Prior Learning Assessment: Accelerating or Augmenting the College Degree?

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Author(s): David Starr-Glass (University of New York in Prague, Czech Republic)
Copyright: 2017
Pages: 33
Source title: Accelerated Opportunity Education Models and Practices
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Rene Cintron (Louisiana Community & Technical College System, USA), Jeanne C. Samuel (Delgado Community College, USA)and Janice M. Hinson (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0528-0.ch010

Keywords: Adult Learning / Education / Higher Education / Information Science Reference

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Abstract

The average time taken to earn an American four-year degree is 55 months, with only 40% of students graduating on time. Increased time to graduate, failure to complete degrees, spiraling tuition costs, and daunting graduate debt have all focused minds on finding ways of accelerating the degree-granting process without eroding its quality. One solution is using Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) to generate college-level credits from learning that has taken place outside the academy. PLA can range from the acceptance of standardized examinations results to the determination of college-level equivalencies by evaluating the student's informal learning. This chapter explores different forms of PLA and suggests that more extensive forms of PLA provide considerable benefits, not only in generating credits but in supporting, integrating, and potentially transforming learning experiences. The chapter discusses the multiple benefits of PLA and explains how it might be implemented to benefit students, faculty, and institution.

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