Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact our PLA Advisor. We will help you 1) identify what PLA opportunities you have, 2) select the right submission pathway, and 3) coach you through the entire process.

Work, volunteer, and life experience can provide a basis for course match PLA projects. Certain credentials, certificates, and trainings can earn PLA credit if they are on the pre-approved list or if the American Council on Education (ACE) has articulated them to credit. Students who have served in the military may have already been awarded ACE Military Credit. Credit can also be awarded for passing CLEP exams. 

Check out the PLA Options page to learn more.

PLA processing fee is only $300, which is significantly lower than tuition. 

No. Certain credentials, certificates, and trainings have been pre-approved PLA credit (either by DePaul SCPS or American Council on Education (ACE)).

In certain situations, yes. Contact the PLA Advisor (SCPSPLA@depaul.edu) for guidance. 

Credit limits for PLA is governed by DePaul University’s Undergraduate Transfer Policy. This policy states:

“A maximum of 132 transfer hours (quarter hours) will be applicable to any undergraduate degree at DePaul. This includes transfer courses at both community colleges and other four-year institutions and credit by examination, credit for prior learning, and ACE military credit. Of the 132 quarter hours, a maximum of 99 quarter hours earned at a community college, through credit by examination, as ACE military credit, or as credit based on prior learning assessment, may be applied to a DePaul University degree.”

RPL 101 is a class that helps students prepare a course match PLA project. It fulfills the Reflective Learning requirement for DePaul SCPS degrees. You can read more about the course here.

Content experts determine whether a PLA project is approved or not approved for credit. Content experts may also ask students to revise and resubmit their course match PLA project.

Once you have submitted your course match PLA for review, you will be notified usually within 3 weeks if it was accepted. Notifications for pre-approved PLAs happen much quicker.

If you received a “Revise & Resubmit” decision on your PLA submission, this means you are permitted to resubmit a revised version of their original submission within a specified timeframe (i.e. 2 weeks after decision notification.) No additional fee is charged for revisions submitted within the timeframe.

A “Not Accepted” decision means your course match PLA submission was not approved for credit. This decision only applies to the original submission. Students who receive a “Not Accepted” decision are permitted to submit an unlimited number of new submissions of the revised course match PLA project (each incurring an additional PLA fee).

Yes. Speak with the PLA advisor for more information on the appeals process.