PATHWAYS:
A Blog for the CAEL Community.

In 2013 I attended a symposium in Boston where Clayton Christensen made a presentation on disruptive theory and the future of higher education. At the same symposium Paul LeBlanc made a presentation on a new venture begun by Southern New Hampshire University called College for America offering a competency-based curriculum designed for working adults. I became an immediate fan of both and have followed them ever since. Today, as we face the worst health crisis in modern times, which has disrupted the world in general and higher education in particular, I can see how both men may play a large role in how higher education transitions in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

With an eye toward aiding the response of postsecondary policymakers and practitioners as they respond to the COVID-19 crisis, CAEL and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education have released a brief offering early insight into the results of a nearly completed, extensive evaluation of prior learning assessment (PLA). 

Thanks to Horace Mann, an early champion of public education in America, education is viewed as “the great equalizer” and “the balance wheel of the social machinery.” It would be convenient and comforting to point to Mann’s famous declaration and conclude that we are doing enough in the struggle for racial equality.

The Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) has launched a three-part series that is part of its “Get Online…” podcast. The podcasts, which focus on academic advising, are available at www.gpidea.org/podcast. Listeners also can find “Get Online...” at most podcast directories.

In between raising six kids, thwarting carjackers (more on that later), and working full time, widowed father Alphur Willock (who goes by “Slim”) has somehow found time to take advantage of work-based degree programs. Recently, he completed a B.S. in computer science from Pace University, a Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) institutional member. It was just the latest step in a learning journey that intertwines career and coursework.

Neila Green is director of adult learners and an adjunct professor of psychology at the College of Staten Island (CSI), which is within The City University of New York, a CAEL member. She has a knack for building rapport with adult learners, something she says she owes in part to her graduate degree in counseling psychology. So it’s no surprise that she’s at the center of CSI’s Adults Returning to the Classroom (ARC) program and what she describes as a concierge philosophy to CSI’s support of adult learners, who total nearly 1,000 students. (For the purposes of its dedicated programs, CSI designates students 30 or older as adult learners).

CAEL promotes a philosophy of “a win for one is a win for all” within its community. We spread the word about member accomplishments to amplify that effect. In December, CAEL institutional member East Carolina University (ECU) received the John R. Bourne Outstanding Online Program award. The award recognized ECU’s bachelor of science in industrial technology (BSIT) program. The BSIT program’s raison d'être is to offer more onramps for working adult learners. The program creates a ladder from a traditionally terminal degree: the associate in applied science (AAS).

During a crisis, things can seem overwhelming. That’s always been the case. But it’s especially true in the age of social media and 24/7 news cycles. 

Amy Belcastro, Ph.D., is a professor with Southern Oregon University (SOU). Recently, CAEL chatted with her about some of the strides SOU is taking to serve adult working learners.

Work Learn Earn (WLE) is an online career exploration tool that empowers job seekers to discover career and educational pathways within their community or within an industry. Anyone who sees an example of WLE is usually pretty “wowed.” Up-to-date labor market data, career pathway mapping, exploration of career choices, links to programs that will prepare you for a career--it’s all there and user friendly.