Intersect With Earl August 2025

Written by Earl Buford | Aug 12, 2025

Momentum for bridging work-based and academic learning continues to grow. As it does, solutions like learner employment records, credit for prior learning, and apprenticeship degree programs are becoming more prominent, often through the work of CAEL and its partners. Each can play an important role in forging the extended pathways that are at the heart of our mission. Extended pathways are all about ensuring that even if an entry-level job doesn't require a degree, it can still be the point of entry to a rewarding professional journey. Instead of a “career dead end,” extended pathways leave doors open to credential and career progression—when and where it makes the most sense for adult learners and workers, whether that entails immediate-impact training, advanced degrees, or any point in between.

Addressing poverty, aspiring to prosperity: In addition to addressing immediate food needs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program includes resources to help people progress toward prosperity. The SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) program connects beneficiaries to work experience and training and is the focus of one of CAEL’s national initiatives. Our latest report details how four-year institutions like Butler University and Lakeland University are charting a new course to use SNAP E&T to empower students, tackle financial barriers, and support lasting economic mobility. Thanks to Rachel Hirsch, who is overseeing the project, along with Mohona Siddique and Andrew Schramm (Seattle Jobs Initiative) who authored the report.

Short-term win, long-term work: Short-term programs are finally eligible for Pell Grants, but don’t expect instant impact. Extending Pell Grants to shorter-term programs can help address affordability, adult learners’ top concern when considering education and training. But much work remains to be done. Education providers must be prepared to track the outcomes that verify compliance with the new Pell Grant standards, even as some of them are yet to be finalized in detail. The good news is they are aligned with core principles that include credentials’ portability, stackability, and relevance to high-growth, high-wage occupations, areas that have long been prioritized in the CAEL community.

Prior learning increasingly present in higher ed: The Hechinger Report writes that the vast potential of the tens of millions of working-age Comebackers is helping convince more institutions to embrace CPL. The article cites CAEL research showing CPL can be a recruiting asset, boosts graduation rates, and saves students time and money—all, as Beth Doyle emphasizes—while also supporting institutional revenue. More good news: as noncredit programs and short-term credentials proliferate among rapid workforce changes, we’re seeing more opportunities to build CPL crosswalks that link them to degree programs. As these connections become more commonplace, CPL will be easier to scale and simplify.

From either/or to extended pathways: A survey from American Student Assistance shows that interest in college among middle and high school students has dropped by about 60% since 2018. Meanwhile, interest in nondegree postsecondary pathways has tripled. It’s a mistake to view this trend as a battle for "market share.” Students view credential programs through the lens of workforce viability, and there are many pathways to that, from microcredentials to advanced degrees. It is critical that we recognize and value education in all its forms and allow learners to build on these experiences throughout their lifetimes.

Credit mobility is about upward mobility: Extended pathways are key pieces to building a holistic workforce mosaic that thrives off of short-term certificates, work-based learning, advanced degrees, and everything in between. But to fulfill that potential, we need to capture a complete and accurate record of all learning experiences, and we need to do so in a way everyone can understand. For this reason, learning and employment records (LER) are a key feature in several CAEL initiatives, including our regional work in Pittsburgh. We’re seeing more of our members, like Eastern Washington University, embrace LERs to improve credit mobility and ensure that learning in all its forms is rigorously captured.

CAEL Member Mention: Fresh off of Member Appreciation Month, I want to acknowledge all of our members for helping us scale our impact throughout the year. Thank you also to Carolyn Swabek and the rest of the planning team for making the month’s many events possible.

Grant opportunity: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) are a private foundation supporting transformative, capacity-building initiatives for private higher education, prioritizing projects that strengthen academic quality, promote faculty leadership, and improve student outcomes at accredited, residential, four-year colleges and universities with strong liberal arts traditions. Typical grants range from $100,000 to $300,000, though amounts may vary based on project scope. The foundation uses a two-stage application process, beginning with a letter of intent and followed by a full proposal if invited. The next Letter of Intent deadline is Aug. 28, 2025. Full details are available on the AVDF Grant Opportunities page.

If you’re curious about how CAEL might partner on your application, please contact MelissaKaye Sheokski.