Institutions should proactively identify ways to translate non-credit courses to credit, argue Christine Billings (University of Nebraska at Omaha) and April Paschall (UNebraska at Omaha). The authors note that students who request recognition of their non-credit learning are often treated like an “exception” to the norm, with decisions made on a case-by-case basis. As a solution to this, the authors propose creating a translation framework that transparently outlines when non-credit learning can be recognized for credit. They encourage institutions to ask what competencies define the learning, how mastery is assessed, and how demonstrated achievement matches academic credit standards. This would enable institutions to develop a framework that would guide the creation of for-credit and non-credit offerings simultaneously, with the credit-bearing course acting as a “quality anchor.”
