Credit for Prior Learning News & Updates

Please see below for some important Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) updates. 

Update 1: Students are now informed of CPL opportunities in the very first step of the registration process when they search for classes! Beginning this summer, all CPL-eligible course descriptions in the schedule of classes will include a statement about the course’s CPL availability. The statement also directs students to the CPL webpage for more information if they are interested. The goal of this project is to make sure that students eligible for CPL receive assistance at an early stage and avoid repeating courses for which they should receive credit.

Update 2: Effective Fall 2024, Virginia Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) who were admitted to NOVA’s Nursing A.A.S. degree program can submit a copy of their license to the College Records Office (CRO), along with Form 125-049E, to receive 16 credits applicable to their program. These credits are allocated in five different courses: NSG-100 (4 credits), NSG-106 (2 credits), NSG-130 (1 credit), NSG-152 (3 credits) and NSG-170 (6 credits). Other CPL opportunities that were approved for credit effective Fall 2024 include NOVA’s Asian American Pacific Islander Connect Peer Mentoring Program (AAPI Connect) for SDV-100 and the U.S. Department of Defense Virtual School Lab’s (VSL) Foundational Courses for CHD-145, CHD-166 and EDU-235. There are also MUS-111 ABLE, ITD-145, ITN-200 and U.S. Naval Community College (USNCC) proposals pending Admin Council’s final approval. If approved, these opportunities will also be added to the 2024–25 catalog.

Update 3: See the CPL manual online “warehouse,” where you can find not only the current version but also previous manuals. If you need to permanently hyperlink a text in your web content pertinent to CPL, it is recommended that this URL (NOT the current catalog’s) be used. All current CPL hyperlinks should also be checked and updated accordingly to ensure that viewers are not directed to outdated information.

Update 4: CPL has made its way to the Nighthawk News! This online student newsletter publishes an article about a particular CPL topic in its first edition every month. We aim to reach out to students and inform them of the CPL application process in general and in specific areas such as work/life experience, foreign language credit, industry certifications and more.

Update 5: CPL posts on digital and social media are underway. Work is being done to get CPL flyers published on collegewide TV displays and on NOVA’s social media platforms. If you would like to receive a soft copy of the flyer to distribute to students, please contact the CPL coordinator at PDang@nvcc.edu. This project is part of NOVA’s ongoing initiatives to increase awareness of CPL and ultimately improve completion rates. If you have an innovative idea on how to promote CPL, we would love to hear it. Email cpl@nvcc.edu or call 703-323-3470 if you would like to share your idea.

Submitted by:
Thomas Phuoc Dang, CPL Coordinator and Committee Chair, PDang@nvcc.edu