Prior Learning Assessment
(PLA) Pilot Project At VSU
What is it and how is it
important to VSU and
our students?
Have you had the experience…
 You find that a student in a class you are
teaching:
 Already has the knowledge, skills, or abilities
that will be taught in the course.
 Does not need to be in the class.
 We have not had a way to recognize the
student’s knowledge or the learning that
took place before the student signed up for
that course.
 What if… the student got help preparing
documentation and submitted it to faculty?
2
This is the concept behind Prior
Learning Assessment (PLA)
 The real focus of PLA is on assessment methods that fit


traditional learning
experiential learning





Courses
Training Programs (e.g. military)
Work Experience
Community Service
Personal Study



CLEP (The College-Level Examination Program®)
AP (Advanced Placement)
Departmental Examinations
 A way to recognize the learning a student brings to the
university from other settings
 With faculty and department determining the credit
 PLA fits with existing methods for granting credit:
3
PLA Pilot Project at VSU
 Current PLA pilot project under way,
supported by University System of Georgia
 Faculty will serve as assessors to:
 determine the appropriateness of a student’s
knowledge
 and the possible match with course outcomes
 The pilot project will help us develop
guidelines for how best to proceed with
implementation of PLA.
4
Basis of PLA Assessment
Assessment focuses
Learning
on learning
– not just experience
Learning is based on
experience and
academic theory
Experience
+
Theory
5
Faculty Role &
Compensation
 A professor who is a subject matter expert
 is recruited to develop a method of assessment
 based on the outcomes for the relevant course.
 The professor will evaluate the
documentation provided by the student.
 The results of the PLA Pilot project will be
used to determine
 the amount of time required to develop the
assessments
 and appropriate compensation for the faculty.
6
Student Role
Students provide documentation for the
learning and must convince assessors that:
 experiences are relevant and appropriate to
the course subject
 learning from those experiences is substantive
 learning is aligned with course outcomes
 learning is grounded on relevant theory.
Students will receive guidance on the preparation of the
documentation and it will be reviewed before it is submitted
7
to faculty for final consideration.
Criteria for Quality Assurance in
Assessing Learning for Credit

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) has
spent over 30 years establishing and promoting quality
standards among institutions of higher learning:






Credit or its equivalent will be awarded only for learning, and not
for experience.
Assessment should be based on standards and criteria for the level
of acceptable learning.
Assessment should be treated as an integral part of learning, not
separate from it, and should be based on an understanding of
learning processes.
The determination of credit awards and competence levels must be
made by appropriate subject matter and academic or credentialing
experts.
Credit or other credentialing will be appropriate to the academic
context in which it is awarded and accepted.
The program of study and the student’s major, i.e., core, upperdivision, or graduate, of the student determines the “academic
context.”
Adapted From: Morry Fiddler, Catherine Marieneau & Urban Whitaker. Assessing Learning: Standards,
Principles, & Procedures. Chicago: CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning), 2006.
For more information visit: The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) at http://www.cael.org/.
8
Why are we talking about
Prior Learning Assessment
(PLA)
?
 The PLA Pilot Project was initiated by the University
System of Georgia with the initial goal of helping to
address the shortage of teachers.
 Career-changers are a rich source of teachers.
 More than 40% of students nationally are selfsupporting adults age 24 or older.
 This population brings potentially creditable
experience that can accelerate time to graduation.
 PLA provides a way to build on workers’ skills and
increase transferability.
 The project has now been extended to cover students
in majors or career fields other than Education.
9
Why is the PLA Pilot Project
being conducted at VSU?
 PLA Project fits with goals and strategic plans of
both USG and VSU
 See VSU’s Strategic Planning Goals: 5 Goals in 5
Years

Develop a proposal for programs and program delivery strategies that
meet the needs of non-traditional degree seeking students.
 Move to Outcomes-Based Teaching fits with
SACS requirements.
 PLA Pilot Project supported by Grant resources
from US Department of Education.
 The PLA model developed at VSU will be
extended to other USG units.
10
In Summary
 PLA is important to students
 Faculty and departments will
determine credit
 Pilot project is under way at VSU
 Processes are based on CAEL
practices and quality assurance
standards
11