The Latino and Adult Student Success (LASS) Academy is a multi-year initiative administered by CAEL (the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) focused on supporting Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in their efforts to improve outcomes for adult and Latino adult learners. In its first phase, from 2018 through 2021, the LASS Academy…

Narrative learning is strongly allied with transformational learning and adult development (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007), given that it creates context for adult meaning making. Through the use of narrative writing, adult students have the opportunity to engage multiple aspects of learning. Many colleges and universities allow…

An estimated 46 million adults have some college education but have not completed their degrees. For many, especially those who have accumulated several years' worth of credits, the inability to finish college remains a frustration. If the United States is to achieve its ambitious education attainment goals, many more adults with such experience…

As the USA experiences rapid growth of nontraditional adult students in higher education, educators and institutions will increasingly need to look beyond the traditional youth-centric educational models to better address adult learning needs. To date, no research has been conducted examining the learning experiences of adult students enrolled in…

As states seek to significantly increase college completion rates in a time of declining public resources, the fear is that the traditional model of higher education is no longer affordable or appropriate for the increasingly diverse marketplace of students who seek a college credential to improve their prospects in an increasingly competitive job…

In reading the last section of their primary text, "Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide" by Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner (2007) in his Adult Learning and Development class, the author continued to feel as though he was being self-assured of his previous learning experiences once again. The final section of the text focused on…

Reports results of a study of 30 graduates who received credit for learning from life experience. The study (1) gathered data about the experience of persons preparing, presenting, and receiving credit for learning from life experience and (2) assessed the relationship to the predominant or preferred learning styles of three other factors in these…

Prior learning assessment programs are characterized as having a highly individualized service or a more standardized pattern. Three model programs are described: Webster College in St. Louis, Adelphi University in Garden City, Long Island, and Sinclair Community College in Dayton. (Author/MLW)

A cooperative project, involving Empire State College and other institutions within the State University of New York, is described that introduces faculties and administrators at traditional campuses to the nontraditional modes and methodologies of instruction at Empire State. Participants' evaluation of the project are provided. (MLW)

Adult students, it is suggested, are not adequately prepared to plan their education and relate it to the assessment of prior learning. Educational goal clarification enhances a student's ability to participate actively in educational planning and to integrate prior learning into the total plan. (Author/MLW)

A discussion is given of competency-based programs of innovative colleges, including the role of assessment of prior learning in such programs, drawing on the experience of Justin Morrill College of Michigan State University. (Author)

The Model of College Outcomes for Adults explains why adults might do as well as traditional students, despite limited participation and involvement in traditional residential learning experiences. The model's six components are prior experience and personal biographies; psychosocial and value orientation; adult cognition; life-world environment;…

The consortial approach to assessment of prior learning can reduce costs and increase the availability of service. CLEO (Compact for Lifelong Educational Opportunities), a consortium of 38 colleges and universities in the Delaware Valley region, is described. (Author/MLW)

The issues common to all models of educational programs are explored as an introduction to the varying ways unions and universities can work together. Cost and lack of time are seen as the most common obstacles confronted by workers interested in furthering their education. (Author/MLW)

Two models of literacy stand in contrast to one another. The first, termed the "autonomous model" by British anthropologist Brian Street, portrays literacy as a value-free, technical skill which effects uniformly positive changes in both individuals and societies. The "ideological model," in contrast, focuses on specific social…