Academic preparedness is critical when it comes to student success in college, but research on factors such as academic performance indicators and behaviors has shown that many students are not prepared for college. While may studies highlight that college-bound students need help becoming academically prepared for college, fewer studies have…

Improving instruction in elementary mathematics is critical to supporting better academic and life outcomes for our students. While weak elementary math instruction is not a new challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have exacerbated the issue. Many states have reported that students have lost more learning in math than in reading over the…

The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of…

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) programs, built on the theories of andragogy, experiential learning, and transformative learning, are posited as a way for students to pursue college credit for their previous professional, personal, and volunteer experiences--via certifications, corporate and military training, non-credit coursework, exams, and…

Higher education systems and institutions across the country are overhauling their traditional placement process for college-level courses in mathematics and revisiting the role of developmental education. Increasingly, students who would have been required to take, and succeed in, developmental coursework before enrolling in college-level courses…

Purpose: Considering the importance of human capital in innovation, entrepreneurship and thus economic development, this study attempts to examine formal learning as a mechanism of human capital development in institutions of higher learning. Ironically, students in such institutions are automatically assumed to learn and accumulate pertinent…

This 50-State Comparison focuses on Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) policies, which refer to a process to award academic credit for prior learning. This process involves assessing the learning and workforce skills a student has acquired through life and employment experience. Assessments can be performed using a variety of tools such as a…

Universities across the United States are grappling with both funding and enrollment pressures and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Decreasing state funding coupled with lower birth rates of the recent past (Grawe, 2018) are forcing colleges and universities to rethink enrollment and retention strategies. Amid the push to…

Peer-assisted learning has gained momentum in a variety of disciplines, including medical education. In Gothenburg, Sweden, medical students who have finished their compulsory anatomy courses have the option of working as teaching assistants (TAs). Teaching assistants provide small group teaching sessions as a complement to lectures given by…

Community college students face a number of financial decisions and obligations along the path to degree completion. Students must secure resources to pay for college expenses, including their tuition, fees, and basic living necessities. Central to this is students' abilities to access financial aid resources including federal, state, and…

Students come to college with skills and knowledge acquired through work, military, and other experiences. Academic credit for prior learning is awarded when a student's prior learning is assessed and found to be the equivalent of specific college course outcomes, and when the award of credit is consistent with the policies of the institution.…

The "Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP)" is a postsecondary learning outcomes framework that specifies what students should be expected to know and be able to do at the associate's, bachelor's, and master's levels. First introduced at the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) 2011 annual meeting, over four…

Supporting adult learners as they complete their postsecondary certificates and degrees is essential to meeting our state's educational attainment goals and meeting the employment needs of students and Washington employers. Academic Credit for Prior Learning (ACPL) is awarded when a student's prior learning is assessed and found to be the…

Using linked, individual-level data from a large metropolitan K-12 district and a large urban community college district in California, we examine whether indicators of college-readiness for graduating high school students who were initially classified as English Learners (ELs) are honored in community college course placement. In particular, we…

Carnegie's Community College Pathways (CCP) offers two pathways, Statway® and Quantway®, that reduce the amount of time required to complete developmental mathematics and earn college-level mathematics credit. The Pathways aim to improve student success in mathematics while maintaining rigorous content, pedagogy, and learning outcomes. It is…