There are many “schools” across the vast expanse of the Internet, that promise to confer upon you a prestigious degree based solely upon your life experience. You should probably only submit your resume and they will send you a degree by return post. It is a trick. None of accredited school will do what these places assert that they can do. Some school making this claim is almost without exception a diploma mill.
On the other hand, that is not to say that your life experience is meaningless. Consider portfolio. It is possible to use a portfolio or prior learning assessment to determine if you have knowledge that translates into academic credit. Having a portfolio can be a quick, but not necessarily easy, way to show that you have college-level knowledge inside your head.
 Take into account that portfolios do not show time. If you give somebody college credit in accounting because she has been a bookkeeper for three years, it is not the proper equation. Do we believe that each person that has been a bookkeeper for that amount of time acquired the exact same amount of knowledge? Of course, it’s just not possible. You can’t compare a certain amount of time at a task with a certain amount of knowledge. You must prove that knowledge.
The assumption behind portfolios is that you have to match your knowledge base with an actual college course. You also must somehow, prove that you have the knowledge. It is easy for some subjects, but more difficult for others. Therefore, if you want to show that you have artistic skill and possess the knowledge necessary to pass an intermediate course in oil painting, you could provide paintings that were at that level. Still, if you want to show that you have something inside your head, but you have nothing to show for it (such as self-generated spreadsheets, short-term course certificates, and the like), you almost certainly will not be able to receive credit. As legalized as it may seem, you must prove this knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt.
One of the better resources for finding courses related to your knowledge base is located on the most popular websites. All that you need to do is type a particular ability into the Database and it shoots out various university courses. Accordingly, if you type in "accounting" you will find that they have fifty-eight course descriptions (including Secretarial Accounting and Intermediate Accounting).
Using such an example, you could then provide work samples, conference registration, and more, to prove that you have the desired knowledge. You’ve now proven knowledge. Although you opt to use a different school, this is an excellent place from which to begin.
Despite the fact that there are many schools that allow you to use portfolios, they typically have severe restraints in the number of credits allowed. Once you decided to take full advantage of the portfolio process, you should choose a school that has no limit on the number of units you can earn in nontraditional ways.
Only if the average bachelor’s degree is in the 120-unit range, it is easy to see that the portfolio process is well worth the hassle.
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