They participate in the program via the telephone, email and U.S. Mail. Others are referred by a university. They come to us first in order to complete their general education certificate and then transfer to the university. Cal State Long Beach likes our program a great deal, and refers many students to us. It's not easy, and we let prospective students know that right up front.
Students begin the program by attending an orientation.
They then enroll in the college's three-unit Counseling 181 class. Students work weekly with their advisor in person, or by phone, email, fax or mail. Students can also receive credit for previous college work, providing that the units come from an accredited institution. Each student must develop a portfolio that ends up being several hundred pages thick. APL students are required to write multiple essays that describe all work positions they've had, and tasks they've carried out.