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Adult learners often bring a wealth of experience to higher education that can be applied to their field of study, and Credit for Previous Learning (CPL) is one way to provide credit for students' real-life experience outside of academia without requiring them to take courses in subjects they have already mastered.
But helping students match their experience with credits can be a challenge. Davenport University recently invested in a digital solution that provides interested students with information about how their past work counts toward their degree.
“We value what students learn outside the classroom,” Wayne D. Sneath, Davenport University's vice president for academic affairs, said in a press release. “We value college-level learning and have a streamlined process for evaluating it.”
What you'll need: Credit for prior learning, also known as prior learning assessment (PLA), is one way to shorten students' time to degree completion by recognizing and recognizing students' real-world experiences outside of their academic studies. It is also a powerful tool in recruiting, retaining, and graduating adult learners.
A May report from the American Association of College and University Registrars and Admissions Officers found that about 82 percent of the colleges and universities surveyed offer one or more CPL pathways, and 90 percent of those schools accept CPL as a major requirement. But only 11 percent of adult learners at those institutions take a CPL, and the average student completes fewer than 15 credits.
A study by the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and WICHE found that adult learners who participated in CPL were more likely to earn a credential than their peers who didn't. Internal data from Davenport University showed similar trends, reported Sneath and Matt Devereaux, assistant vice president for assessment.
Studies have shown that CPL can help students shorten the time it takes to complete their degree by up to 14 months and save thousands of dollars in tuition fees.
But many students don’t know about CPL or don’t think it’s relevant to their experience, making it important for the university to highlight ways students can receive credit for learning they’ve already done. Davenport leaders chose to implement the tool to shorten the path to degree completion and improve retention for current learners.
structure: Davenport uses CAEL's Credit Predictor to host the tool PantherPath (named after the university's mascot).
The tool asks students a series of eight questions to predict how much college credit they could earn for the experience, then calculates and calculates how much money and time students could save by using a special credit-granting plan.
Depending on a student's enrollment status (current or planned), Davenport staff will contact the student to review information and provide next steps.
To increase awareness of the tool, the university launched a strategic marketing plan to share information on social media, the university website and in the news media.
Credit given: At Davenport University, students can receive credit for past work experience, military service, workplace training and community service, as well as transfer up to 90 credits from other institutions, according to the university's website.
In the 2023-24 school year, students who completed the PLA gained an average of 4.1 credits and students who earned a certificate saved 15.3 credits, students who earned credit by examination saved an average of 6.2 credits and students with military experience saved an average of 16.8 credits.
Davenport University also strives to serve adult learners through multiple course delivery methods and scholarships available to older students. Approximately one-third of the university's learners are over the age of 24.
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