making learning count in a mobile world
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Making Learning Count in a Mobile World
Amy ShermanCAEL Conference
November 12, 2010
1
National Imperative for a Skilled Workforce
Employment statistics are grim right now, but the future is brighter…. for the worker with skills and postsecondary credentials
Ambitious goals to address this – is it possible for 50-60% of the American workforce to have a college education by 2020?
2
What we are not talking about… Elite, highly selective institutions 4-year residential colleges The student who goes straight to college
after high school
3
Why not?
This is not the reality for most students today
4
Today’s students are mostly “non-traditional”
Have delayed postsecondary enrollment Attend part time Are financially independent Work full time Have dependents other than a spouse Are a single parent Have no high school diploma or GED
5
Most students are mobile
Clifford Adelman, 2006: Almost 65% of college students attended
more than one institution 26% attended more than two
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What goes to waste? Transfer credits College level learning that takes place
outside of the classroom Military training and experience Workplace experience On-the-job training Self-directed learning/Open Source
learning?
7
How to avoid wasted learning Better articulation and transfer
agreements Assessment and recognition of prior
learning Support services that help students
make their learning more portable Competency-based programs
8
Articulation and transfer agreements
Policies specifying how credits earned at one institution will be accepted by another towards its degree programs
9
State system articulation and transfer practices
Core curriculum for general education – 14 states
Common course numbering system – 7 states
Block credit transfer practices – 20 states
Transfer associate’s degrees – 30 states
10
Prior Learning Assessment – Credit for Prior Learning
Systems to award college credit for what someone learns outside the classroom:
Corporate trainingMilitary training and experienceWork experienceCivic activityIndependent studyEtc.
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Current PLA methods Standardized exams (CLEP, AP, DANTES) Portfolio Challenge exams Evaluation of corporate or military
training (ACE and others) Evaluation of noncredit instruction
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Value of PLA Saves time Saves money Motivates student Student does not have to sit through
classes in subjects that they have already mastered
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Challenges PLA underused Usage restricted Quality control Limited capacity of colleges and
universities to provide
CAEL’s Learning Counts virtual PLA service
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Credit transfer support services
Providing information, assistance and other resources to students regarding the transferability and acceptance of their existing college credit
15
Examples Degree completion institutions State databases/websites offering
information on articulation and transfer opportunities
Independent organizations offering information, tools, and guidance Academy One CollegeTransfer.net
16
Competency-based programs
Degree programs that have moved away from the college credit. Instead, they award degrees when a student masters a predetermined set of competencies – things that a students knows or can do.
17
Examples DePaul University’s School for New
Learning Western Governor’s University
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Recommendation 1Create incentives for higher education to
support mobile students Expand articulation agreements Make prior learning count Provide more options for degree
completion based on outcomes, not just seat time
Support more competency-based models
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Recommendation 2Learn more about the mobility and
outcomes of students who cross institutional borders Define success broadly – the student’s
individual outcome should matter as much as the institution’s
20
Recommendation 3Demystify the path to a degree
National database on articulation and transfer – build on what has currently been built
Navigational assistance and advising to all learners
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Recommendation 4Provide equitable funding for nontraditional learners and programs
22
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