Enhancing Educational Attainment Through Prior Learning Assessment

Prior learning assessment (PLA) is a path to greater educational attainment for adult learners re-entering higher education. This innovative approach provides academic credit for college-level and credit-worthy learning that happened outside the confines of the college walls. The growth in adoption of PLA at many institutions is in concert with the need for more of America's workforce to earn more postsecondary credentials. This chapter explores the nature of PLA and its evolution into the mainstream of higher education policy and practice. The authors examine two institutions' relevant and rigorous approaches to validating learning via PLA. The authors believe that credit for prior learning will become more standardized with time and awareness of this innovative approach to acknowledging experiential learning external to the academic setting.