About New College LifeTrack
Prospective Students [Top]
General Questions [Top]
How do I stay in contact with my Academic Advisor?
You can contact your adviser via email, telephone, or in person. When emailing, remember to use your full name, and when leaving voicemail messages, please speak clearly and leave times that you are available for return calls. Include your CWID in all messages.
Can I do all my coursework at a distance or do I have to come to The University of Alabama campus periodically?
You are required to come to campus only once for the Foundations of Adult Learning Seminar (orientation). Although there is no requirement after the two-day seminar, we hope that you visit the campus as often as you can for group weekend contracts, for football games, just to stay in touch, and of course for graduation. Students who are able to visit campus periodically have a higher success rate than those who do not maintain that personal contact.
How many ways are there to earn credit toward my degree with New College LifeTrack?
In addition to transferring credit from other accredited institutions, LifeTrack students can earn credit through LifeTrack faculty-designed courses, student-designed contracts, a prior learning portfolio and University of Alabama on-campus and online courses.
Questions about Contracts [Top]
What is a student-designed Directed Study contract?
LifeTrack Course Contracts are open to LifeTrack students only. Individual contracts are offered in a one-on-one format between the student and the professor. LifeTrack also offers group contracts that include a campus or travel component. The contract is between the student and the instructor and therefore is a form of a learning contract. There are two types of contracts: faculty-designed and student-designed.
What is the difference between a faculty-designed course contract and a student-designed course contract?
A faculty-designed course contract is an academic study that has been designed for you by the instructor. The learning goals, methodology for learning, academic resources, and evaluation methods are pre-set. These contracts are found on the UA Blackboard site under the heading NCLT-Syllabi-and-information. To enroll, contact your academic adviser and ask to be “permitted” into the class. Your adviser will “permit” you for the course and contact you by email with the current enrollment procedures.
A student-designed directed study contract is an academic study that you design. You are responsible for proposing and crafting the learning goals, methodology, resources and methods of evaluation for the study. Submit
your directed study proposal to the LifeTrack office, and we will begin the process of locating an appropriate UA faculty member to supervise your study. You will be notified when a faculty member has been identified.
Are directed study contracts regarded as acceptable undergraduate coursework for admission to graduate school?
Yes! Several LifeTrack program graduates have reported that graduate schools have looked favorably upon their LifeTrack program-directed study contract work. Successful completion of an independent project reflects maturity, perseverance and time management skills, characteristics required for graduate-level work.
Prior Learning [Top]
How do I get college credit for life experiences?
Through LifeTrack, you can apply to receive college credit for college-level learning obtained through employment, volunteer activities, hobbies, private study, and in-service training; the credit is not awarded for the students merely having the experiences. The process for applying for prior learning credit is outlined in the Prior Learning Student Guide.
How does learning from experience relate to traditional classroom learning?
Most classroom learning begins with theories or ideas; that is, it is deductive, moving from the general to the particular. Learning from experience generally occurs in the midst of work, family, or recreational situations; that is, it is inductive, beginning with particular applications from which general principles can be derived.
What kind of life and work experiences would be worth college-level credit?
Many adults have had a variety of experiences from which they have acquired college-level knowledge and skills. Business people often know sales techniques, business law, bookkeeping, supervision, inventory control, or marketing. Office associates often have strong computer and communication skills and knowledge of office procedures. People who have written a great deal often know English composition and technical writing. Many managers know consumer economics. Many people have public speaking abilities. Work with volunteer and community service organizations could lead to credit for management or counseling. If the skills are at a college level, it is possible that college credit could be awarded through portfolio evaluation.
What is a portfolio?
Just as classroom instructors use exams, papers, class participation, etc., as indicators that learning has taken place, the evaluator of experiential learning must be provided with evidence of college-level learning. The evaluator of experiential learning uses the portfolio, a formal written communication, to assess learning. A prior learning portfolio is a document in which learning from various life experiences is organized into a manageable form for academic assessment.
Who awards prior learning credit?
A University of Alabama faculty member with expertise in the subject field assesses the college-level learning demonstrated in the portfolio.
Current Students [Top]
General [Top]
Can I do all my coursework at a distance or do I have to come to The University of Alabama campus periodically?
You are required to come to campus only once for the Foundations of Adult Learning Seminar (orientation). Although there is no requirement after the initial two-day seminar, we hope that you will plan to visit the campus as often as you can for group weekend or summer contracts, for football games, just to stay in touch, and of course for graduation. Students who are able to visit campus periodically have a higher success rate than those who do not maintain that personal contact.
How many ways are there to earn credit toward my degree with the New College LifeTrack Program?
In addition to transferring credit from other institutions, LifeTrack students can earn credit through LifeTrack faculty-designed contracts, student-designed contracts, a prior learning portfolio, and University of Alabama on-campus courses and independent study courses.
Contracts [Top]
What is the difference between a faculty-designed course contract and a student-designed directed study contract?
A faculty-designed course contract is an academic study that has already been designed for you. The learning goals, methodology for learning, academic resources and evaluation methods are pre-set. Your adviser can guide you to the courses available each semester. Once you decide which course to enroll, you contact your adviser. Your adviser will “permit” you for the course and contact you by email with the current enrollment procedures. You may then enroll on the myBama.ua.edu website. You will also pay for the enrollment on the same website.
A student-designed directed study contract is an academic study that you design. You are responsible for proposing and crafting the learning goals, methodology, resources and methods of evaluation for the study. Submit your contract proposal to the LifeTrack office, and we will begin the process of locating an appropriate UA faculty member to supervise your study. Once a faculty member is assigned to assist you, your adviser will contact you with enrollment information.
How many New College LifeTrack courses do most students take at a time?
Typically, most students enroll in two or three course contracts at a time, although LifeTrack program students may enroll a maximum of 18 credit hours through UA at any given time.
Are there any courses that do not require writing a paper?
Because this is a distance learning program, you should expect to complete papers in most learning contracts.
Can I sign up for more than one course at a time?
Yes, we would encourage you to fully maximize the course submission/response system. While you are waiting for a response from your course director on one course you could be preparing your next submission for another course. Make “waiting periods” work for you.
Can faculty-designed course contracts or student-designed directed study contracts be used anywhere in my curriculum?
Yes. You may utilize faculty-designed course contracts or student-designed contracts anywhere in your LifeTrack program curriculum.
How long does it take to finish a course?
Students must enroll and complete coursework within the semester.
Are student-designed directed study contracts regarded as acceptable undergraduate coursework for admission to graduate school?
Yes! LifeTrack program graduates have reported that graduate schools have looked favorably upon their LifeTrack program student-designed directed study contracts. Successful completion of an independent project reflects maturity, perseverance, and time management skills, characteristics required for graduate-level work.
Prior Learning [Top]
How do I get college credit for life experiences?
Through LifeTrack, you can apply to receive college credit for college-level learning obtained through employment, volunteer activities, hobbies, private study, and in-service training; the credit is not awarded for the students merely having the experiences. The process for applying for prior learning credit is outlined in the Prior Learning Student Guide.
How does learning from experience relate to traditional classroom learning?
Most classroom learning begins with theories or ideas; that is, it is deductive, moving from the general to the particular. Learning from experience generally occurs in the midst of work, family or recreational situations; that is, it is inductive, beginning with particular applications from which general principles can be derived.
What kind of life and work experiences would be worth college-level credit?
Many adults have had a variety of experiences from which they have acquired college-level knowledge and skills. Business people often know sales techniques, business law, bookkeeping, supervision, inventory control or marketing. Office associates often have strong computer and communication skills and knowledge of office procedures. Some technical experience may also garner academic credit. People who have written a great deal often know English composition and technical writing. Many managers know consumer economics. Many people have public speaking abilities. Work with volunteer and community service organizations could lead to credit for management or counseling. If the skills are at a college level, it is possible that college credit could be awarded through portfolio evaluation.
What is a portfolio?
Just as classroom instructors use exams, papers, class participation, etc., as indicators that learning has taken place, the evaluator of experiential learning must be provided with evidence of college-level learning. The evaluator of experiential learning uses the portfolio, a formal written communication, to assess learning. A prior learning portfolio is a document in which learning from various life experiences is organized into a manageable form for academic assessment.
Who awards prior learning credit?
A University of Alabama faculty member with expertise in the subject field assesses the college-level learning demonstrated in the portfolio.
Is there help for students preparing portfolios?
Students wishing to gain prior learning credit are advised to use the Prior Learning Student Guide for portfolio preparation. A helpful text is Earn College Credit for What You Know by Janet Colvin (5th edition, ISBN 0-7575-9691-9 through Kendall Hunt Publishing). The LifeTrack prior learning coordinator will provide guidance and bibliographic information on other texts about portfolio development. In addition, the student’s academic adviser or the prior learning coordinator can provide critiques of the drafts of the various portfolio elements.
How long does the portfolio assessment take?
The amount of time needed to complete the portfolio assessment varies, but it should be completed within six weeks after it has been submitted to the faculty assessor. The length of time may increase if the portfolio is submitted just prior to scheduled campus vacations such as Christmas or Spring Break. Every effort is made to get a timely evaluation.
How many semester hours will be awarded per portfolio submission?
If the student has invested time and care in the portfolio preparation, it should elicit credit. The evaluator will recommend the number of credit hours to be awarded and that recommendation will be weighed against any credit duplication, professional hours earned, and prior learning credit limits.
What are the prior learning credit limits?
There is a limit of 30 hours of prior learning portfolio credit (a quarter of the 120 total degree credit hours) that any one student can earn. There is also a 45-credit-hour cumulative credit limit for all types of prior learning credit, which includes ACE credit, CLEP, AP credit, DANTES credit, and portfolio evaluation.
Can prior learning credit be used anywhere in my curriculum?
Prior learning credit can be placed in any of the core requirement areas, in the Depth Study, or as elective credit. Portfolio credit may not be applied to the senior project.