APUS Library Stacks in Charles Town, WV

Most schools have online libraries these days, but what exactly is an online library and how can it help you succeed as a student? I sat down with Priscilla Coulter at American Public University System and asked her to share three things most students probably don’t know about the library at APUS.

This isn’t your average library. The librarians at APUS make it their mission to provide students and faculty with the highest quality of information specialists on the Web while at a distance. Learning how to balance pedagogy, media, information resources, and technology is no easy task. So, how can a student best leverage these valuable resources from the experts?

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Have you ever sat in a class and thought, “Geez, I learned this stuff on the job ten years ago” or “Wow, I know this from my volunteer work with the town council; I wish I could just skip this class and learn something new.”?

Wouldn’t it be nice to earn college credit for what you have learned through life experience?

You may be able to!

What is Prior Learning?

Prior Learning Assessment programs allow students to demonstrate mastery of college level learning for credit toward your degree. There are several methods by which students can demonstrate their learning. The two most popular methods are national testing programs, such as CLEP and DANTES exams, and by portfolio. There are pros and cons to each method depending on the nature of the learning and the individual student. Either method helps students save time and money!

Testing programs allow students to demonstrate knowledge in a variety of areas, including general education subjects that are required in most degree programs. Naturally, the subjects are limited and usually cover learning that would take place at the freshman or sophomore level. Students who possess good test taking skills can be very successful.

More on the Portfolio Method

The portfolio allows students to demonstrate higher level learning or learning in subjects that are not available for testing. The portfolio method is also a good alternative for students who are “test-phobic”. Many institutions offer courses or workshops to help students learn to develop a portfolio. Most portfolios include an autobiography and/or a resume, a narrative section in which the student writes about what he/she has learned, how the learning took place, how it has been applied, and documentation to support the narrative. Documentation might include letters from employers, training certificates, or even work products. The process can be writing intensive, but most students find it enjoyable and discover that they know even more than they had previously thought.

If you have life experience which has led to college level learning, it may be time to look into Prior Learning Assessment.

By Tedi Thompson-Magrini
Associate VP/Prior Learning Assessment at American Public University System

Many students who decide to return to school may feel some trepidation about this new experience. For those who take American Public University System’s COLL100 course, or a similar introductory course at another online school, the initial online experience can be less scary.

[Today's Special is Education]

Welcome to the COLL100 Neighborhood!

In a lot of ways COLL100 is like an online block party. The online classroom is like the neighborhood and the students are like new homeowners, moving into a new area. COLL100 provides a foundational base for undergraduate students to build upon throughout the rest of their academic careers. Not only can students learn a bit about their new “neighborhood” (the classroom, library, and other APUS services), they can also meet some of their new “neighbors.” Like at our homes when we need to borrow an egg to finish dinner, it is a good idea to make friends with our neighbors.

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Being a friend to the environment is becoming more important with every season change. There are lots of ways to be green as an online student, and saving on gas and paper are just a couple ways to start. If you’re interested in learning about the impact online education is having on climate change, check out the post below from one of our sister blogs.

Post originated from the Sustainability Committee Blog at American Public University System.

by Angie Crone

As this year’s 17th conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa, resulted in yet another stand-off among today’s leading nations, there are plenty of reasons to share in the embitterment and despair shadowing the climate change community. And while the Durban discussions did lead to a few positive outcomes –the Green Climate Fund and a sustained forum for discussing the issue, for example—the conference, unsurprisingly, was another failure of the global community to come to an agreement of how to slow the heating of the planet. The conference did, however, heed a rather constructive lesson: the climate change issue exceeds the realms of the climate community. This isn’t necessarily a newsflash, of course, but it brings into focus a new question: who is equipped to handle the climate crisis?

In a recent New York Times article, Mary D. Nichols, chairwoman for California’s Air Resources Board, poignantly stated, “Progress is going to come from the bottom up, not the top down.” The proactivity of regional climate commitments such as the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord and the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which incorporate public stakeholders, private business, non-governmental organizations, and individuals have shown that bottom-up strategies are well-positioned to make meaningful contributions in combatting climate change. Additionally, industry specific agreements have been instrumental in identifying and mitigating their own contributions to the increasingly unpredictable climate. 

Let’s consider the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  The ACUPCC has emphasized the importance of higher education taking a new lead by preparing for and responding to impacts and implications of climate change that include unprecedented effects on infrastructure, ecosystems, energy and water supplies, food production, national security, and people’s livelihoods.  With the US Census Bureau reporting that there are 4,495 higher education institutions in the United States and with college enrollment having increased 38% between 1999 and 2009, the ACUPCC has a unique opportunity to develop cutting edge solutions and best-practices in the fight against climate change.

The opportunities of the ACUPCC also stem from its immense market (which is partly the beauty of being in the higher education sector). The ACUPCC currently has 674 signatories, representing some 5.8 million students. This means that 5.8 million individuals are being exposed to and are, willingly or unknowingly, participating in climate change fighting strategies in the form of physical projects, collaboration, or simply, attendance. These educated individuals will then (hopefully) take these practices into their workplaces and everyday lives. This is what I call serious bottom-up climate change fighting.

Real significance also lies in the reconciliatory nature of commitments and initiatives like the ACUPCC. These types of agreements are the so called “middle-men and women” between the bottom and the top. So while the annual climate talks are productive in their own right, they’re not the end-all, be-all in climate change. And as we ring in 2012, let’s not take with us the baggage of another unsuccessful international agreement, and instead recognize that those of us in higher education are equipped to make a significant impact in combatting climate change.