Components of Credit

Suggested timing: 30 minutes

You probably know that every learning circle has a few common components:

• A facilitator
• A meeting place
• A group of co-learners
• A shared learning resource

So what makes a credit bearing learning circle different?

• The facilitator has been trained (this is part of it)
• The meeting place is in the US, outside of California (for now)
• Participants complete a Learning Journal alongside the learning circe
• The learning resource has been vetted in advance by College Unbound

Let’s dig more into each of these items.

Trained Facilitator

There are only two requirements of th facilitator: you review the materials included in this module and you either faciltite a non-credit learning circle and/or join a free virtual facilitator orientations.

Meeting in the US

For now, college credit can only be awarded to learning circles that meet in the US (in-person or virtually) outside of the California due to state laws which limit the transferability of distance learning credit. If you’re in California and want to offer a similar program, reach out and we can explore possibilities together.

Learning Journals

For participants, the major difference is that they must complete a personal learning journal, which includes a weekly reflection, a wrap-up activity in their learning circle, and a few assignments based on course materials. Read more, and access the template for creating Learning Journals, in our Knowledge Base.

Approved Learning Resource

Any learning material is theoretically eligible for college credit, but you must share your plans with the P2PU and CU team beforehand so that we can assign a credit value. Generally, learning circles must meet at least 5 times in order to earn one collge credit. Courses that have already been verified for credit are listed in our Knowledge Base

The process for proposing new learning resources for credit will be covered in the following module.

FAQs

Now that we’ve covered the primary components of credit-bearing learning circles, go ahead and review these frequently asked questions. Still wondering about something? Let us know on our Community Forum.

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