“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Prior Learning Assessment is a process where colleges evaluate the training and life experiences of individuals in order to grant college credit. For a veteran who has attended numerous technical, administrative, and leadership courses, obtaining course credit can mean saving a semester or more of tuition and time. Therefore it is worthwhile to work proactively to obtain these credits. The UW Veterans Service Center is the best place to start finding out how to gain credit through PLA. Then, start working with the staff in the UW Registrar's Office to get your previous training evaluated.
In addition to military coursework, sometimes a veteran has previous college credit or earned college credit while on active duty. To get credit for these courses involves contacting the registrar at each previous college that was attended. Sometimes the UW Registrar will want to see a description of the course that was taken. Obtaining the description will involve contacting the college. The registrar may have this information, it may be online, or the library of that college may have that information.
The challenge of a PLA request is documenting that the UW course you wish to obtain credit for is equivalent to the course or training you received while in the service, or perhaps took through another college. The Joint Service Transcript (JST) is the primary document you receive as a veteran of the Army, Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard. The Air University/Community College of the Air Force provides transcripts for Air Force veterans. Refer to the articles in the box labeled "Articles about PLA" located in the right-hand column. Links to the websites where you can request military transcripts are located in the box labeled "Military Transcript Websites" located at the top of the right-hand column.
Descriptions of current UW courses are available on the UW Registrar's website (see box labeled "UW Course Catalogs / Bulletins" in the right-hand column). Search the website of that college for course descriptions or catalogs. You may need to contact the registrar or the library of that institution. Match up that description with the course description provided by the military transcript or a course description you obtain from a college you attended. Complete the required form for UW credit and add it to your portfolio. Be sure to save copies of all the information you locate and submit.