Correction: The original version of this In the Know contained an error. Learning Counts is a program of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.
Professors hope their students will take their desire for education from the lecture hall and into the real world, and use experiential learning to supplement what they have learned in the classroom.
But with the growth of a practice called prior learning assessment in higher education, in which colleges grant credit for learning through life experience, students may find themselves exempt from many General
Education, lower-division courses. This life experience could include work experience, vocational training programs, online open-source classes or even independent reading. While most institutions implement prior learning assessment to an extent ““ offering credit for Advanced Placement classes, for instance ““ some have taken it to an extreme, like Western Governors University, which has made headlines for allocating all of its credits based on assessment, not on classes taken.
Though prior learning assessment is not a new phenomenon, its expansion and institutionalization is concerning. While some contend it simply streamlines the education process, especially for adults with work experience who have not had the opportunity to pursue a degree, prior learning assessment ultimately demeans the value and significance of a college degree.
By giving credit for previous knowledge obtained through nonacademic means, prior learning assessment undermines the idea that the college experience should promote the attainment of new knowledge, particularly from degree-holding faculty in a classroom environment. Such faculty are the most qualified to teach students, and learning with other students offers an opportunity for discussion and critical thinking that independent reading or work cannot match.
Gaining real life experience is certainly a beneficial supplement to one’s traditional education, but that does not mean it should replace it.
The American Council of Education, which coordinates all of the nation’s colleges and universities, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning are two of the major bodies that determine what kind of learning experience qualifies for course credit. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning even has its own prior learning assessment service, Learning Counts, where students can pay a fee to get help constructing their portfolio of life experiential learning and have it evaluated for course credit. While the introduction of fees calls the legitimacy of the process into question, even the organization’s trademarked slogan points to the very reason prior learning assessment should be limited: “College credit for what you already know.”
Though the value of the traditional college experience has been constantly questioned, a degree should not simply be reduced to a certificate for passing a test and completing a few extra classes in record time.
Ideally, it should indicate that the graduate was in fact educated in a traditional academic setting, taught by actual professors and worked alongside fellow students.
Aspects of prior learning assessment are already an accepted part of the modern college experience, including evaluation of learning gained through military experience and transfer units from community colleges.
But it should not come to encompass any and all situations in which someone might have learned something.
The expansion of collegiate opportunity is a positive move, but the quality of a college education should not suffer because of it. Despite the demand for degrees, schools must maintain a standard of what it means to attend college and draw a more distinct line between experience and education. These experiences merit certification and mention on resumes, but what qualifies as college credit should uphold the value of a degree.
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