This presentation focuses on impressions and findings resulting in activities in the Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning Project, which is briefly described. Comments are made about nontraditional programs in higher education that provide opportunities and assessment for experiential learning particularly and centers on five topics:…

The need to build experiential learning into external degree programs is examined in terms of the framework identifying the functions of experiential elements of a program. Successful forms are defined and models of these are described. (JMF)

Lifelong learning has great political and social implications for formal educational institutions. Imported from Europe, lifelong education stresses education for all ages offered at the time the learner needs the competencies being taught and supplied by the society as a whole rather than just from the schools. The forces that produce the growing…

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…

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.…

This supplement to the 1977 literature guide contains 250 citations of reports, journal articles, and dissertations discussing college-level learning for which students or potential students might seek credit. It is organized into five parts. Part A covers experiential learning programs; Part B focuses on student learning; Part C is an…

The history of post secondary education in the U.S., and the role of experiential learning in its improvement are discussed. Topics of discussion include: the relationship of experiential learning to individuals' information processing, the need to clarify objectives, and the potential effect of new educational objectives on teaching and…

A model for assessing and awarding credit for prior experiential learning is presented; the adult student's experiences are summarized in a portfolio. The model incorporates eight stages: facilitating the construction and assessment of a portfolio, identifying significant prior experiences, expressing the learning outcomes of prior experiences,…

This student guide is directed at the adult student who petitions for college credits based on prior experiential learning. It will assist such adults in maximizing the value of their prior experiences in relation to educational goals and successfully obtaining appropriate credit. The reader is led step by step through the process of identifying…

This guide is organized into three parts. Parts A and B contain bibliographic citations and brief annotations; Part C is an alphabetical listing of all references. Topics included in Part A are: the rationale and history of experiential learning, types of programs, program planning and implementation, program evaluation and quality assurance,…

A questionnaire was administered to determine the needs of external degree students in the South Bend, Indiana University External Degree Program. The results (48% response rate) were compared with those of an earlier study with Northwestern New York postsecondary students. It was found that 50% of South Bend students, as compared to 27% of the…

Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, is a competence-based, baccalaureate-degree-granting institution created in 1971 to serve adults. The Operational Models Project was designed to improve the university's program for assessing experiential learning. Specific purposes of the project were: (1) to describe a program for…

The Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning (CAEL) Project involves Educational Testing Service and some 250 member institutions. The purpose of the project is to develop procedures and materials that will be useful in strengthening the assessment of experiential learning in higher education. This report describes extensive findings that…