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Prior Learning Assessment and the Community College
Higher Education Conference on Enrollment Management
February 23, 2011Judith 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.
2
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:
employmenttravel
hobbiescivic activities
volunteer servicemilitary service
5
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
7
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.
8
PLA Students by Level of Institution
4%
30%
96%
70%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
At least 2 but lessthan 4
Four or more years
Did not earn PLA credit
Earned PLA Credit
9
Graduation Rate by Institution Level
13%
53%
24%
55%
87%
47%
76%
45%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Two YearInstitution: Didnot earn PLA
credit(n=12,117)
Two YearInstitution:
Earned PLAcredit (n=524)
Four YearInstitution: Didnot earn PLA
credit(n=34,764)
Four YearInstitution:
Earned PLAcredit
(n=15,070)
Did not earn apostsecondarydegreeEarned apostsecondarydegree
10
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.
11
Students Taking Remedial Courses
12%
38%
8%14%
5%
20%
17%
41%
81%
39%
74%
46%
1%
2%
1%
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Took RemedialCourses, Non-
PLA Student(n=4,860)
Took RemedialCourses, PLA
Student(n=299)
Did Not TakeRemedial
Courses, Non-PLA Student(n=24,603)
Did Not TakeRemedial
Courses, PLAStudent
(n=11,266)
No Degree
Other
Bachelor's Degree
Associate's Degree
12
Summary – Graduation Rates
PLA students in this study had better graduation rates than non-PLA students:• regardless of institutional size, level (two-year or four-
year) 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
13
Credit Accumulation, No Degree Earners
28%
12%
16%13%
9%
22%
1% 2%
7%
16%18%
56%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Earned few erthan 10% ofcredits for
degree
Earned 10-19% of credits
needed
Earned 20-39% of credits
needed
Earned 40-59% of credits
needed
Earned 60-79% of credits
needed
Earned 80% ormore of credits
needed
Did not earn PLA credit(n=23,101)
Did earn PLA credit(n=1,800)
14
Persistence – Number of Credit-Earning Years
60%
19%
9%
6%3% 3%
37%
23%
14%11%
7% 8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of Years in Which Credit Was Earned (May Be Non-Consecutive)
Did not earn PLA credit(n=34,056)
Did earn PLA credit(n=2,625)
15
Time to Associate’s Degree
44.6
47.4
45.4
40.1
42.9
36.0
38.0
40.0
42.0
44.0
46.0
48.0
No PLA Credit(n=1,906)
1-6 PLA credits(n=230)
7-12 PLA credits(n=176)
13-24 PLA credits(n=78)
25-36 PLA credits(n=55)
Mon
ths
to A
ssoc
iate
's D
egre
e
16
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 non-PLA students earning associate’s degrees.
17
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
18
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
19
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
20
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 7%
No 2%
Yes, probably 39%
Yes, definitely 52%
21
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 9%
No, probably not 7%
My institution already does this 38%
Yes, definitely 14%
Yes, possibly 32%
22
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
24
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 exams25
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
26
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
27
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
.
28
The ALFI Principles
Outreach Life/Career Planning Financing Assessment of Learning Outcomes Teaching/Learning Process Student Support Systems Technology Strategic Partnerships Transitions
29