Your path: Learning Assessment Workshop
LRN 150
Learning Assessment Workshop
LRN 150, a one-credit class, is the prerequisite Learning Assessment Workshop for the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program. By looking carefully at each student's materials and background, the Learning Assessment Workshop instructor helps individuals decide whether PLA is right for them.
By the end of LRN 150, students will:
- Complete a chronolog of life experiences and skills learned since high school
- Write a goal statement integrating current personal and professional goals
- Learn about individual strengths and weaknesses in writing and math
- Hear advisors share helpful information about the variety of academic disciplines at Marylhurst
- Understand official transcripts and transferable credit
- Receive a formal assessment from the PLA staff of individual potential for receiving university credit through PLA
- Decide whether or not the PLA program will meet academic needs
Workshop Formats
LRN 150 is offered every term in various formats.
Note: Class offerings are subject to change; please contact the Learning Assessment Center for up-to-date information.
Traditional Format
Meet once a week for six weeks.
All students must attend the first four class sessions and one of the remaining two sessions, as assigned by the instructor.
Online Format
The course is very interactive and runs the first six weeks of the term. Although students do not have to be online at any particular time, they do have weekly assignments to complete and are required to participate in discussion forums.
LRN 150 Pre-assignment
Students complete a pre-assignment before the first class meeting. This includes a short autobiography, a current résumé, copies of college or university transcripts and certificates and any records of military training.
Pre-Assignment Checklist
- Transcripts. Collect copies immediately of your transcripts from all previous college work – no matter how old! Unofficial copies will suffice for this preliminary task. Ask for sealed official copies to be sent to Marylhurst's Office of Admissions.
- Autobiography. Write 2 to 5 pages describing your life since high school. Don't worry about describing all the kinds of experiences that might qualify for credit – that will come later. Expand on these questions: What kinds of activities and work experiences have contributed to the person I am now? What are my greatest strengths and interests? What are my most influential relationships, and why? Where do I see myself going and how does my life up to now fit with this path? Asked another way: What do I want to do when I grow up?
- Résumé. Bring a copy of your current résumé.
- Training Certificates & Military Records. Collect copies of certificates and verifications for any sort of training you have received on the job or through professional organizations. Bring a copy of your DD214 along with any military records that indicate training you received while in the service.
How to Request Military Transcripts
After LRN 150
Students have several options at the end of LRN 150.
If everything is in place – the student has enough experience and background, some college or university experience, good writing skills and the timing is right – the next step is to complete the preassignment and register for LRN 305, the PLA Seminar, for the term immediately following the completion of LRN 150.
If the timing is not right – everything's in place except for that big project at work, travel plans, etc. – students may delay their registration for a future term.
Students who have not taken a college or university course for 15 years, if ever, will be advised to take 9 hours of university work before moving into LRN 305.
If it has been a long time since the student has written academic papers, and the writing assessment indicates that writing skills are a little rusty, an advisor will recommend taking the writing support classes offered for PLA students. Contact the Learning Assessment Center for more information.