Lawmakers and foundations push prior-learning assessment

By Paul Fain. The granting of college credit for learning that occurs outside of the academic setting has become an increasingly visible part of the national college completion push, with broad efforts under way in several states to ramp up prior-learning assessment...
Lawmakers see prior learning as a “tool in completion,” and a practical one, said Iris Palmer, a senior associate for HCM Strategists. Palmer worked with the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) to create a guide for state policy makers on prior-learning assessment. The report also tracks how the process is being adopted around the country. Prior-learning assessment takes three primary forms: through portfolios students put together to demonstrate college-level learning, with examinations of that learning and knowledge, and though programmatic review, where a college or an outside group issues standardized credit recommendations based on assessments of military or on-the-job training. The process, which goes back decades, is related to its hipper cousins among possible “disruptions” to higher education: competency-based education and massive open online courses (MOOCs). More...