Since CAEL’s founding, increasing opportunities for adult learners to receive credit for prior learning (CPL) has been core to its mission. In the 52 years since, CPL has indeed grown in practice. More colleges and universities are realizing that college-level learning isn’t limited to the classroom. There is a growing understanding that CPL is good for students as well as the institutions they attend. Yes, CPL saves students time and money, boosting persistence and graduation rates. That also translates to more traditional, i.e., paid credits completed. On top of that, CPL is a recognized recruiting asset.
Given these clear ties to accelerating credential completion, CPL’s potential has traditionally been viewed primarily within the framework of higher ed, but that perception is changing. Furthering another longstanding CAEL principle, CAEL is challenging the assumption that higher ed and workforce development are separate systems—sometimes collaborating but at other times competing. This divide prompts students to question a college degree’s return on investment. It suggests that traditional degrees, short-term credentials, competency-based assessments and industry training are either/or components of a zero-sum equation.
CPL is a catalyst for reimagining these components as part of a complementary continuum that sustains the education-employment ecosystem. Evaluating prior learning for credit bridges theory and practice. It helps faculty and staff stay informed about the latest workforce needs. CPL crosswalks to on-the-job-training makes corporate learning programs more efficient and agile. It allows them to offer immediate workforce benefits while paving the way for longer-term academic and career progression.
From standardized exams to proactive reviews of employer training programs to military service to portfolio assessments, there are countless potential sources of CPL. That’s a good thing for adult learners, but it can be a challenge for policymakers trying to keep pace with those possibilities, especially as more systems are committed to making CPL more accessible.
In fact, when CAEL collaborated with the American Council on Education on a comprehensive national survey of state and system policies aimed at increasing CPL opportunities, it documented more than 360 policies. In analyzing this policy plethora, several challenges were evident.
CPL often varies significantly between institutions, which can create disparities according to where a student enrolls. Academic programming often drives the degree of CPL access, creating variation that can appear capricious to prospective learners. Transfer policies fluctuate and sometimes reject CPL outright. A lack of standardization in evaluation methods and data management poses additional problems for implementing and maintaining effective and consistent CPL policy.
Fortunately, more and more systems are focusing on policy to help institutions and students handle growing demand. Late last year, CAEL received dozens of applications to participate in an evidence-based community of practice dedicated to enhancing CPL public policies. CAEL is partnering with RAND on the initiative. During the two-year project, which funding from ECMC Foundation and Strada Education Foundation made possible, each participating team will receive a stipend and continual access to CAEL subject matter experts.
I have the honor of leading this work. It was heartening to see such a strong response to this opportunity. Following a multi-month review of the applications, which contained detailed summaries of the current state of each system’s CPL landscape, needs and goals, we selected the community college systems of Alabama, Colorado and North Carolina. Nearly 100 institutions are represented in these systems, which enroll approximately 900,000 students in total.
In late February, RAND hosted the kickoff of our Scaling Systemwide Credit for Prior Learning Community of Practice at its Santa Monica, California headquarters. I and my colleagues Patricia Wallace, Ashley Wilhelm and Darrah Mugrauer, along with members of the RAND team and system leadership from Alabama, Colorado and North Carolina, met for an interactive planning session. This initial meeting helped us clarify goals and begin laying the groundwork to optimize strategies for attaining them. More importantly, it confirmed that we will have many opportunities to up our collective impact over the next two years and beyond.
I say beyond because a key part of this project will be publishing outcomes from our work to ensure it benefits the entire CAEL community. Throughout the project, RAND will collect data to help us continually fine-tune our technical assistance, informing not only the regular updates we plan to share but a finalized state policy framework and a rubric for scaling CPL policies in any state system. If you’d like to follow our progress, please watch for more information on CAEL’s blog and LinkedIn page.
You Might Also Like
