Colleges are increasingly granting academic credits based on life experiences in an attempt to attract students and cater to their diverse backgrounds.
Pennsylvania is experiencing one of the nation's most severe declines in the number of 18-year-old high school graduates, making it crucial for colleges and universities to find ways to attract and retain adult learners, including military personnel and those with work experience.
Across the United States, institutions are improving credit for prior learning programs by recognising and validating military training, workplace learning, and other experiential learning. This approach aims to help these learners earn degrees more efficiently.
The American Council on Education (ACE) plays a key role in this process, providing national guidelines and evaluations that allow students to convert military training and workplace learning into college credits. As a result, institutions are using ACE’s Military Guide and workplace learning credit evaluation services to award college credit for knowledge and skills gained outside traditional classrooms.
To better incorporate prior learning credits, institutions are redesigning curricula and advising services. This helps provide targeted support for nontraditional and military students who need to transfer credits for prior experience. Technology-enabled advising tools, including AI-driven systems, are also being employed to give tailored guidance on how prior learning credits fit into degree plans, thereby streamlining course registration and degree completion.
Holistic admissions and credit assessments are another focus area. These approaches consider more than just traditional transcripts, such as performance assessments and prior learning, to evaluate student readiness more effectively.
While specific examples from Pittsburgh institutions are limited, the University of Pittsburgh’s recent advising summit and ongoing efforts to incorporate advising innovations indicate a local commitment to these practices. Nationally, the trend emphasizes validating diverse learning experiences to shorten time to degree, support adult learners, and improve equity in higher education.
Notable initiatives include the University of Memphis partnering with FedEx to give employees with supervisory training academic credit for a degree in organizational leadership. Thomas Edison offers up to 30 credits for police academy graduates towards associate degrees, and Miami Dade College has septupled the number of credits for prior learning awarded since 2020.
However, many students, especially low-income learners, do not even try to get credit for prior learning. Many institutions limit the number of credits for prior learning a student can receive, and more than two-thirds of institutions charge a fee for evaluating whether other kinds of learning can be transformed into academic credit.
Despite these challenges, getting credit for prior learning can save students significant time and money. On average, students who get credit for prior learning save between $1,500 and $10,200 apiece and nearly seven months off the time it takes to earn a bachelor's degree.
In an effort to retain military personnel in North Carolina, the UNC System launched the Military Equivalency System, allowing active-duty and former military service members to find out almost instantly if their training could be used for academic credit. Being able to get credit for prior learning is a huge potential recruiting tool for colleges.
Pittsburgh's Regional Upskilling Alliance is another initiative connecting job centers, community groups, businesses, and educational institutions to create comprehensive education and employment records for more workers to get credit for skills they already have. California's community colleges are also expanding their credit for prior learning programs to increase the proportion of the population with educations beyond high school.
In conclusion, strengthening prior learning credit programs is essential for higher education institutions as they face declining numbers of 18-year-old high school graduates. By using nationally recognised military and workplace learning credit guides, curriculum redesign, technology-enhanced advising, and holistic admissions initiatives, institutions can enable military and work-experienced individuals to earn degrees more efficiently.
- Workforce development and higher education are becoming more intertwined in the United States, as institutions seek to award college credits for knowledge and skills gained through military training, work experience, and other forms of experiential learning.
- The American Council on Education (ACE) plays a crucial role in this process, providing national guidelines and evaluations that allow students to convert military training and work experience into college credits.
- To better incorporate prior learning credits, institutions are redesigning curricula and advising services, employing technology-enabled advising tools, and using holistic admissions and credit assessments to evaluate student readiness more effectively.
- By offering adult learners, including military personnel and those with work experience, the opportunity to earn degrees more efficiently, educational institutions are addressing the issue of inequality in higher education and fostering personal growth and learning opportunities for their workforce development programs.
