Utilization of Credit for Prior Learning

Dorea M. Hardy, M.Ed.

ACED 9440March 21, 2015

Agenda

• Introduction

What is the Issue?

• Literature Review

What is Credit for Prior Learning?

• Discussion & Recommendations

• Conclusion

Introduction – The Issue

58 56 55 5548 46 45 43 42 42 42 42 41 41 40

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percentage of Adults Age 25–34 with Tertiary Education

OECD Education at a Glance 2010Table A1-3a Population with Tertiary Education 2008

Caption: Chart 1: Percentage of Adults Age 25–34 with Tertiary Education (Associate Degree or Higher in US, 2008 Current Population Survey, US Census Bureau)

Credit for Prior Learning

• What is Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)?

It is:

– Learning gained outside a traditional academic environment

– Learning and knowledge your students acquire while living

their lives:

• working,

• participating in employer training programs,

• serving in the military,

• studying independently,

• volunteering or doing community service, and

• studying open source courseware.

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, 2015

Credit for Prior Learning

• History of CPL

– World War II and the G.I. Bill

• DANTES

– McDonald’s

Hamburger University

• American Council on Education

(Fain, 2012, May 7)

(Darton State College Military Resource Center, 2011)

Credit for Prior Learning

• Types of Assessment

– Standardized Exams

• Advanced Placement (AP) exams

• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams

• ACT/PEP exams

• DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST) exams

– Challenge Exams

• Instructor based

– Portfolio Assessments

• Created by students under the direction of college faculty

Credit for Prior Learning

• Quality of Assessments

– How do institutions establish and maintain quality

of the assessments?

Credit for Prior Learning

• Quality of Assessments

– CAEL’s 10 Standards for Quality AssuranceI. Credit or its equivalent should be awarded only for learning, and not for experience.II. Assessment should be based on standards and criteria for the level of acceptable learning that are both agreed

upon and made public.III. Assessment should be treated as an integral part of learning, not apart from it, and should be based on an

understanding of learning processes.IV. The determination of credit awards and competence levels must be made by appropriate subject matter and

academic or credentialing experts.V. Credit or other credentialing should be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.VI. If awards are for credit, transcript entries should clearly describe what learning is being recognized and be

monitored to avoid giving credit twice for the same learning.VII. Policies, procedures, and criteria applied to assessment, including provision for appeal, should be fully disclosed

and prominently available to all parties involved in the assessment process.VIII. Fees charged for assessment should be based on the services performed in the process and not determined by the

amount of credit awarded.IX. All personnel involved in the assessment of learning should pursue and receive adequate training and continuing

professional development for the functions they perform.X. Assessment programs should be regularly monitored, reviewed, evaluated, and revised as needed to reflect

changes in the needs being served, the purposes being met, and in the state of assessment arts.

(Fiddler, Marienau, & Whitaker, 2006, pp. 13-14)

Credit for Prior Learning

• Value of Prior Learning

Credit for Prior Learning

• Value of Prior Learning

– Georgia

“60 percent of future jobs will require a post-secondary

education, while only 42 percent of Georgians have one”

(Diamond, 2012, p.4)

Credit for Prior Learning

• Shortcomings

Low Student Usage

Credit for Prior Learning

• Shortcomings

– Inconsistent Application of Services

– Inconsistent Nomenclature

– Marketing Issues

– Resistance from the Status Quo

Discussion & Recommendations

• Administrative Issues

– One Central Office

• Serves as a contact point (students and faculty)

• Oversees entire process

• Reduced pressure for faculty

– Institutional Standards & Guidelines

– Faculty Training

Discussion & Recommendations

• Faculty

– Develop faculty buy-in

• Content Experts extremely important

• Outside Experts to consult

• Develop faculty ownership of prior learning

Discussion & Recommendations

• Best Practices

– American Council on Education (2015)

1. Gauge current practices & ways to improve

2. Develop a CPL checklist for student use

3. Identify and develop strategies for effective outreach

4. View examples of websites that aim to make CPL

options learner-accessible

Discussion & Recommendations

• Best Practices – Student Veterans

– Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (2012)

Includes:

o Outreach and information

o Recognition of skills and competencies

o Recognition of Veterans as a group with specific needs

o Student Support

o Transition Support

o Disabilities and Mental Health

(Darton State College Military Resource Center, 2011)

Conclusion

• Retention & Graduation are serious issues

• Credit for Prior Learning

is a great tool for

institutions to

BRIDGE the gap

Multimedia References

Darton State College Military Resource Center. (2011). img_second.jpg

[image] Retrieved March 19, 2015, from: http://dcmrc.com/

Kanter, M. J. (2011). American Higher Education: “First in the World”. Change:

The Magazine of Higher Learning. Retrieved March 19, 2015, from

http://www.changemag.org/archives/back%20issues/2011/may-june%202011/first-

in-the-world-full.html

Learning Communities. [eduteknia]. (2009, March 10). Year 2020 Goal set by

President Obama [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xOCZUfLLCU

References

American Council on Education. (2015). Best Practices: Credit for Prior

Learning. Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://www.acenet.edu/news-

room/Pages/Best-Practices-Credit-for-Prior-Learning.aspx

Bailey, L. W., & Bankus, T. (2014). NCO 2020. Military Review, 94(5), 36-42.

Berry, C. A., & Stanley, E. S. (2014). The intentionality of education. JFQ: Joint

Force Quarterly, 2014 3rd Quarter (74), 84-90.

Brigham, C., Klein-Collins, R., & Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

(2010). Availability, Use and Value of Prior Learning Assessment within Community

Colleges. Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

Colvin, J. (2012). Earn college credit for what you know (5th ed.). Chicago, IL:

Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. (2012). Best Practices for Serving

the Student Veteran. Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://www.cael.org/pdfs/best-

practices-handout-final

References

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. (2015). Prior Learning Assessment

Portfolio Services. from http://www.cael.org/pla.htm -

What%20Is%20Prior%20Learning%20Assessment%20(PLA)?

Diamond, L. (2012). Colleges Granting Credit For Out-of-Class Learning.

Community College Week, 24(26).

Fain, P. (2012, May 7). Prior learning assessment catches on, quietly. Inside

Higher Ed. from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/07/prior-learning-

assessment-catches-quietly

Fiddler, M., Marienau, C., & Whitaker, U. (2006). Assessing learning:

Standards, principles, and procedures (2nd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt

Publishing Company.

Galagan, P. (2011). 90,000 served Hamburger University turns 50. T+D, 65(4),

46-51.

References

Gast, A. (2013). Current Trends in Adult Degree Programs: How Public

Universities Respond to the Needs of Adult Learners. New Directions for Adult &

Continuing Education, 2013(140), 17-25. doi: 10.1002/ace.20070

Hoover, E. (2010). Where life earns credit: 'Prior learning' gets a fresh

assessment. Chronicle of Higher Education, 56(27), A23-A24.

Jacobson, K. (2015). Powerful Work-Based Learning. Techniques: Connecting

Education & Careers, 90(1), 15-19.

Kamenetz, A. (2011). The Transformation of Higher Education through Prior

Learning Assessment. Change, 43(5), 7-13. doi: 10.1080/00091383.2011.599293

Klein-Collins, R., & Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. (2010). Fueling

the race to postsecondary success: A 48-institution study of prior learning

assessment and adult student outcomes. Chicago, IL: Council for Adult and

Experiential Learning.

References

Klein-Collins, R., & Olson, R. (2014). Random Access: The Latino Student

Experience with Prior Learning Assessment Executive Summary. Council for Adult

and Experiential Learning.

Klein-Collins, R., & Wertheim, J. B. (2013). Growing Importance of Prior

Learning Assessment in the Degree-Completion Toolkit. New Directions for Adult &

Continuing Education, 2013(140), 51-60. doi: 10.1002/ace.20073

Kuck, S. (2015). PLA-policies and proposals with revisions. Darton State

College.

Leiste, S. M., & Jensen, K. (2011). Creating a Positive PLA Experience: A

Step-by-Step Look at University PLA. International Review of Research in Open

and Distance Learning, 12(1), 61-79.

Pies, T. (1996). Faculty Ownership of a Prior Learning Program. Adult

Learning, 7(6), 13-14.

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