Prior Learning Assessment and the Community
College
Higher Education Conference on Enrollment
Management
February 23, 2011
Judith Wertheim
CAEL
The Council for Adult and Experiential
Learning
 CAEL works to remove the barriers to
adults so that they can pursue higher
education and realize their potential.
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Some Barriers to Adult Participation
Affordability
Accessibility
Aspiration
3
Removing the Barriers
Prior
Learning
Assessment
Can Help
4
How Can PLA Help?
What Is PLA?
The evaluation for college credit of the
knowledge and skills one gains from life
experiences (or from non-college
instructional programs) including:
employment
travel
hobbies
civic activities
volunteer service
military service
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How Can PLA Help?
PLA Methods
• Standardized exams




Advanced Placement (AP)
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Excelsior College Exams
DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST)
• Evaluation of non-college training
(e.g. corporate or military)
• Challenge exams
• Individual student portfolios
6
How Can PLA Help?
CAEL Study of PLA and Student
Outcomes
• 48-institution study of PLA and academic outcomes,
funded by Lumina Foundation for Education (Fueling the
Race to Postsecondary Success)
• 62,475 total adult students in our sample (adult = age 25
or older)
• Increased Graduation Rates, Greater Persistence, and
Shorter Time to Degree
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How Can PLA Help?
In our knowledge-based economy,
education has become a critical link to
economic security.
A postsecondary degree or credential is
now an essential qualification for jobs that
offer good wages.
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PLA Students by Level of Institution
120%
100%
80%
70%
60%
Did not earn PLA credit
Earned PLA Credit
96%
40%
20%
30%
0%
4%
At least 2 but less
than 4
Four or more years
9
Graduation Rate by Institution Level
100%
90%
80%
45%
47%
70%
60%
76%
87%
50%
40%
30%
Did not earn a
postsecondary
degree
Earned a
postsecondary
degree
55%
53%
20%
10%
13%
24%
0%
Two Year
Two Year
Four Year
Institution: Did
Institution:
Institution: Did
not earn PLA Earned PLA
not earn PLA
credit
credit (n=524)
credit
(n=12,117)
(n=34,764)
Four Year
Institution:
Earned PLA
credit
(n=15,070)
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What we now can say
Evidence shows that PLA students, on
average, have higher rates of degree
earning than do non-PLA students.
This is true at institutions of all sizes, levels
and controls.
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Students Taking Remedial Courses
100%
90%
39%
80%
46%
70%
60%
74%
81%
No Degree
2%
50%
0%
20%
Other
Bachelor's Degree
Associate's Degree
40%
41%
30%
1%
1%
20%
5%
10%
12%
38%
17%
8%
14%
0%
Took Remedial Took Remedial Did Not Take
Courses, Non- Courses, PLA
Remedial
PLA Student
Student
Courses, Non(n=4,860)
(n=299)
PLA Student
(n=24,603)
Did Not Take
Remedial
Courses, PLA
Student
(n=11,266)
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Summary – Graduation Rates
 PLA students in this study had better
graduation rates than non-PLA students:
• regardless of institutional size, level (two-year or fouryear) or control (private for-profit, non-profit, or public)
• regardless of the individual student’s academic ability
or grade point average
• regardless of the individual student’s age, gender, or
race/ethnicity
• regardless of whether or not the individual student
receives financial aid
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Credit Accumulation, No Degree Earners
60%
50%
56%
Did not earn PLA credit
(n=23,101)
Did earn PLA credit
(n=1,800)
40%
30%
28%
22%
20%
18%
16%
16%
13%
12%
10%
7%
1%
9%
2%
0%
Earned few er
Earned 10Earned 20Earned 40Earned 60Earned 80% or
than 10% of 19% of credits 39% of credits 59% of credits 79% of credits more of credits
credits for
needed
needed
needed
needed
needed
degree
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Persistence – Number of Credit-Earning Years
70%
60%
60%
Did not earn PLA credit
(n=34,056)
50%
40%
Did earn PLA credit
(n=2,625)
37%
30%
23%
19%
20%
14%
11%
9%
10%
8%
7%
6%
3%
3%
0%
1
2
3
4
5
6
Num ber of Years in Which Credit Was Earned (May Be Non-Consecutive)
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Time to Associate’s Degree
47.4
48.0
45.4
Months to Associate's Degree
46.0
44.6
44.0
42.9
42.0
40.1
40.0
38.0
36.0
No PLA Credit
(n=1,906)
1-6 PLA credits
(n=230)
7-12 PLA credits 13-24 PLA credits 25-36 PLA credits
(n=176)
(n=78)
(n=55)
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Summary – Time to Degree
 PLA earners with associate’s degrees saved
an average of between 1.5 and 4.5 months of
time in earning their degrees, compared to nonPLA students earning associate’s degrees.
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Spring, 2010
 Additional study of PLA in community
colleges
 88 respondents to survey; additional
telephone interviews with 15
 Respondents represent 20 different
states, Oklahoma among them
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Summary of Findings
Community colleges are largely familiar with
PLA
 • 64% offer portfolio assessments
 •90% accept CLEP exam credit
 •93% accept AP exam credit
 •85% offer challenge exams
 •82% use the ACE Guides to award credit to
students with military transcripts
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Summary of Findings
BUT PLA not used by students in
community colleges:
 Inconsistent acceptance by departments
 Not advocated by faculty and advisors
 Not broad enough to meet students’ needs
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Summary of Findings
 Sample question: Do you have younger
adults who come to your institution with
some technical training that they have
learned on the job?
I don’t know
No
7%
2%
Yes, probably
Yes, definitely
39%
52%
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Summary of Findings
 Sample questions: If you could evaluate this
prior learning from technical training and tie it to
courses, could there be greater use of PLA at
your institution?
I don’t know
No, probably not
My institution already does this
9%
7%
38%
Yes, definitely
Yes, possibly
14%
32%
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Additional Strategies for Success
Helping Adult Learners Succeed: Tools
for Two-Year Colleges
Ruth Frey
www.cael.org.
23
Additional Strategies for Success
 New and expanded course delivery options
such as Saturday course offerings, Sunday
course offerings, a “Friday night” degree
program, an accelerated degree program
 Online courses; hybrid courses
 Redesign of a website for adult learners,
which is also used as an internal resource
for faculty and staff
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Additional Strategies for Success
 Redesigned orientation sessions, making
them more effective and efficient
 Development of a non-credit program
targeting adults to assist them in
transitioning to college
 Help potential students to connect with
people at the college and prepare them for
placement exams
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Additional Strategies for Success
 Creation of a student mentor or advisor program
to help new students negotiate college processes
and procedures
 Hiring an “advising and retention” coordinator at a
college’s Learning Development Center
 Mandatory advising training for faculty (full-time
and part-time) and the development of
online tools to help keep them up- to-date on
advising issues
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Additional Strategies for Success
 Formation of an “Adult Learner” committee
to work on issues related to this important
demographic
 Articulation agreements with local four-year
colleges in order to position the community
college as the “preferred provider” for
employees of corporations in the area
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Additional Strategies for Success
 Well-informed advisors to assist students in
choosing courses that ft their schedules and count
toward their academic program. (Adult students
have little patience for courses that do not help
them progress toward their degree.)
 Advising to provide information necessary to
move through a program of study and provide the
foundation for transfer to a four-year institution
.
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The ALFI Principles









Outreach
Life/Career Planning
Financing
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Teaching/Learning Process
Student Support Systems
Technology
Strategic Partnerships
Transitions
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Questions?
Judy Wertheim
jwertheim@cael.org
312.499.2659
www.cael.org
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