Credit For College Level Learning--Not Experience

Empire State College does not award credit for experience. Credit is granted for verifiable college level learning, either knowledge or skills, acquired through life or work experience, not for the experience itself. For example, a student who has worked as an office manager for ten years will not be awarded credit for having ten years of office experience, but might earn credit for the ability to demonstrate learning about office administration, supervision and office technology. The student who has owned and operated an antique shop for the last five years would not receive credit for five years of business experience but might for the knowledge demonstrated about retailing, early American furniture and/or small business management.

You will need to develop an understanding of what college-level learning you have already acquired. The learning can come from many sources, including:

Credit is Earned in the Context of the Degree Program

It is important to remember that evaluations result in credit recommendations only. Empire State College accepts the credit recommendations for each student and awards advanced standing credit in the context of a degree program when:

Transcripted Credit

Students may transfer credit earned at other regionally accredited colleges and universities (and certain foreign institutions as described below) that are appropriate to their degree program. In these cases only, the official transcript alone serves as acceptable evaluation for placement under Transcript Credit on the Degree Program (for study completed during the time of accreditation or candidacy).

Credit earned at institutions that do not have regional accreditation requires further evaluation before a decision can be made to include it in a degree program. Credit earned at foreign colleges and universities (with the exceptions of the foreign institutions described below) is evaluated by World Education Services.

Many institutions which are not regionally accredited in the United States and which are not approved foreign institutions, and some standardized testing programs, do not require special evaluation for transcript credits to be included in an Empire State College degree program. These include:

Official Transcripts
Official transcripts are essential to support all claims for credit verified by transcripts. These include such things as college transcripts; score reports from CLEP, TECEP, ECE, etc.; and reports from nursing schools and other proprietary/training schools. Transcripts are official only when they come directly to Empire State College from the issuing institution and have an official seal and signature. Please note that transcripts and documents issued to students (even with an official seal and signature) are unacceptable as official. However such documents may help in preliminary discussions with a mentor or an advisor.

Students request that an institution send an official transcript (with official seal and signature) to the Empire State College Admissions Office.

Office of Admissions and Assessment
SUNY Empire State College
2 Union Avenue
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-4390

At orientation, an "authenticated" photocopy with a green "Authentic Copy" stamp is forwarded to the student's regional center or program for inclusion in the student's portfolio. Transcripts received by other means may not be considered official at Empire State College.

Statute of Limitations on Age of Transcript Credit
There is no statute of limitations regarding the age of transcript credit, except when the outdatedness of learning does an injustice to the student's program.

Redundancy
Empire State College awards credit for learning only once; learning from all sources will be scrutinized to ensure that the degree program contains no significant redundant or duplicate credit. Similar courses in the same subject at the same level taken at different institutions are considered potentially redundant unless the faculty has determined that significant overlap does not exist.
For example: College Biology 101 at Rochester Institute of Technology can be considered to overlap General Biology 110 at SUNY Geneseo, unless the portfolio contains evidence that course content was examined by a qualified, unbiased judge who clarified the differences between the two courses.
When the student has transcript credit in an area in which credit is also granted by evaluation, the evaluation must scrutinize both the subject matter and the level of learning in order to permit the center Assessment Committee to determine whether or not redundancy exists.

If transcript credit includes a "life-learning" component such as is sometimes found in associate degree programs in police science or "field work" or as is found in some human services programs, these should be examined to clear up questions of redundancy with other Empire State College advanced standing credit if present.
 

2/1/93 -- AOS Guidelines: Science, Mathematics and Technology

CONCENTRATION: Technology

FRAMEWORK: Disciplinary

A wide range of work is carried out within the technological professions, and, therefore, a wide range of academic curricula are appropriate to prepare for them. Curricula in the technologies span a continuum from those involving highly theoretical, mathematical subject matter to those requiring specific hands-on-knowledge and skills. Wherever they fall on the theoretical to hands-on continuum, all technological professions, and hence degree programs, require an understanding of scientific and mathematical principles and a detailed knowledge of relevant practices and procedures whereby those principles are applied operationally. Typically, a technologist is interested in the application of theoretical principles and in the organization of people for the achievement of practical ends.

Common areas in the technologies include industrial, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and medical, as well as many others. The wide range of technological fields of study precludes a precise list of "required" subject matter, but all concentrations in a technological field should probably contain study in the following areas:
-- Mathematics: For concentrations based on physical or engineering science, a student should at least learn introductory calculus.

-- Physical, chemical, or biological sciences: In addition to foundation principles, the student should include more advanced study as appropriate to the fields.

-- Computers and computer applications: Studies in this area could include topics such as data collection, automated processes or instrumentation, as well as such traditional topics as computer science or information systems.

-- Hands on exposure to processes, methods, and procedures: Examples include manufacturing processes, safety, quality control, robotics, laboratory procedures, energy flows.

-- Economics and management principles: These could include supervision, cost estimation, or budget preparation and maintenance.
Concentration Title:

The level and amount of each of the above areas of learning must be determined by the student in the context of her/his particular interests and background. In most cases, the student and mentor will then need to decide what specific title best describes the content of the degree program. In traditional institutions, degree programs which focus on theoretical and mathematical aspects of science and technology will usually contain the word "design" or "science" or "engineering" in the title of the major. Empire State College may not use titles of State-licensed professions in concentration titles (e.g., "Engineering," "Architecture"), although in appropriate cases it can certainly support degree program design and contract study related to these areas. In such cases, the title of the concentration should be chosen to reflect the curricular content as well as possible.

Degree programs which concentrate on hands-on skills and on the application of theoretical principles and the organization of people for the achievement of practical ends will usually contain the word "technology" in the title of the concentration. The specific title for each program should be chosen in consultation between student and mentor to reflect the particular content of that student's degree program.
 
 
OR ~~~

c 1/21/97 -- AOS Guidelines: Business, Management & Economics

Concentration in Management
PREAMBLE: The number and diversity of organizations present in society today have led to categorization of this period in history as the Era of Organizations (Boulding). Rapid evolution of management knowledge has made possible the capacity of organizations to effectively utilize greater human, physical, and financial resources located in more diverse geographical locations than at any time previously. It no longer amazes us to find large organizations routinely coordinating the work of over a half million people at multiple locations.

Evolution of ways of organizing, decision making and communicating has been central to these developments. Though it's less well recognized and understood, the invention of such social technology has been as important in raising standards of living as more widely acknowledged progress in science and computer technology.

The work of managers differs from that of other members of an organization. This work involves fulfilling a variety of roles and functions that result in effective (or poor) coordination of human, physical and financial resources to accomplish organizational purposes. Processes, such as decision making, are essential in all forms of organizations including businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit groups. Since managers work with and through humans as individuals, small groups, and whole organizations, students developing a concentration in Management will benefit from giving special attention to increasing their understanding of human behavior, including behavior grounded in cultures others than their own.

Managers also draw on analytical tools and theory from a variety of disciplines that provide useful intellectual tools for understanding, predicting, allocating and controlling. A well designed program in management will provide for learning grounded in several different academic disciplines (e.g. economics, psychology and sociology, mathematics) that provide such intellectual tools.

Management is important in a variety of institutional settings (i.e., educational, penal, social agency). Thus, Management, as a body of study, is both an area within Business and Public Administration, and is a body of knowledge that transcends these particular institutional settings.

Students pursuing careers in business or public institutions may wish to choose between a Management Concentration and a Business Administration or Public Administration Concentration. Separate guidelines are provided for Business Administration and/or Public Administration. These two concentrations, within their respective institutional settings (Business or Public Sector), are broader preparation than a management concentration. Both Business Administration and Public Administration presume preparation in a wide variety of subject areas, one of which is management. Management concentrations will include more management studies than are typically contained in Business Administration Concentrations, but typically not as many studies in such areas as accounting and finance.

Students should be aware that the term "administration" or "administrator" in the public sector is often employed, where "management" or "manager" can be employed in a similar sense in the private sector of the economy.

PREPARATION IN THREE AREAS:
---------------------------
In developing proposed educational plans leading to award of a bachelor's degree with a concentration in management, it is recommended that students consider educational preparation in three broad areas:

First is the specialized body of MANAGEMENT THEORY, concepts and frameworks that constitute the common body of management knowledge. For teaching and learning about management this knowledge has been organized in at least four primary ways: by time (historically), units of analysis, functions, and roles.

The HISTORICAL approach traces influences on management thought and the accretion of management knowledge that can be taught, learned and practiced. Examples of studies from the historical perspectives are History of Management Thought and the History of Business.

The UNITS OF ANALYSIS approach organizes management knowledge around four levels that managers commonly deal with: the individual (psychology), small groups/cliques (social psychology), whole organizations (sociology, economics) and organization-environment (sociology, economics). Examples of studies using this approach are Organizational Behavior and Organizational Development and Change.

The FUNCTIONAL approach organizes management knowledge around functions that decision makers engage in at all levels of an organization. An elemental list of such functions includes at a minimum: planning, organizing, and controlling. Examples of studies often using this approach are Management Concepts and Principles of Management.

The use of ROLES which managers fulfill (such as disturbance handler, figurehead, and leader) is a relatively recent way of organizing management knowledge. Examples of studies using this approach are Leadership, Conflict Resolution, and Communications and Decision Making.

Second, in planning his or her program, a student should consider studying more about the INSTITUTIONAL SETTING (business, government, education, religious) in which they are most likely to manage. Institution specific knowledge, such as the history and development of the institution, specialized vocabulary, customers/clients, legal environment, and defining events all contribute to managerial effectiveness. For example, students expecting to manage in the public sector may choose to include a study(ies) of political science. And government or public finance might be more appropriate than corporate finance for management students expecting to enter (or continue) working in the public sector.

Third, students will be well served by having both breadth and depth in their programs. DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE will assist students in understanding more general theory and concepts that will be invaluable in managing effectively both within and among organizations. Such knowledge provides a body of ANALYTICAL CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES that will assist a manager in identifying opportunities, developing and evaluating alternatives, recognizing and resolving major types of problems that commonly arise, and in communicating ideas effectively.

These subjects may appear as part of a student's concentration or general learning. They often will provide valuable support for undertaking more focused study of management and organizations.

Selection of appropriate studies from broad areas of knowledge, such as those represented below, will provide desirable breadth of learning, as well as a solid foundation in useful disciplinary theory, concepts and frameworks that may prove helpful in understanding and applying organizational and management concepts.
--communications (e.g., Oral Communication, Writing, and Language);
--humanities (e.g., Literature, Philosophy, the Arts);
--mathematics (e.g., College Math, Algebra, Statistics and/or Calculus);
--science (e.g., Life Sciences such as Biology; and Physics);
--social sciences (e.g., Anthropology, Economics, History, Psychology, Sociology);
--technology (e.g. History of Technology, forecasting, computing).
INTEGRATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE: In general, students concentrating in business management will be well served by acquiring knowledge of all, or most, of the areas designated for Business Administration, emphasizing one or more depending on their background and interest. In addition, management students should include several additional studies in management, such as Organization Theory, Human Resource Management, Labor Relations and/or Strategic Management to ensure they have acquired substantial knowledge of management theories and their application.

April, 1996



 

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