Beyond the Blackboard: The Case for Recognizing Prior Learning

By Rose Rojas, M.Ed.

Rose Rojas, district director of curriculum and transfer for CAEL institutional member Maricopa Community Colleges, is a champion for credit for prior learning (CPL) and prior learning assessment (PLA) as well as an active participant in CAEL’s Credit Mobility Community of Practice. Below is a case for why institutions should embrace CPL/PLA to expand access and equity by recognizing learning gained through work, military service, and life experiences. By valuing demonstrated competencies, colleges can help students shorten their time to completion, reduce costs, and reengage adult learners positioning themselves as partners in opportunity rather than gatekeepers of credentials.

One of my favorite movies is Good Will Hunting. Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon) is a 20-year-old janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Although he works a blue-collar job, he is secretly a self-taught genius with an extraordinary gift for mathematics and an exceptional memory. One day, he anonymously solves a complex math problem left on a chalkboard by Professor Gerald Lambeau, astonishing the faculty.

Whenever I write or talk about PLA, I think of that movie. It tells the story of a self-taught individual who learned and could demonstrate mastery of complex concepts outside the traditional classroom. While Will may have been a genius, there are thousands of people who, like him, have gained valuable knowledge and skills through life, work, and experience and who deserve the opportunity to have that learning recognized.

The Value of Prior Learning

Prior learning encompasses a wide range of experiences through which individuals acquire skills and knowledge outside traditional academic settings. Apprenticeships and on-the-job training, for example, provide practical, hands-on learning often more directly applicable to real-world situations than classroom instruction. Military service develops discipline, leadership, and technical expertise, while employer certifications and industry-recognized credentials bridge the gap between education and employment.

Drawing a parallel, Will’s brilliance is overlooked because he doesn’t fit the conventional student mold. Similarly, many adults have gained valuable skills that postsecondary institutions and credentialing systems often fail to recognize. Will’s story illustrates how untapped potential can be wasted if systems only value traditional measures of learning. PLA creates a more equitable education system by recognizing all forms of learning, giving nontraditional learners the chance to succeed and thrive.

By recognizing these forms of learning as legitimate and valuable, we can tap into a vast reservoir of talent and experience making higher education more accessible and relevant to a broader population.

The Higher Ed Disconnect

Higher education often struggles to evolve because it remains tethered to long-standing traditions, legacy systems, and ingrained biases that unintentionally exclude many capable learners. Admission practices, rigid curricula, and narrow definitions of academic success tend to privilege traditional pathways and overlook the rich experiences and competencies individuals gain outside formal education. This adherence to convention can inadvertently disqualify prospective learners from accessing the very credentials that could transform their lives. If higher education were to operate from an asset-based model, one that recognizes and values the diverse knowledge, skills, and experiences students bring, rather than focusing on perceived deficits, the perception and purpose of postsecondary education could shift dramatically. Such a shift would not only expand access but also affirm the worth and potential of every learner.

Solving The Problem

To address the challenges rooted in tradition, legacy, and bias, higher education must intentionally reimagine its systems through an equity-minded, asset-based framework. This begins with redefining how institutions recognize learning, broadening the definition of “college-ready” to include competencies gained through work, community service, military experience, and third party content providers. Policies and practices should prioritize credit for what students already know through robust PLA systems and transparent transfer pathways that honor mobility rather than penalize it. Faculty and staff development can help shift long standing customs to opportunity-building strategies, encouraging a culture that values learning wherever it occurs. By embedding flexibility, transparency, and inclusivity into curriculum design, admissions, and advising, higher education can transform from a system that filters learners out to one that draws them in unlocking human potential and advancing both individual and community prosperity.

Just as Will in the movie benefits from a mentor who recognizes his potential, higher education institutions can act as “mentors” rather than “gatekeepers” by creating policies and programs that identify, validate, and award prior learning helping students reach their full potential.

Conclusion

It is nearly impossible to find a postsecondary institution that does not endorse improving access, supporting retention, and increasing completion rates. Mobilizing institutions around PLA to meet students’ current needs can help achieve these goals and transform higher education. PLA remains one of the most underutilized student success strategies in many institutions today. While it appears in nearly every college catalog, few institutions have fully developed the procedures, policies, staffing, and cultural acceptance needed for it to reach its full potential.

In an era of growing disillusionment and dissatisfaction with higher education, we must pursue practical solutions that ease and simplify the student experience by recognizing all forms of learning. I would argue that embracing PLA represents the very goodwill higher education needs to extend to learners today.