Western Governors University was conceptualized in 1995 at a meeting of the Western Governors Association, and founded soon after in an effort to increase degree production in higher education at a lower cost. It has expanded significantly over the past few years, driven both by increased demand for online education and by drastic state budget…

Margaret J. Wheatley, the organizational consultant who wrote the 1999 classic, "Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World," laments about the rigid structures and processes that often strangle organizations rendering them incapable of change. Wheatley asserts that organizations lack faith that their purpose…

Description of the issues surrounding introduction of assessment of prior experiential learning for nurse practitioners illustrates concerns in contemporary British higher education: multiplicity of purposes, fear that academics are losing control over knowledge creation and assessment, and shift from norm- to criterion-referenced assessment.…

The four "villages" of experiential learning (EL) are (1) assessment and accreditation of prior learning; (2) EL as the basis for change in postsecondary institutions; (3) EL as the basis for community action and social change; and (4) EL as a medium for personal growth and development. (SK)

This article focuses on Italy's Higher Education reforms and hotly debated developments. These developments are experience credits and online universities. The reform replaced the existing degree system, in which most undergraduate programs lasted four years--although the average graduate actually took more than seven years to earn a degree--with…

The award and transfer of credit for experiential learning moving forward through either the collegial cooperative model or the political adversarial model is discussed. It is suggested that if institutions fail to solve these problems collegially, they may find policy decisions beyond their control. (MLW)

To reduce curricular fragmentation in science education, reform recommendations include using common, unifying themes such as scaling to enhance curricular coherence. This study involved 215 participants from five groups (grades 5, 7, 9, and 12, and doctoral students), who completed written assessments and card sort tasks related to their…

This book overviews experiential learning in the various contexts in which it has developed over the last decade. Experiential learning involves the knowledge and skills acquired through life and work experience and study, which are not formally attested through any educational or professional certification. The first chapter defines the…

This project investigated the acceptance of innovation and change as it related to a specific education change of prior learning assessment (PLA) at the University College of the Fraser Valley (UCFV) in British Columbia, Canada. The study explored the barriers that existed against students who wanted to have experiential and workplace learning…

Through a combination of prior coursework, contract learning, credit for experience, standardized tests, and other methods of evaluating prior learning, the Empire State College (New York) allows adults to complete undergraduate degree requirements. The nonresidential institution serves students throughout the state, with faculty in over 40…

Policies and practices in the areas of identification, assessment, and recognition of nonformal learning in the European Union (EU) were reviewed. The review focused on national and EU-level experiences regarding the following areas and issues: recognition of the contextual nature of learning; identification of methodological requirements for…