Adult

Student

Success in

Tennessee

CAEL focuses on

Adult Student Success

We all Share a Common Goal:

Student Success

CAEL’s Overarching Goal:

Meaningful Learning, Credentials, and Work for

Every Adult

For more than 41 years, CAEL has been linking adults’ lifelong learning with credits

and careers

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

A 501(c)(3) non-profit, international organization with 40 years of lifelong learning experience

National leader in Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) best practices,

research, and writing

Dedicated to removing barriers to adult learning

Standards recognized by regional accrediting bodies

What Is CAEL?

CAEL’s Unique Integrator Role

Colleges & universities

Corporations

Labor unions

Government, community and philanthropic

entities

Public Policymakers

One of the Greatest Barriers to Adult

Student Success

Why Are We Talking About Adult Learners?

Adults with some college and no

degree, 752,337

High School Graduates, 60,180

Adults with some college and no degree High School Graduates7

Source for High School

Graduates: National

Center for Education

Statistics. 2012-2013

school year.

https://nces.ed.gov/progra

ms/projections/projections

2021/tables.asp

Source for Adults with

some college and no

degree: Lumina

Foundation.

http://strongernation.lumin

afoundation.org/report/

Some college, no degree

Graphic: Lumina Foundation

What About Tennessee?

Graphic: Lumina Foundation

What About Tennessee?

National Average: 40%

Lumina Goal 2025: 60%

Graphic: Lumina Foundation

What About

Tennessee?

• Lagging in total

enrollment

• Lagging in every

ethnic group

Graphic: Lumina Foundation

Research Tells Us Credit for

Lifelong Learning Helps

Students are More Likely to

Persist to Graduation!

Graduation and Completion

Baccalaureate students are

2.5X times more likely to

persist to graduation

2.5X

Credit for Prior

Learning Helps Adults

• See the End Goal

• Feel Empowered

• Decrease Cost

• Feel Valued

Prior Learning Assessment is the process for evaluating knowledge and skills to award college credit for learning from:

What is Prior Learning

Assessment? (PLA)

Independent

Study

Training Courses

and/or Certifications

Military and Volunteer

Service

On-the-job training

Work Experience

The Variety of PLA Methods

Industry Recognized Certificates

Evaluated Non-College

Training

Standardized Tests

Student Portfolios

College

Credit,

College

Completion

Getting to Scale with PLA

• Not enough colleges granting credit for prior learning,

and even when they do, marketing to students is weak

• Adult learners are not aware of PLA so they often

repeat what they already know

• Need for consistent application of CAEL standards

• Need for a national, accessible online approach

• Not enough trained faculty experts to review portfolios

• Compensation structure for portfolio reviews is

inconsistent or non-existent

What is LearningCounts?

•Online Portfolio

Development Course•Portfolio Tool and

Guidance

•Individualized Assessment by

FacultyIncludes Free College Credit Predictor

Overview of

LearningCounts

• Portfolios are routed electronically to CAEL-

trained faculty assessors with appropriate subject

matter expertise

• Students find out within 2 weeks if portfolio credit

is recommended.

• Credits are transcribed on a CAEL/NCCRS

Transcript or directly by Featured Network

colleges and universities

Portfolio Development Course Details

•Linking Learning and Work | www.cael.org ©

Course Name TBD by Institution

Course Length

6-weeks in length

(2-week optional portfolio

workshop immediately following)

Description

This is an accelerated instructor-

led, online course with weekly

assignments. Includes one

portfolio assessment.

Credit Details3 Credit Elective Pass/Fail

+ 1 portfolio assessment

Grade DeliveryVia Grade Form Institution Project

Lead

Portfolio Development Course Details• Delivered via LearningCounts LMS

• Sections of 25 students or less

• All individual assignments (no

group work)

• Textbook is included in the course

• Students can order a printed

textbook: http://www.kendallhunt.com/cael/

•Linking Learning and Work | www.cael.org ©

College

Credit

Predictor

College

Credit

Predictor

Course Assignment Overview• Weeks 1-6: Multiple assignments due on Sundays @ 11:59 PM

Central (weeks run Monday through Sunday)

• Weeks 7 & 8: Optional Portfolio Workshop

• Final Paper is the learning narrative document and is the

major component of the portfolio

• APA Style formatting required

• Turnitin (plagiarism detection) is integrated with assignments

in LMS

•Linking Learning and Work | www.cael.org ©

Portfolio Development• Portfolio contains a single course

• Students must have syllabus

• Must be undergraduate (100-400) level– No capstones

– No internships

– No developmental courses

– No practicums

– No lab courses or courses with lab components

• Portfolio evaluations are completed in about two weeks

• Portfolio credit recommendations are Pass/Fail

• Portfolio must be submitted within 6 months of beginning portfolio course

Popular Portfolio Areas

• Business and Management

• Information

Systems/Technology

• Human Resources

• Finance/Accounting

• Criminal Justice/Legal

• Hospitality/Event Management

• Healthcare Administration

80%Success Rate

LearningCounts Faculty Assessors

• 100% hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in

their field

• 63% hold a terminal degree

• At least 18 hours at the graduate level in the

areas they assess

• Receive ongoing training and evaluation for

continuous improvement

• 100% are committed to our PLA philosophy and

student success!

Adult Student to Portfolio Completion

• Meet Mark

• Earning his BA degree in Business Management at Loyola University Chicago

• 12 year long international career in various industries and markets

– 6 years as Systems Engineer

– 6 years as Design Engineer

Analyzing

a portfolio

Feedback from the Assessor

Portfolio Assessment

• Students use course match – one portfolio per 3 credit

course

• Assessors are subject matter experts, significant amount have

terminal degrees in the subject matter and all have taught the

classes in the subject matter/disciplines of the portfolios they

are evaluating

• Assessors must complete LearningCounts, CAEL, or DePaul

assessor training

• Assessors are faculty from colleges and universities

nationwide—they evaluate portfolios and make credit

recommendations

Credit is for LEARNING, not for experience

Subject matter experts make

credit recommendations

Any fees are for assessment, not

for the amount of credit awarded

Key CAEL Standards

IDENTIFYING LEARNINGCOUNTS STUDENTS

Who is a good candidate for portfolio?

• Do they have at least 5 years of

professional experience in an applied area

that aligns with courses at your institution?

• Have they taken or tested out of Basic

Composition Course and will feel

comfortable writing a 5-10 page paper?

• Have they completed at least 1 other

online course?

• Do they have flexibility within their degree

plan to earn portfolio credits?

Enrolling in LearningCounts

Adviser Identifies Student Adviser Enrolls Student Student Completes Course & Portfolio

Student is good candidate

for portfolio

Adviser and student select

course or courses for

portfolio

Adviser gives student the

syllabi for the selected

courses

Adviser enrolls students in

CAEL 100/PLA 100

Christine sends name/email

to

registrar@learningcounts.or

g

LearningCounts reaches out

to student via email

Student passes CAEL 100 on

LearningCounts Portal

Student submits portfolio

for assessment

Grade reports for CAEL 100

and portfolios emailed to

Christine

Student submits additional

portfolios

Degree Planning with PLA

Few Colleges Implement on

Their Own at Scale

Research has found:

• PLA offerings are inconsistent across departments.

• PLA credit often officially available, but not always advocated or promoted.

• PLA programs vary widely from college to college and consistency and transferability of PLA credits is a concern.

• College administrators see considerable potential or future demand for PLA, but many do not have plans to expand their offerings

Prior Learning Assessment Can Help Students

Save Time

Save Money

Graduate Faster

Let’s help college

students across the state

and country complete

their degree and

succeed!

Connect with CAEL

CAEL Website: www.cael.org

Like us: www.facebook.com/CAELnews

Follow us: www.twitter.com/CAELnews

Join us: http://linkd.in/wsUnxh

Watch us: www.youtube.com/caelchicago

42