Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Jumpstarting the Economy: The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Program
- Credit Where It's Due: Prior Learning Assessment
- Methodology
- Harmonizing Policy: PLA Grant Activities
- Challenges with PLA Implementation
- Lessons from PLA Implementation
- Recommendations
- Conclusion
- Appendix
Credit Where It's Due: Prior Learning Assessment
Prior learning assessment, also known as credit for prior learning (CPL), is the process of evaluating and awarding college credit for college-level learning acquired outside of a postsecondary institution. PLA credits can be awarded using different methods. According to a survey conducted in 2014 by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers of its member institutions, four most common methods used to assess prior learning include: (1) standardized exams, like the College-Level Evaluation Program;1 (2) evaluation of corporate, military, or other non-credit training, like the American Council on Education credit recommendations;2 (3) challenge exams; and (4) portfolio based assessment.3 Depending on the college’s policy, students can apply their approved credits for prior learning to skip a prerequisite class, advance to a higher-level class, or even satisfy some of the program’s requirements, helping them complete the program faster.
PLA is not a new idea. It has been around since the 1930s,4 and recently gained traction as an innovation to boost adult learners’ persistence and completion rates.5 Most literature on PLA showcases policy and practices at the college or state level. These studies tend to provide detailed information on PLA’s policy development and practices.6 They have not, however, highlighted the challenges that can hinder the update of these practices.
A few studies have examined the impact of PLA on student outcomes such as persistence and completion, and how long it took these students to get their degrees.7 While a number of studies have found a correlation between obtaining PLA credits and persistence and completion, none have been able to isolate PLA as the determining factor. For example, one of the largest studies was conducted in 2010 by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), a non-profit that is a pioneer of PLA. CAEL’s 2010 study examined student outcomes at nearly 50 institutions that offered PLA.8 It found that students with PLA credits were more likely to persist and to finish their programs faster than students with no PLA credits. These findings held up regardless of institutional type, academic capability or financial aid, race, age, and gender. But the study did not include a matched comparison group; it simply compared outcomes for students with PLA credits to the general student population. Since students who take the time to learn about and complete a PLA process might also be better resourced or more motivated than students who do not, it is possible they would have been more likely to complete their programs with or without PLA. As a result, researchers cannot say for certain that PLA credits have positive impacts on student outcomes.
| Type of PLA | Description |
|---|---|
| Evaluation of corporate, military, or other non-credit training | Evaluation can be done by the college itself or by the American Council on Education (ACE). ACE [publishes](https://www.acenet.edu/Programs-Services/Pages/Credit-Transcripts/CREDIT-Evaluations.aspx) credit recommendations for formal instructional programs offered by non-collegiate entities. |
| Standardized exams | These can include: [Advanced Placement](https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/) or [International Baccalaureate](http://www.ibo.org/) exams given to high school students to demonstrate college-level learning. [College-Level Examination Program](https://clep.collegeboard.org/register?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwb3rBRDrARIsALR3XeZVo1ncZLZ08KWM5fy_wZ7RRoaauL-gW96b8MRiG8lytXuCOpf4yKoaAtXHEALw_wcB&s_kwcid=AL!4330!3!285287761647!e!!g!!%2Bclep%20%2Bexams&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwwb3rBRDrARIsALR3XeZVo1ncZLZ08KWM5fy_wZ7RRoaauL-gW96b8MRiG8lytXuCOpf4yKoaAtXHEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!4330!3!285287761647!e!!g!!+clep%20+exams) or CLEP Exams, which allow students to test out of introductory classes in subjects like business, languages, or history at colleges that recognize them. [UExcel Exams](https://www.excelsior.edu/exams/uexcel/), offered by Excelsior College, which allow students to test out of classes in business, liberal arts, science, technology at participating colleges. [DSST Exams](https://www.getcollegecredit.com/about/), which offer students college credit in subjects like social sciences, math, applied technology, business, physical sciences, and humanities. |
| Challenge exams | These are custom, mostly faculty-created, tests meant to verify that students have already mastered course content. Challenge exams may be current course final exams or may be developed specifically for this purpose. |
| Portfolio-based assessment | Typically, this is a written presentation that shows that student knowledge is equivalent to what would be taught in a specific course. The portfolio can address a course description and learning outcomes through narrative and a collection of evidence that helps demonstrate subject mastery. |
Citations
- See College Board, CLEP (website), source.
- See American Council on Education (ACE) (website), “Credit Recommendations,”source.
- See Credit for Prior Learning Practices: Results of the AACRAO December 2014 60 Second Survey (Washington, DC: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, January 2015), source.
- See Nan L. Travers, “What Is Next after 40 Years? Part 1: Prior Learning Assessment: 1970–2011,” Journal of Continuing Higher Education 60, no.1 (2012): 43–47.
- See Developing Credit for Prior Learning Policies to Support Postsecondary Attainment for Every Learner (Silver Spring, MD: Advance CTE. April 2019), source.
- See Theresa Hoffmann and Kevin A. Michel, “Recognizing Prior Learning Assessment Best Practices for Evaluators: An Experiential Learning Approach,” Journal of Continuing Higher Education 58, no. 2 (2010): 113–120; Nan L. Travers, “What Is Next after 40 Years? Part 2: Prior Learning Assessment: 2012 and After,” Journal of Continuing Higher Education 60, no. 2 (2012): 117–121; and Ireri Valenzuela, Donald MacIntyre, Becky Klein-Collins, and John Clerx, Prior Learning Assessment and Competency-Based Education: An Overview of Programs, Policies, and Practices (March 2016), source.
- See Walter Stephen Pearson. 2000. “Enhancing adult student persistence: The relationship between prior learning assessment and persistence toward the baccalaureate degree,” Phd diss. Iowa State University; Jean Marie Chappell. 2012. “A Study of Prior Learning Assessment in Degree Completion,” Ed.D diss. Graduate College of Marshall University; Milan S. Hayward & Mitchell R. Williams, “Adult Learner Graduation Rates at Four U.S. Community Colleges by Prior Learning Assessment Status and Method,” Community College Journal of Research and Practice, no. 39:1 (2015) 44–54; Dianna Z. Rust & William L. Ikard, “Prior Learning Assessment Portfolio Completion: Improved Outcomes at a Public Institution,” The Journal of Continuing Higher Education no. 64:2 (2016) 94–100; Antonio L. Jackson. 2016. “Credit for Prior Learning: The Efficacy of Awarding Credit for Non-college Learning on Community College Completion,” Phd diss. Proquest LLC; Reena Lichtenfeld. 2018. “Prior Learning Assessment at a Small, Private Midwestern Institution,” Ed.D diss.Walden University.
- See Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). “Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Students outcomes.” source.