Clatsop Community College received a $50,000 state grant to help expand a program that offers academic credit for professional experience.

Clatsop Community College is expanding opportunities for students to turn professional or personal experience into academic credit.

Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission last year, Siv Barnum, the college’s registrar, has been able to hire part-time staff to build out the program and streamline the process for students.

The college was one of many across Oregon that landed funding to strengthen credentialing for prior learning.

“I think it will be useful for our community at large, and just realize that we have a lot of talent that is not in a degree form … and that experience in something counts,” Barnum said.

The college has previously provided credentialing for prior learning, but only on a small scale. The team has looked to build up the program and stabilize it before the grant funding runs out at the end of this month.

While it could expand to touch more fields of study in the future, the program is now focused on six subject areas, including criminal justice, maritime science, automotive, business, welding and fire science, said Andrew Morgan, a former teacher who was hired to help build the initiative.

Previous work experience, volunteering, internships, military experience and self-study can all qualify someone to receive academic credit if their knowledge is determined to be equivalent to college-level learning.

There are several different ways to assess someone’s experience, but the college will use exams to determine a person’s knowledge level.

The criteria for what qualifies as prior learning is not black and white, Barnum said, and will grow over time to meet the needs of students and the community.

“Sometimes the students themselves or a community member, they come with some really good ideas and I would hate to just shut that down,” she said.

Barnum hopes to eventually push the initiative beyond career and technical education programs.

“That would be my ultimate goal, is to see what kind of (general education courses) — even math — can we have our students get credit for prior learning in those areas,” she said.

The program can function as a foot in the door for a person to pursue a degree, help someone graduate in a timely manner or give a worker credit or a certificate to help them advance in their industry.

“Getting things on a transcript allows a person to show it to their employer and say, ‘I have 24 credits. I need to be given a raise,’” Barnum said. “So that’s part of all of this, as well.”

The program will largely target prospective students rather than those already on campus.

“It has the ability to bring people into the community college who maybe don’t see themselves as college students,” Morgan said.

The efforts align with goals the college has to meet the needs of the local workforce. Moving forward, Barnum hopes to see continued efforts and more funding put toward reinforcing credentialing for prior learning.

“We have a lot of people out there that do have college-level work under their belt,” Barnum said. “ … I really believe in people that have experience in an area and it goes untapped.”