A critical look is taken of the comparatively recent practice of awarding college credit for life or work experience. It is suggested that the life-experience approach to "respectability" combines academic snobbery and elitism with pragmatism due to the fear of declining enrollments and subsequent job loss. (LBH)

Adults learn from many sources, such as volunteer work, community services, homemaking, jobs, and other activities, and they increasingly want this learning to be recognized so that they can reenter the job market, get a promotion, or return to college. Therefore, scientific methods have been developed to help adults document their experiential…

The status of colleges' credit-granting practices for nontraditional learning (attained outside legally authorized and accredited postsecondary institutions) was studied in 1986, along with credit-granting procedures for military learning experiences, business/industry training, credit by examination, and credit obtained through other assessment…

Stephens College Without Walls will grant college credits for prior experiential learning, if properly documented. Proficiency examinations, non-college transcript credit, work experiences, volunteer activities, homemaking, workshops or seminars, recreational activities or hobbies, independent reading, or licenses are categories of experiences for…

Educational institutions need to help women get a better education by taking into account the learning they have acquired through experience in homemaking, volunteer work, and other activities. This paper examines the need for recognition of women's prior learning by educational institutions and delves into some of the intricacies of the process.…