Since its founding more than 50 years ago, CAEL has argued that education, training and employment shouldn’t be viewed as siloed processes but complementary niches in an integrated ecosystem. Today, disruption created by technology- and policy-driven volatility presents us with an unmistakable reminder that such connections remain critical.
As a pioneer of the once-revolutionary concept that college-level learning isn’t confined to a classroom, CAEL has made credit for prior learning (CPL) a driving force in linking learning and work. CPL doesn’t just benefit students and the institutions they attend. It has broad workforce potential.
At the student level, CPL benefits are hopefully well known by now. CAEL research has demonstrated that receiving CPL credits saves adult learners time and money. As a result, it boosts their completion rates by 17%.
Perhaps less well-known are CPL’s benefits to institutions. Some may seem counterintuitive. Because of their increased persistence rates, adult learners who receive CPL tend to complete more traditional (paid) credits en route to their graduation.
More obviously, higher graduation rates sustain institutional reputations and propitiously position them for performance-based funding allocations. CAEL research has also confirmed CPL’s unsurprising capacity to sway enrollment decisions among likely college attendees. The vast majority indicate the ability to receive CPL would significantly influence their choice of institution.
CPL has much to offer employers as well. It can be integrated within corporate training and education benefit programs. For example, CPL crosswalks can connect industry certifications and on-the-job training to academic programs, reducing the cost of education benefit programs. CPL crosswalks also support the “unbundling” of academic pathways into a continuum of short-term, often more accessible credentials.
Whether students are focused on a microcredential or an advanced degree, they expect that completing their program will deliver positive labor market outcomes. As a natural link between education and employment, CPL helps keep curricula attuned to the latest workforce demands, an alignment necessary for delivering such outcomes.
Despite all these reasons to embrace CPL, it remains underutilized. To be sure, there are exceptions—you can find many CPL success stories among CAEL’s membership. But we often miss opportunities to coordinate and scale CPL’s impact on state or system-wide levels.
Policy is an area of much unfulfilled potential. While many states have established basic CPL assessment policies, fewer than 30 have policies on affordability or data tracking and evaluation. These parameters are crucial for measuring, managing and optimizing the outcomes CPL can deliver for learners, institutions and communities.
To maximize CPL’s potential, CAEL is leading a holistic strategy to boost its breadth and depth. Our most recent initiative in support of this commitment is the partnership we announced with RAND in early October 2025. A nonprofit organization, RAND conducts research and analysis tailored to help improve policy and decision-making.
The partnership will provide key support at the state level for improving CPL policies. Following a review of submitted proposals, which we are accepting through November 21, 2025, we will select three states or statewide higher education systems as beneficiaries of the two-year initiative, made possible by funding from ECMC Foundation and Strada Education Foundation.
In addition to a stipend, each participating team will receive technical assistance delivered through continual assistance from CAEL subject matter experts. These experts will tailor technical assistance to meet the unique goals of each state or system. Focus areas could include statewide articulation agreements, public data dashboards, professional development, credit transfer and transcript notation, competency mapping, CPL crosswalks and other features foundational to building or improving an integrated approach to CPL policy.
RAND will develop a working state policy framework that will help guide the technical assistance. It will also collect data critical to charting participants’ progress and providing insight that will ultimately inform a finalized state policy framework.
Ideal candidates will have some state or system-wide CPL policies already implemented with a good sense of what they would like to accomplish during the program. Candidates should also ensure their state or system is represented by a team of three to six stakeholders empowered to act upon identified opportunities.
You can view the request for proposals at the project page on our website. I encourage you to share this opportunity with colleagues or peers within a state or system that might benefit from establishing or enhancing a CPL policy framework. On behalf of all my colleagues at CAEL, I appreciate all that you do to support our mission.
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