Registrars and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

For the Record, An AACRAO Podcast

One of the enduring challenges institutions face is how to assess the learning that an individual acquires when they are not enrolled at an institution, and whether and what to award as credit toward a degree in recognition for that learning. In this episode we revisit the concept of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), and its outcome, Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), with two higher education professionals who saw the need for a better way to manage PLA so they built one.

Key Takeaways:

• We need our students as much as our students need us. PLA is a way to build trust with our students and to affirm their learning and experiences outside of the academy.
• Registrars are uniquely positioned to bring transparency to the PLA process because we are the holders of so many pieces of the process. Understanding what’s involved with PLA can also position registrars to advocate for it and educate others at the institution about it.
• PLA and the resulting CPL can lead to better student outcomes as they can move into classes that challenge them (rather than have to take lower-level classes of material they have already learned). Students who earn CPL are more likely to persist and complete a degree program.

Host:

Doug McKenna, University Registrar
George Mason University
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Guests:

Jesse Boeding
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Karen Ferguson
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References and Additional Information:

AACRAO Core Competencies - Leadership & Management

AACRAO Professional Proficiencies - Records and Academic Services

Education Assessment System website

CAEL - Credit for Prior Learning

AACRAO - Innovative Credentials

AACRAO - Learning Mobility