The CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) announce the inaugural winners of the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Equity Awards, recognizing strategies that have been proven to put CPL in reach of key adult learner populations and/or increase their CPL credit-earning.…

For more than 50 years, colleges and universities have used a range of different methods to award college credit for learning that takes place outside of the classroom--particularly learning from work, life, and military experiences. These methods--often called prior learning assessment (PLA) or credit for prior learning (CPL)--value the learning…

Adult students--whether just starting college or returning after stopping or dropping out--often have significant college-level learning they have acquired outside of academia. Postsecondary institutions have the option to evaluate that learning for the purpose of awarding credit or otherwise recognizing the learning so that it can count toward a…

For more than 50 years, colleges and universities have used a range of different methods to award college credit for learning that takes place outside of the classroom--particularly learning from work, life, and military experiences. These methods--often called prior learning assessment (PLA) or credit for prior learning (CPL)--value the learning…

This report describes the adult student's experience with prior learning assessment (PLA) using student record data from 72 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, primarily focusing on the data from 69 of those institutions based on the more detailed data provided by those institutions to the study. Researchers from the…

This report describes the adult student's experience with prior learning assessment (PLA) using student record data from 72 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, primarily focusing on the data from 69 of those institutions based on the more detailed data provided by those institutions to the study. Researchers from the…

Within the next few years the majority of jobs in the U.S. will require some type of postsecondary credential. However, less than half of adults in this country currently possess a credential beyond high school. Though they may not have a college degree to show for it, most adults have likely gained significant and valuable learning through their…

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor invited postsecondary institutions to participate in an experiment to learn how federal financial aid might be used to cover the costs of prior learning assessment (PLA). PLA is the process of evaluating a student's prior workplace and experiential learning for academic credit. While the experiment is still…

In 2010, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) conducted the first major multi-institutional study of the relationship between prior learning assessment (PLA) credit-earning and student academic outcomes, which found that adult students with PLA credit were two and a half times more likely to have earned a postsecondary degree…

Prior learning assessment (PLA) is the term used for the various ways in which higher education institutions and other organizations assess an individual's learning for the purposes of granting college credit, certification, or advanced standing in a postsecondary education program. In recent years, there has been growing interest in PLA from…

Previous research from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) found that prior learning assessment/credit for prior learning (PLA/CPL) 1 has a positive effect on adult student credential completion--an effect that was evident for every student subgroup analyzed in a…

Adults who pursue postsecondary education often bring with them considerable college-level learning that they acquired from their work, military, or life experience. Through prior learning assessment (PLA), they may be able to have this learning evaluated for college credit. One form of PLA is individualized assessment, in which students prepare a…

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning's (CAEL's) 40th anniversary year provided an opportunity for the "Forum and News" to examine the world of the adult learner from multiple perspectives and to invite CAEL friends and supporters to reflect on the evolution of the field and of CAEL as an organization. This publication presents…

Many Latinos come to higher education as adults. One degree completion strategy that is particularly suited to adult students in higher education is prior learning assessment (PLA). PLA provides opportunities to evaluate a student's learning from work or life experience for the purpose of awarding college credit. For students whose…

Many Latinos come to higher education as adults. One degree completion strategy that is particularly suited to adult students in higher education is prior learning assessment (PLA). PLA provides opportunities to evaluate a student's learning from work or life experience for the purpose of awarding college credit. For students whose…