Bridging Workforce Development and Higher Education

Dr. Shelley B. DixonDr. Nan L. TraversMs. Lisa Sax

NYATEP-NYSDOLWorkforce NY 2011 Fall Conference

October 18-19, 2011Albany, NY

2Agenda

• Introductions• Overview – SUNY Empire State College• Higher Education Today• Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

– What it means

– Current trends

– Implications from research

• Connecting the Dots for Workforce Development• Q & A

3SUNY Empire State College

• Largest college of arts and sciences in SUNY – 20,000 students

• 35 locations throughout New York and online• Associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees• Advanced graduate certificates• Unique mission within SUNY• 60,000 alumni since 1971

4Higher Education in a

• Economic vitality and higher education are strongly linked.

• Demand for workers with college education will outpace supply by 300,000 per year in U.S.

• Less federal and state support for higher education, more financial burden on individuals.

References: Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce; The Lumina Foundation; The Futures Forum: Exploring the Future of Higher Education, Harvard University

Downturned Economy

5

US Department of Education

• College Completion Toolkit (2011) - strategies to help students complete college degrees.

• Included in the report:

Prior Learning Assessment

6Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

• Students articulate their college-level learning and use evidence to document that learning, usually in a portfolio format.

• Faculty and/or Content Experts assess the student’s learning and make college credit recommendations

• The college or university grants college credits based on the assessment

7Historical Developments in PLA

• American Council on Education (ACE):• Military experiences - 1945

• Extra-institutional learning - 1974

• College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB):• College level exams – 1930’s

• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) – 1967

• The Educational Testing Services (ETS) • College entrance exams - 1947

8Historical Developments (cont.)

• Other Standardized college-level exams:• The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support

(DANTES)• Thomas Edison College Examination Program (TECEP)

• The Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning (CAEL) -1974 - studied adult learner practices – created 10 principles for Prior Learning Assessment

• Between 1968-1974, 13 postsecondary institutions were developed to address the needs of adult learners, including PLA practices - including

SUNY Empire State College (1971)

9SUNY Empire State College

• Students self-design their own degree plans based on latest industry needs and personal and professional learning goals.

• Liberal transfer policies allow evaluated college-level learning to be applied toward degree.

• Students can be assessed for college-level learning acquired through workplace experiences – Prior Learning Assessment.

10Current Trends in PLA

• Recognized as a valid process by:– U.S. Dept of Education– Accreditation Agencies– Many Ministry of Education in other countries

• US & Canadian Postsecondary Institutions:– Increase in PLA at undergraduate level– Beginning to be offered at graduate level

• Other Countries– Building practice in workforce development– Some postsecondary institutions

11Current Trends in PLA (cont.)

• PLA Services outside of colleges or universities– Learning Counts (CAEL) www.learningcounts.org– KNEXT (Kaplan) www.knext.com

• Development in Research – Prior Learning International Research Center

(http://www.tru.ca/distance/plirc.html) – Prior Learning Assessment Inside Out: An

International Journal on the Theory, Research and Practice in Prior Learning Assessment (www.plaio.org)

12Research on PLA

• The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) study:– >62,000 students at 48 institutions– Compared PLA participants to non-PLA participants

• Results indicated PLA participation:– Increased participation rates– Completion rates (13% vs. 6% at Associate Level; 44%

vs.15% at Bachelor level)– Took more credits at institution

Klein-Collins, R. (2010). “Fuelling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student Outcomes.” www.cael.org

13Research on PLA (cont.)

• Other studies indicate that PLA participation increases:– Self-awareness and personal development– Problem-solving skills– Study skills– Reflection skills– Tacit knowledge– Self-regulated learning

14Activity – Part 1

Take 5 minutes and jot down everything you know about:

Finding Work for Unemployed Adults

15What is College Level Learning?

• Theory: The application, demonstration and context within which the concepts are formed and function.

• Communication: The ability to engage in and use sources of communication to share a discourse of thoughts, opinions and information.

• Relationship Among Ideas: The ability to shape, engage and interpret ideas to provide analytical and critical perspectives, strategies, abstractions, and synthesis and to explore those ideas through focused questions and discourse.

• Utilization of Ideas: The ability to apply and demonstrate ideas and concepts within experiential contexts.

16College Level Learning (cont.)

• Understanding of Self in Relation to Ideas and Learning: The ability to self-regulate and own one’s learning through reflection, suspension of disbelief, intellectual honesty and goal setting and to use self-regulation to engage the learning process.

• Understanding of Self, Learning and Ideas in a Broader Context of the World: The ability to bring contextual awareness from an expanded viewpoint to the learning with the awareness of and appreciation for the perspectives of others.

• Relationship to the Field and Academe: The learning is related to historical and field relevant perspectives and is consistently viewed as college-level across experts within a field and/or multiple faculty members.

17Activity – Part 2

• Pick a partner

• Take turns (5 minutes each)

• Interview your partner on what he or she knows about “Finding Work for Unemployed Adults.”

18Discussion on Activity

• What did you discover about your own knowledge?

• What did you discover about your partner’s knowledge?

• How did this impact your own knowledge?• How can you determine if any of this knowledge

is college-level?

19Implications for Workforce Development• Elimination of duplication of learning• Ability to reach goals faster• Increased access to education and better understanding of depth and application of knowledge • Recognizable credentials expand employment opportunities

• Larger pool of skilled workers with valid credentials that meet job requirements• Gives value to skills and knowledge acquired through work

• Reduction of costs • Quicker ability to respond to industry needs• Higher program retention and completion rates• Aligns with Individual Development Plans

PLA = a strategy to help adult learners transition toward re-employment

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Questions?

Thank You!

Dr. Nan Travers Dr. Shelley Dixon Lisa Sax

Tel. 518.587.2100 ext. 2728 Tel. 518.587.2100 ext. 2316 518.587.2100 ext. 2851

Nan.Travers@esc.edu Shelley.Dixon@esc.edu Lisa.Sax@esc.edu