Share this
Prior Learning Assessment Done Right: A Look at Texas A&M Texarkana's PLA Program
by CAEL on Jul 05, 2017
As a longtime advocate for prior learning assessment (PLA), CAEL takes great pride in being able to recognize colleges and universities that have implemented PLA in ways that are especially effective for reaching adult students. CAEL's Director of Partnership Development Valerie Delleville recently did exactly that, providing a case study in The Journal of Continuing Higher Education on how Texas A&M University Texarkana's (TAMUT) PLA offerings deserve accolades.
In her study, Delleville shares insight on TAMUT's PLA program from Lisa Myers, TAMUT's Coordinator of the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Science (BAAS) program. Myers, an Adult Education instructor who has been at the forefront as an advocate for offering PLA methods to students, spoke with Delleville on how institutions can more effectively encourage buy-in for PLA adoption, both institutionally and from students.
'As with any strategic [PLA] initiative, the best-intentioned policy is only as good as the implementation, operations, and people behind it,' Delleville notes in the introduction of the study. 'This adage is useful whether an institution is introducing a new PLA policy or revising a current policy.'
TAMUT is notable for its level of PLA support, Delleville says, owing a great deal of its success to the strong support it's received throughout the institution:
'TAMUT's commitment to adult learners is regularly illustrated through the dedication of their key staff, like Lisa Myers and [College of Education & Liberal Arts academic advisor] Rachel Cherry, and their robust PLA program. This commitment is further demonstrated by offering two unique portfolio assessment models, including one that the university has offered for over 40 years, and LearningCounts through CAEL. Lisa has worked closely with CAEL to make TAMUT the first institution that currently embeds the Design Your Portfolio (DYP) workshop into a credit-bearing TAMUT class.
'This sustainable move makes it not only possible for students to pursue the non-credit workshop in alignment with a required BAAS course, but it also minimizes the financial burden by allowing their tuition to cover both the instructor-led course at TAMUT and the DYP workshop simultaneously. Customizing operations to ensure the maximum student benefit at minimal cost continues to hold TAMUT as a best practices example. It is always a pleasure to work with TAMUT because of their willingness to operate outside of the box, and innovate in a way that always benefits their students.'
To read Delleville's full case study in The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, click here (registration required).
Share this
- Adult Learner Success (109)
- Success Stories (71)
- CAEL Members (70)
- Workforce Development (58)
- Credit for Prior Learning (54)
- Best Practices (47)
- Career Pathways Support (31)
- Work-based Learning (29)
- Impact (28)
- Strategic Partnerships (28)
- Trends in Higher Education (25)
- Upskilling and Reskilling (21)
- DEI (19)
- Curation (18)
- Retention and Completion (18)
- Q&A (17)
- Talent Management (17)
- Adult Learner 360 (15)
- Policy (13)
- Short-term Credentials (11)
- Competency Based Education (CBE) (10)
- Adult Learner Academy (9)
- Student support (9)
- Enrollment (8)
- Research (7)
- Student Stories (7)
- Transfer Students (7)
- Experiential Learning (6)
- Featured (6)
- HSIs (6)
- In the news (6)
- Military-connected Learners (6)
- NACTEL (6)
- Online Learning (6)
- Case Studies (5)
- Community colleges (5)
- EPCE (5)
- Education Benefits (5)
- Wraparound Support (4)
- Apprenticeships (3)
- COVID-19 (3)
- Future of work (3)
- Guest blog (3)
- Structural Approaches to Learning (3)
- Accelerated Program (2)
- Credit Predictor Pro (2)
- HBCUs (2)
- Tuition (2)
- Skills-based hiring (1)
- Student parents (1)
- October 2024 (3)
- September 2024 (7)
- August 2024 (10)
- July 2024 (9)
- June 2024 (8)
- May 2024 (11)
- April 2024 (5)
- March 2024 (7)
- February 2024 (5)
- January 2024 (7)
- December 2023 (9)
- November 2023 (7)
- October 2023 (3)
- September 2023 (4)
- August 2023 (3)
- July 2023 (5)
- June 2023 (8)
- May 2023 (9)
- April 2023 (5)
- March 2023 (6)
- February 2023 (5)
- January 2023 (3)
- December 2022 (4)
- November 2022 (7)
- October 2022 (7)
- September 2022 (6)
- August 2022 (6)
- July 2022 (4)
- June 2022 (6)
- May 2022 (4)
- April 2022 (4)
- March 2022 (3)
- February 2022 (5)
- January 2022 (5)
- December 2021 (4)
- November 2021 (2)
- October 2021 (8)
- September 2021 (4)
- August 2021 (4)
- July 2021 (2)
- June 2021 (6)
- May 2021 (5)
- April 2021 (9)
- March 2021 (8)
- February 2021 (5)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (4)
- November 2020 (3)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (2)
- August 2020 (1)
- July 2020 (4)
- May 2020 (2)
- April 2020 (1)
- March 2020 (2)
- February 2020 (3)
- January 2020 (3)
- December 2019 (2)
- July 2019 (1)
- May 2019 (1)
- February 2019 (1)
- January 2019 (1)
- October 2018 (4)
- September 2018 (1)
- August 2018 (1)
- July 2018 (1)
- May 2018 (1)
- April 2018 (2)
- March 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (2)
- September 2017 (1)
- August 2017 (2)
- July 2017 (5)
- June 2017 (4)
- May 2017 (3)
- March 2017 (1)
- February 2017 (4)
- December 2016 (3)
- November 2016 (1)
- October 2016 (3)
- August 2016 (8)
- July 2016 (2)
- June 2016 (2)
- May 2016 (5)
- April 2016 (2)
- March 2016 (6)
- February 2016 (9)
- January 2016 (4)
- January 2015 (2)