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TAC. NEASC 126 th Annual meeting & conference Learning that transforms Prior Learning Assessment December 7, 2011. This portion of the panel is Presented by: Chari Leader Kelley, PhD The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. What is Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)?.

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  1. TAC • NEASC 126th Annual meeting & conference • Learning that transforms • Prior Learning Assessment December 7, 2011 This portion of the panel is Presented by: Chari Leader Kelley, PhD The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

  2. What is Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)? The evaluation of college-level knowledge and skills gained from life experiences or non-collegiate instructional programs, such as: • Corporate training • On the job learning • Military training • Civic activities • Volunteer service • Independent Study • Open Source Courses

  3. PLA Methods: • Standardized Exams such as CLEP, AP, DSST Credit by Exam (formerly Dantes), Excelsior College Examinations, UExcell • Military training evaluated by ACE • Business and industry training evaluated by ACE • Evaluation of employer or union training by local colleges • Institutional Challenge Exams • Portfolio Assessments

  4. CAEL’s Research on PLA • 48-institution study of PLA and academic outcomes (funded by Lumina Foundation) • 62,475 total adult students (adult = age 25 or older) • Reviewed records over a 7-year period – Students with PLA credits and students without PLA credits • Looked at persistence and graduation rates Fueling the Race forPostsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student Outcomes, March 2010, www.cael.org

  5. How Can PLA Help? Fueling the Race for Postsecondary Success, CAEL, March 2010

  6. More From The Research • PLA students made more progress than non-PLA students. 56% of all PLA students who had not yet earned a degree by the end of 2008 had accumulated 80 percent or more of the credits needed towards a degree (compared to 22% of non-PLA students with no degree) • PLA students earned more non-PLA credits, on average, and had stronger patterns of annual enrollment than non-PLA students. PLA students earned an average of 53.7 credits in institutional coursework, compared to an average of 43.8 credits by non-PLA students. • 60% of non-PLA students without degrees did not earn credit beyond one year of study, while higher percentages of PLA students without degrees re-enrolled and earned credits in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth years.

  7. The “PLA Effect” • Students with PLA credits are more likely to earn their degrees • Students with PLA credits are more persistent • Students with PLA credits took less time to complete. • The “PLA Effect” does not discriminate. • It is equal across institutional types (2-year, 4-year, nonprofit, for-profit), race, gender, ethnicity, whether or not students received financial aid.

  8. CAEL’s Standards For Assessing Learning Academic administrative Fees charged for assessment should be based on the services performed in the process and not determined by the amount of credit awarded. All personnel involved in the assessment of learning should pursue and receive adequate training and continuing professional development for the functions they perform. • Credit or its equivalent should be awarded only for learning, and not for experience. • The determination of credit awards must be made by appropriate subject matter experts (faculty). • If awards are for credit, transcript entries should clearly describe what is being recognized and be monitored to avoid duplicative credit.

  9. CAEL’s Standards For Assessing Learning Academic administrative Assessment programs should be regularly monitored, evaluated, and revised as needed to reflect changes in the needs being served, the purposes being met, and the state of the assessment arts. Policies, procedures, and criteria applied to assessment, including provision for appeal, should be fully disclosed and prominently available to all. • Assessment should be based on standards and criteria for the level of acceptable learning that are agreed upon and made public. • Assessment should be treated as an integral part of learning, not separate from it, and should be based on an understanding of learning processes. • Credit should be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.

  10. For more information: • Please see our electronic document links for this presentation, CAEL Standards for Assessing Learning, and “Fueling the Race forPostsecondary Success”Research Executive Summary, Full Report, and PLA Research Brief on Underserved Students • Chari Leader Kelley, Ph.D. • Senior Consultant, Higher Education Services • Council For Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) • cleader-kelley@cael.org

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