PLA - A Pilot Project
To: All Faculty
C: Deans, Vice Presidents, Human Resources
From: Liz McKinlay
Date: February 25, 2004
Subject: PLA - A Pilot Project
We have agreed at Faculty Labour Management Relations Committee to the following pilot project for PLA:
1. What is PLA?
The Provincial Common Agreement, Article 4.1, defines it as follows:
"Prior learning assessment (PLA) is the assessment by some valid and reliable means, of what has been learned through formal and non-formal education/training or experience, that is worthy of credit in a course or program offered by the institution providing credit."
(This pilot is not intended to cover individual course transfer or articulation. PLA applies when the student has paid tuition for the course with the request to be given Prior Learning Assessment.)
2. Proposed Model
a) Pre-meeting with the student will occur with the appropriate discipline/program PLA advisor.
b) Preparation of assessment will be done by the PLA assessor once the student has paid tuition.
The assessment will be determined in conjunction with the appropriate Dean using the categories outlined in the course outline. For example:
- Challenge exam marking (existing exam)
- Challenge exam preparation and marking
- Standardized test administration and scoring
- Portfolio/products review
- Demonstration
- Interview
- Worksite assessment
- Self-assessment review
- External evaluation (arrangement and follow through)
3. Compensation for PLA
a) If there is a substantial amount of PLA in a concentrated period, faculty may be given time release to do PLA in lieu of a stipend. The amount of time release would be determined by the Dean and would follow the process outlined in Article 2.03. Alternatively, non-regular faculty may be hired on contract at the 35-hour mode specifically to do PLA.
b) Faculty who do PLA in addition to their assigned workload will be compensated by a stipend. The stipend paid will be 60% of the tuition received for each course for which PLA occurred.
c) The stipend is for PLA as defined above, not for transfer credit assessment (i.e. for a person, not a course).
d) PLA for international students will be treated the same as domestic students. The PLA stipend will be based on 60% of the tuition of a domestic student applying for PLA.
4. Compensation for Past PLA Activity
On a without prejudice basis, faculty will be compensated for past PLA on the basis of 60% of the tuition paid at the time the PLA was done. This will apply to any PLA done from January 2000 to present.
An announcement will be sent to all faculty asking them to self-identify and apply for the stipend if they did PLA in the time period above. All requests will be directed to the University College PLA Coordinator for verification.
Please note that this retro-active stipend payment does not apply to those faculty who were paid on salary or contract or through time release to do PLA.
5.
This pilot will expire on March 31, 2004. Beyond that date there is no presumption of continuation of this pilot project or the compensation method. (Note: This pilot has be extended to December 31, 2006).
This announcement is to ask all faculty to self-identify if they did PLA from January 2000 to present. Please provide the course number, student name and number, instructor name and number, and the dates that the student applied for PLA (first form – AR 2012) and the date that the PLA was completed (second form – AR2013) to Alice Macpherson at Newton Campus (or email alice.macpherson@kwantlen.ca.
If you have any questions, call Terri Van Steinburg at local 2259.
