"Converts" to principles and practices have a way of commanding more credibility and even more authority once they champion them. When it comes to credit for prior learning (CPL), we’ve heard some common concerns about it over the years: CPL threatens institutional revenue. It hands out college credit for life experiences. Prior learning can’t be accurately measured, at least not with academic rigor. The list goes on.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of educators, trainers, and even employers that now recognize that college-level learning isn’t confined to the classroom. Just as importantly, they are proclaiming the widespread benefits of recognizing that learning.
Adding to that chorus is a new partnership between CAEL and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). We are working together to offer coordinated, complementary CPL support services to help colleges and universities maximize the impact of CPL on student and institutional success.
As an example, our integrated approach might begin with Adult Learner 360, CAEL’s diagnostic tool informed by layers of complementary data. It combines decades of aggregated CAEL research with surveys of faculty, staff, and adult learners completed during each iteration with participating institutions. The surveys assess the performance of key adult learner success factors, including credit for prior learning. By employing parallel surveys that capture institutional and adult learner perspectives, Adult Learner 360TM translates feedback into opportunities for meaningful improvement, revealing where critical perspectives align and diverge.
Such insight helps tailor subsequent support, which could include a CPL process mapping workshop. During these all-day sessions, AACRAO experts focus on establishing secure intake of materials, recording awarded credit, clearing degree prerequisites, and properly transcribing CPL credit in student information systems. These areas are growing in importance as short-term credentials continue to proliferate. Potential CPL sources are increasing in quantity and complexity even as institutions strive to maximize credit mobility while safeguarding accuracy and integrity.
And that’s exactly why this partnership is so compelling. When I alluded to “CPL skeptics” earlier, I wasn’t suggesting that registrars and admissions officers are obstacles to overcome in the pursuit of recognition of prior learning. Rather, I was underscoring how valuable their voice is in the CPL conversation and how that voice is informed from a uniquely qualified perspective.
Traditionally, registrars and admissions officers were seen as "gatekeepers" who strictly guarded credentialing standards. Today, AACRAO is leading the way in reimagining the registrar role from a passive record gatekeeper to an architect of learning pathways. Credit for prior learning can play a major role in that.
In the short time since our partnership began, we’ve already seen interest across the field, from the individual practitioner to the system level. It’s not surprising, as our partnership is poised to address several pressing challenges.
Instructors often worry that CPL diminishes academic rigor. Translating prior learning—especially on an ad hoc rather than crosswalked basis—into college-level credit often isn’t clear-cut. Without strong alignment frameworks, concerns about CPL and curricula learning outcomes can become a persistent barrier.
As CAEL’s Credit Mobility Working Group recently detailed, a lack of standardization is a widespread issue. In the absence of a universal system for evaluating prior learning, and with multiple potential sources of CPL, scaling CPL without risking credibility can be difficult.
CPL programs entail complexity, even on smaller scales. They require coordination across admissions, advising, registrars, and academic departments. Evaluating portfolios, training assessors, and documenting decisions takes time and resources. Institutions must be prepared to demonstrate to accreditors that CPL achieves learning outcomes on par with traditional coursework. Building defensible, auditable processes is essential but resource intensive. Many institutions underestimate how much infrastructure is needed.
Despite its many benefits, CPL faces a chronic underutilization challenge. Many of the students who stand to benefit the most from CPL are unaware that the option exists or are unsure how to pursue it. Those who do seek it out often encounter bureaucratic complexity and fees.
The CAEL-AACRAO partnership is focused on helping colleges and universities unearth the opportunities that lie within each of these challenges. I believe that combining AACRAO’s expertise in enrollment and academic administration with CAEL’s pioneering legacy in CPL and adult and experiential learning offers institutions a much-needed holistic approach to expanding efficacy and accessibility of CPL programs.
I’m looking forward to how this complementary collaboration can extend both CAEL’s and AACRAO’s impact in ways that wouldn’t scale on a solo basis. In addition to the one-on-one work we’re doing with individual institutions, we are exploring several general initiatives to complement this collaboration. Examples include co-authored guidance on CPL practices, policy, common terms, and quality guardrails. If you’re interested in learning more, contact me at scampbell@cael.org.