PLA with a Purpose SymposiumColumbus, OhioApril 29,2014

Partnering to Meet the Challenges of Implementation

Funded by Lumina Foundation for Education

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CAEL National Study

What We Wanted to Know:

Do adults who earn PLA credit have better graduation rates, compared with those who do not earn PLA credit?

Do they have better persistence? Do they earn their degrees in a

shorter period of time?

CAEL Research:

Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of PLA and Adult Student Outcomes

2010

• N=62,475 adult students

• PLA usage and academic outcomes4

What Is the Value of PLA?

Four Approaches to PLA

• Standardized exams• Challenge exams• Evaluated non-college

programs and courses• Individualized assessments

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What Is the Value of PLA?

Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of PLA and Adult Student Outcomes

2010

• N=62,475 adult students

• PLA usage and academic outcomes

http://www.cael.org/pdfs/PLA_Fueling-the-Race6

Graduation and Completion

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PLA students in this study had better graduation rates than non-PLA students:

regardless of institutional size, level (two-year or four-year) or control (private for-profit, non-profit, or public)

regardless of the individual student’s academic ability or grade point average

regardless of the individual student’s age, gender, or race/ethnicity

regardless of whether or not the individual student receives financial aid

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Summary of Graduation Findings

Persistence

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PLA students have higher rates of persistence compared with non-PLA students.

In terms of credit accumulation/progress towards the degree

In terms of number of years of credit-earning

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Summary of Persistence Findings

PLA students earned either a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree in a shorter periods of time compared with non-PLA students.

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Summary of Time to Degree Findings

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CAEL’s ALFI ProjectCAEL’s Principles of Effectiveness for

Serving Adult Learners

1. Outreach2. Life & Career Planning3. Financing4. Assessment of Learning Outcomes5. Teaching-Learning Process6. Student Support Systems7. Technology8. Transitions9. Strategic Partnerships

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All of the Principles

The Principles of Effectiveness are:

Integrated – they work together

Indivisible – they form a whole

Imperative – not just “a good idea”

Employers and other organizations in the community

Other institutions 3rd party reviewers Other educational providers CAEL and LearningCounts.org

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Partnerships with: