ACE PLA survey It is a snapshot of current practice in PLA policy or credit for prior learning Reactions from existing

xisting clients of the ACE Credit Recommendations and Transcript Services-both students and employers-to gain insights into their experiences in the use of prior learning High success rate in earning academic credit or employer recognition for prior learning experiences (82 percent) Responding campuses award academic credit for prior learning (92 percent) Across institutions, assessment methods, there is variation in PLA acceptance rates, campus policies and types of earned credits Students encounter lack of information about their options ACE College Credit Recommendation Service (CREDIT)-launched in 1974. It reviews and provides academic credit recommendations for more than 30,000 courses, exams, and certifications offered by the military, employers, government agencies, professional associations, apprenticeships ACE published course and occupation descriptions, academic credit recommendations on an official transcript, which is available to participants for a nominal fee. ACE transcript can help students get training translated into academic credit at approx. 2000 colleges and universities that consider the ACE credit recommendations History of ACE service is with veterans. Highlights where implementation of CPL might be strengthened. Applying prior learning toward a postsecondary degree, certificate, or credential allows the nation to capture the large investments made in workplace education and training. Meets unique needs of adult non-traditional students. Application of CPL may help more nontraditional students find smoother paths in and through postsecondary programs According to the 1,348 ACE transcript service users in survey tend to be middle-aged, white, female, employed full time, without a baccalaureate degree, and currently enrolled in college. Most likely to be adult workers with full-time jobs. Underlying motivations for ACE transcript users were to earn a college degree or a certificate (54 percent) or earn it faster (46 percent). The credential most respondents were pursuing or had already earned in connection with the recommended credit was bacehlors degree (70 percent), followed by associate degree (21 percent) and the certificate (9 percent)

Challenges Campus or industry being unaware of ACE credit recommendations, not accepting the ACE credit recommendations or applying credit in a limited way (e.g. elective credit only) Difficulty transferring PLA credit from one institution to another Lack of clarity on the rationale for an institutions ability to grant credit Lack of understanding on the part of institutions of course descriptions listed on ACE transcripts Limitations of the pass/no pass nature of credit recommendations included on ACE transcripts

Campus receptivity to PLA 92% of institutions in survey grant academic credit for PLA based on atleast one of the most commonly used assessment methods, such as national exams (83%)(e.g., the college-level examination program (CLEP), DSST, formerly known as DANTES (Defense Activity for NonTraditional Education Support) Subject Standardized Tests; the Excelsior College examinations, ACE-evaluated military training (77%) ACE credit for military occupations (53%) or ACE-evaluated corporate training (26%)or portfolio assessments (26%). Do not award credit based on listed methods (8%). The most common method in place is national exams (83 percent), public 2-year, public 4year, and private non-profit offer credit by national exams widely, but it is 53% for private for-profit institutions. Veteran focused recruitment practices in this sector: Private for-profits are more receptive to ACE-evaluated military training (80%) for occupations (60%) Private nonprofit colleges and universities are somewhat less receptive to military based prior learning Concerns around academic rigor, perceived accreditation restrictions (that accreditors do not accept ACE credit recommendations is noncompliant with accreditation requirements because ACE is not accredited institution) , low student demand, and faculty resistance

Campus policy When asked whether they have CPL standards or policies in place to guide and ensure consistent implementation across the campus, they say yes but varied depending on assessment methods used. Most institutions have campus-wide CPL policies, but those policies are often applied in conjunction with department-or-college level policies Some are part of formal credit transfer policy, other times CPL is practice without a formal written policy Most often, policies exist regarding national exams and portfolio assessments. Polices related to national exams tend to be institution-wide (83 percent) Portfolio assessments are likely to be guided by department or college-level policies 25% of ACE credit for military or workplace education have no formal policy at any level Who is responsible for establishing the CPL policy? Generally falls to registrars with some institutional variation. At 4-year institution, Chief academic officers (CAOs) also responsible for developing policies, in for-profit institutions CAOs more likely than registrars to assume role Portfolio assessment policies tend to be drawn by academic affairs officials, deans, CAOS, department chairs CPL policies sometimes set by academic committees, faculty senate of individual campuses or public institution follow system-wide standards developed by state system office or system department chair

90 % of campuses said registrars are lead officials administering various types of PLA except for portfolio assessments which was 81 percent. Registrars work with other departments, offices, officers How is prior learning credit accounted for on students transcripts? Policies allow application of CPL to major core course credit requirements or general education requirements National exams are more likely to be applied toward general education credit. Campuses are more likely to award elective course credit for prior learning (85-98 percent of responding campuses) than general education credit (76-93%) or major core course credit (6777%) From students perspective, the ability to apply CPL toward their major is of great benefit, reduce excessive credit accumulation that does not help to meet the requirements for degree completion Survey data indicate that community colleges and for-profit proprietary institutions may be relatively more adult friendly, more likely than 4-years to award major core course credit for various forms of CPL. (75% of ccs and forprofits award major core course credit as opposed to 59 to 71 percent of four-year counterparts) Sometimes course waivers are issues, which does not decrease time to degree or certificate.

Student perspective: Confusion because multiple offices and decision makers are involved in implementation of CPL Confusing and challenging processes Difficult to find the right point of contact, complexity of process

Industry perspective -ACE credit recommendation corporate clients , ACE-evaluated training programs, gone through process of having their workplace education programs evaluated for credit recommendations to offer an additional education benefit to their employees. Accelerated paths for nontraditional students Actual benefit of the resulting credit may be limited, institutions tend to grant elective course credit rather than general education or major core course credit Earning elective credits may not be needed to cross the credential threshold What methods can institutions employ to make sure students complete additional supplementary assignments for CPL to qualify for major course credit Community colleges and for-profits more receptive to CPL, more likely to grant major core course credit though most students are attempting to earn a BA degree. Gap between types of degrees sought and most common credentials that the more CPL-receptive institutions provide (AA and vocational certificates) Credit mobility issues to transfer from AA to BA especially for military (pg. 18)

Lack of clear, consistent information on CPL , not transparent or straightforward Inconsistency within and across institutions in policies and practices, access to information, points of contact need accurate and sufficient info and student support services for adults, gaining CPL and transferring it to another institution Information challenges, student support services, easy-to-use information Questions remain about the type and amount of prior learning credit students can apply to their programs, range of student services supporting use of CPL and experiences of students seeking to employ CPL from military education and training.

Students 10,580 was the N. recent clients of ACE transcript services with valid email addresses , 1348 valid responses Responding institutions are not nationally representative and may be subject to selection biases. Campus perspective is not confined to ACE credit recommendations, also other PLA Colleges and universiitesregistrars at acreedited degree granting institutions 414 Industry 28