and the student's major, i.e., core, upper-division, or graduate, of the student determines the "academic context."

Adapted From:

Morry Fiddler, Catherine Marieneau & Urban Whitaker. Assessing Learning: Standards, Principles, & Procedures. Chicago: CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning), 2006.

For more information, visit the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) website. 

Ten Standards for Assessing Learning

To determine whether to award college credit to students for prior learning, follow these standards:

  1. Credit or its equivalent should be awarded only for learning, and not for experience.
  2. Assessment should be based on standards and criteria for the level of acceptable learning that are both agreed upon and made public.
  3. Assessment should be treated as an integral part of learning, not separate from it, and should be based on an understanding of learning processes.
  4. The determination of credit awards and competence levels must be made by appropriate subject matter and academic or credentialing experts.
  5. Credit or other credentialing should be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.
  6. If awards are for credit, transcript entries should clearly describe what learning is being recognized and should be monitored to avoid giving credit twice for the same learning.
  7. Policies, procedures, and criteria applied to assessment, including provision for appeal, should be fully disclosed and prominently available to all parties involved in the assessment process.
  8. Fees charged for assessment should be based on the services performed in the process and not determined by the amount of credit awarded.
  9. All personnel involved in the assessment of learning should pursue and receive adequate training and continuing professional development for the functions they perform.
  10. Assessment programs should be regularly monitored, reviewed, evaluated, and revised as needed to reflect changes in the needs being served, the purposes being met, and the state of the assessment arts.


Taken from Assessing Learning: Standards, Principles, and Procedures (Second Edition)
By Morry Fiddler, Catherine Marienau, and Urban Whitaker, 2006. Chicago, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.