Learn how to earn credit for upper-level courses by demonstrating skills you learn on the job while studying at UMGC.
Earn credits by demonstrating new skills you learn on the job while you are studying at University of Maryland Global Campus. Apply classroom theory to real-world professional projects and earn credits for upper-level courses. Students may apply Workplace Learning credits to their first bachelor's degree.
How to Participate
To participate in the program, you'll enter a learning agreement with your employer/supervisor and a faculty mentor. You will work with your employer/supervisor to complete project tasks that constitute the course content. You will complete reflective academic assignments for your faculty mentor to enhance the experience. Be sure to apply for the program prior to the Workplace Learning Application deadline for the semester in which you would like to take the course.
You may earn 3 or 6 credits during each Workplace Learning session, which is typically 15 weeks. An award of 3 credits requires at least 12 hours per week of tasks providing new learning, to complete a minimum of four project tasks. An award of 6 credits requires at least 20 hours per week of tasks providing new learning, to complete five to eight project tasks.
Workplace Learning requires that students be engaged in new activities and new learning. Students who have already completed their work may consider participating in Prior Learning.
Note: Standard tuition rates apply, and an administrative fee of $75 is charged each time you enroll in a Workplace Learning course.
- Requirements
- How to Apply
- Guidelines
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible you must
Be seeking an undergraduate degree at UMGC.
Have completed 30 credits, 6 of which must have been completed at UMGC.
Have completed 9 credits of coursework in the discipline of the workplace position. For example, if you plan to earn credit in human resource management, you should have at least 9 completed credits of human resource management courses.
Have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better at UMGC.
- Have submitted all official transcripts and contacted an academic advisor to request an official evaluation. Learn more about submitting your transcripts.
- Have confirmed remaining degree requirements with an academic advisor.
Be working in a position (paid or unpaid, part- or full-time) that offers an opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical projects that involve significant analysis and problem solving and are directly related to a given academic discipline.
Apply to the Program
Ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements listed above.
Apply through the Workplace Learning Application in MyUMGC. Click on "Course Search and Registration" and then "Workplace Learning" to reach the application. Be mindful of the Workplace Learning Application deadline.
After You Apply
- It may take up to one week for your application to be reviewed. Once your application has been reviewed and it has been determined that you meet the eligibility requirements, you will receive an e-mail from the Workplace Learning office with instructions on your next steps. You will receive the learning proposal form and submission guidelines (see Guidelines Tab), an employer agreement form, a link to the orientation, and all appropriate deadlines. Learning proposals must be submitted by the stated deadline to allow enough time for review.
- When you submit your learning proposal to Workplace Learning (via email), it will be forwarded to a faculty member in your academic discipline.
- The faculty member from the relevant discipline will review your learning proposal to ensure it constitutes upper-level college learning. You may be contacted directly by the faculty member to provide clarifications or revisions to your learning proposal. Once approved, and any additional requirements completed, you will be assigned to a faculty mentor and registered for Workplace Learning. You will be notified by email when you've been registered to introduce your faculty mentor.
- Workplace Learning sessions typically last 15 weeks, during which you will complete the project tasks outlined in your learning proposal and academic assignments from your faculty mentor.
Submit a learning proposal through UMGC's Workplace Learning Program.
The learning proposal is a short outline that describes the new learning you will accomplish during your Workplace Learning Program session.
How to Submit a Learning Proposal
Once you have met the eligibility requirements for the Workplace Learning Program, also known as WKPL, and obtained a new work opportunity, you must submit a learning proposal via email to workplacelearning@umgc.edu. Workplace Learning will provide you with the learning proposal form and detailed instructions. The learning proposal is similar to a class syllabus in that you will define your learning outcomes; identify resources, experts, or tools that you will use to support your learning process; and outline specific projects that you will complete. In the proposal you will explain how this learning is different from previous work experiences. You will collaborate with your employer/supervisor to create your learning proposal.
Ensure that the work you plan to do is relevant to the discipline in which you were approved to complete your workplace learning assignment. It may be helpful to review course descriptions and program outcomes for this discipline in the course catalog to ensure the tasks are relevant. Additionally, you must coordinate the specific plans for your workplace learning with your employer/supervisor, who will ultimately need to approve the use of resources, as well as evaluate your professional performance on the job. A faculty member from your academic discipline will evaluate your proposal and determine if it reflects advanced, college-level learning; relates to your field of study is appropriate for your level of experience in the workplace; and merits credit. Your learning proposal, like any professional or educational document, needs to be well written and free of errors. Be sure to double-check your learning proposal for spelling and grammatical errors before you submit it.
Remember the following when completing your learning proposal:
A workplace learning project must provide the opportunity for new learning (approval will not be granted for tasks already being done on the job).
The skills applied must be sufficiently complex to justify an award of upper-level college credit.
Each new learning task should be independent of every other to ensure that no task relies on completion of any other task.
The learning should be structured in a way that can be planned, documented, and evaluated.
Special considerations for students pursuing workplace learning in Public Safety Administration, Emergency Management, and Computer Networks and Cybersecurity
Workplace learning projects in PSAD, EMGT, or CMIT should include a major work product that will be of benefit to your host organization. Creating new policy or training documents, conducting training exercises, or writing after-action reports for exercises are just some examples of major work products.
You must complete your learning proposal in accordance with the instructions sent to you in your eligibility e-mail.
The following information will be requested in the learning proposal form:
Background Information
Name and place of employment.
Your major and the discipline for your WKPL.
WKPL employment information (job title, workplace, address, web address, employer/supervisor information including name, e-mail address, and phone number).
Description of how the job-related duties are new learning and differ from your previous job responsibilities.
Learning Outcomes
Describe a goal with an action word (e.g. create, develop, assess, investigate, build, write). You'll want to ask yourself what you want to be able to DO or KNOW at the end of the session that you can't do now (i.e. new learning). You can document deliverables here as well (a deliverable is anything you might turn in: a report, a procedure manual, an executive summary, a piece of computer coding, a presentation).
Explain HOW the goal will be accomplished. Explain how you plan to do what you said you would do. This clause will usually start with the word "by".
Explain how your learning will be demonstrated and evaluated. To do this, you will share who will receive and review your work and how they will determine success.
Estimate how many hours a week you'll be working on that task.
Summarize your WKPL Experience
Summarize the work to be accomplished during the WKPL session
Describe your career goals
You must review your completed learning proposal with your employer/supervisor to ensure that he or she supports your participation in workplace learning.
Submission of Learning Proposal
You will save your learning proposal as directed on the form and submit it to workplacelearning@umgc.edu.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible you must
Be seeking an undergraduate degree at UMGC.
Have completed 30 credits, 6 of which must have been completed at UMGC.
Have completed 9 credits of coursework in the discipline of the workplace position. For example, if you plan to earn credit in human resource management, you should have at least 9 completed credits of human resource management courses.
Have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better at UMGC.
- Have submitted all official transcripts and contacted an academic advisor to request an official evaluation. Learn more about submitting your transcripts.
- Have confirmed remaining degree requirements with an academic advisor.
Be working in a position (paid or unpaid, part- or full-time) that offers an opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical projects that involve significant analysis and problem solving and are directly related to a given academic discipline.
Apply to the Program
Ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements listed above.
Apply through the Workplace Learning Application in MyUMGC. Click on "Course Search and Registration" and then "Workplace Learning" to reach the application. Be mindful of the Workplace Learning Application deadline.
After You Apply
- It may take up to one week for your application to be reviewed. Once your application has been reviewed and it has been determined that you meet the eligibility requirements, you will receive an e-mail from the Workplace Learning office with instructions on your next steps. You will receive the learning proposal form and submission guidelines (see Guidelines Tab), an employer agreement form, a link to the orientation, and all appropriate deadlines. Learning proposals must be submitted by the stated deadline to allow enough time for review.
- When you submit your learning proposal to Workplace Learning (via email), it will be forwarded to a faculty member in your academic discipline.
- The faculty member from the relevant discipline will review your learning proposal to ensure it constitutes upper-level college learning. You may be contacted directly by the faculty member to provide clarifications or revisions to your learning proposal. Once approved, and any additional requirements completed, you will be assigned to a faculty mentor and registered for Workplace Learning. You will be notified by email when you've been registered to introduce your faculty mentor.
- Workplace Learning sessions typically last 15 weeks, during which you will complete the project tasks outlined in your learning proposal and academic assignments from your faculty mentor.
Submit a learning proposal through UMGC's Workplace Learning Program.
The learning proposal is a short outline that describes the new learning you will accomplish during your Workplace Learning Program session.
How to Submit a Learning Proposal
Once you have met the eligibility requirements for the Workplace Learning Program, also known as WKPL, and obtained a new work opportunity, you must submit a learning proposal via email to workplacelearning@umgc.edu. Workplace Learning will provide you with the learning proposal form and detailed instructions. The learning proposal is similar to a class syllabus in that you will define your learning outcomes; identify resources, experts, or tools that you will use to support your learning process; and outline specific projects that you will complete. In the proposal you will explain how this learning is different from previous work experiences. You will collaborate with your employer/supervisor to create your learning proposal.
Ensure that the work you plan to do is relevant to the discipline in which you were approved to complete your workplace learning assignment. It may be helpful to review course descriptions and program outcomes for this discipline in the course catalog to ensure the tasks are relevant. Additionally, you must coordinate the specific plans for your workplace learning with your employer/supervisor, who will ultimately need to approve the use of resources, as well as evaluate your professional performance on the job. A faculty member from your academic discipline will evaluate your proposal and determine if it reflects advanced, college-level learning; relates to your field of study is appropriate for your level of experience in the workplace; and merits credit. Your learning proposal, like any professional or educational document, needs to be well written and free of errors. Be sure to double-check your learning proposal for spelling and grammatical errors before you submit it.
Remember the following when completing your learning proposal:
A workplace learning project must provide the opportunity for new learning (approval will not be granted for tasks already being done on the job).
The skills applied must be sufficiently complex to justify an award of upper-level college credit.
Each new learning task should be independent of every other to ensure that no task relies on completion of any other task.
The learning should be structured in a way that can be planned, documented, and evaluated.
Special considerations for students pursuing workplace learning in Public Safety Administration, Emergency Management, and Computer Networks and Cybersecurity
Workplace learning projects in PSAD, EMGT, or CMIT should include a major work product that will be of benefit to your host organization. Creating new policy or training documents, conducting training exercises, or writing after-action reports for exercises are just some examples of major work products.
You must complete your learning proposal in accordance with the instructions sent to you in your eligibility e-mail.
The following information will be requested in the learning proposal form:
Background Information
Name and place of employment.
Your major and the discipline for your WKPL.
WKPL employment information (job title, workplace, address, web address, employer/supervisor information including name, e-mail address, and phone number).
Description of how the job-related duties are new learning and differ from your previous job responsibilities.
Learning Outcomes
Describe a goal with an action word (e.g. create, develop, assess, investigate, build, write). You'll want to ask yourself what you want to be able to DO or KNOW at the end of the session that you can't do now (i.e. new learning). You can document deliverables here as well (a deliverable is anything you might turn in: a report, a procedure manual, an executive summary, a piece of computer coding, a presentation).
Explain HOW the goal will be accomplished. Explain how you plan to do what you said you would do. This clause will usually start with the word "by".
Explain how your learning will be demonstrated and evaluated. To do this, you will share who will receive and review your work and how they will determine success.
Estimate how many hours a week you'll be working on that task.
Summarize your WKPL Experience
Summarize the work to be accomplished during the WKPL session
Describe your career goals
You must review your completed learning proposal with your employer/supervisor to ensure that he or she supports your participation in workplace learning.
Submission of Learning Proposal
You will save your learning proposal as directed on the form and submit it to workplacelearning@umgc.edu.