ABLE

The Autobiography Program allows students to share their life stories and earn up to 8 tuition-free credits for writing an autobiography.

The program begins in the Fall semester with IAS 31170 Seminar in Autobiography. This course covers various basic types of life writing, includes introductory life-writing exercises, and involves reading and analyzing several memoirs. Ultimately, students create a longer autobiographical piece. Those who wish to submit their autobiography for credit and complete the course with a B or higher can register for IAS 30100 Honors Research in the Spring semester to further develop their projects. In the second semester, students will work on multiple longer autobiographical pieces and begin mapping their autobiographies, which typically range from 50 to 150 pages when completed. Students must earn a B- or higher in the second semester to receive permission to submit an autobiography for credit.

After completing these two courses, students have the summer and early fall to finalize their autobiographies. The submission deadline is October 1. Two anonymous readers will evaluate the submissions and award between 0 and 8 tuition-free credits, appearing as ungraded Life Experience Credits on transcripts.

Students interested in the Autobiography Program should consult their advisors about eligibility. Since the program requires strong writing skills, we recommend completing IAS 10000 Writing for Interdisciplinary Studies I and IAS 10000 Writing for Interdisciplinary Studies I or IAS 23304 The Essay/IAS 23324 Advanced Composition before enrolling in either class. The Seminar in Autobiography also requires at least one literature or creative writing course.

Life Experience Programs (LEPs) are available at most accredited traditional and online colleges. In this program, students identify courses at City College that align with their professional or work experience. For example, a student who has run a home daycare may qualify for credit in a child development course. Similarly, a student with extensive business experience may have already met most learning outcomes for a business management class offered at City College.

Once finding an appropriate course, students enroll in a noncredit-bearing online workshop that guides them in developing a portfolio showcasing their learning. After completing the portfolio, students submit it to outside evaluators who determine whether they have mastered the course content. If approved, the student earns four credits per portfolio/course submitted. Under this program, students may submit three portfolios for a total of 12 credits—equivalent to a semester of college—tuition-free!

To successfully earn credits through the Life Experience Program, students must:

1. Have previous life experience and learning equivalent to college-level coursework.
2. Identify appropriate courses for their petitions that align with their experience and learning background.
3. Complete the attached intake form to discuss the program with their advisor before submitting it to the ABLE committee to obtain permission to enroll in the BB course.
4. Enroll in the self-directed Blackboard LEP workshop for free.
5. Submit the completed portfolio through the Blackboard course site for approval before assigning it to an evaluator.

If the evaluator deems the portfolio successful, the student will receive the appropriate number of credits (4 per portfolio/course petitioned). The credits will be recorded on the student’s transcript as “Life Experience Credits” and count toward graduation requirements.
 

Portfolio Requirements

Students often inquire about typical LEP portfolio requirements. Since the portfolio is an individual project, its scope and content will vary significantly for each student. However, most portfolios are 30 to 45 pages long and typically include:

1. The syllabus for the course for which the student is petitioning for credit
2. A resume
3. An essay detailing the student’s prior professional experience
4. A detailed table outlining the learning outcomes for the course and how the student met those outcomes through their prior experience
5. Documentation of the student’s experience and learning. Documentation can take many forms but may include any of the following:

• Awards
• Statements from employers, supervisors, teachers, trainers, and clients
• Diplomas or topic lists from certificate programs
• Job/Work descriptions
• Letters of recommendation
• Performance evaluations
• Work samples
• Explanations of tasks performed
• Performance standards for obtaining licenses
• Membership requirements for professional/trade organizations
• Military Records
• Newspaper and magazine clippings
• Video and audio recordings

It is important to note that participating students will receive feedback from the Blackboard workshop while developing their LEP portfolios. Credit for the portfolio depends on the quality of its contents and the evaluators’ assessments; thus, completing the workshop or the portfolio does not guarantee credits.

 Click to download LEP Program Interest Application