Fall 2025 Newsletter

51st annual CAEL conference is just around the corner

The highly anticipated agenda for the 2025 CAEL Conference, taking place November 11–14 at the iconic Peabody Memphis Hotel, has been enhanced with new sessions and key insights. And there is still time to register for in-person and virtual attendance. 

CAEL’s annual conference is the signature gathering in adult learning and workforce development, drawing educators, employers, government and community leaders, chambers of commerce, workforce and economic development partners, and other stakeholders from throughout the education-employment ecosystem. More than 180 sessions featuring more than 200 speakers will cover topics that include the impact of AI in workforce transformation; integrating apprenticeships into degree programs and other ways to bridge experiential and academic learning; credit for prior learning; policy and advocacy; and many other topics of vital importance as political changes reshape the higher education and workforce landscapes. 

Keynote speakers and presenters include Jessica Gibson, senior director of adult learner initiatives at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission; Tamera Maresh-Carver, who oversees employee development, organizational effectiveness, and talent mobility in her role as managing director of global capability strategy for FedEx; award-winning author and international speaker Summer Owens; and a panel of national policy experts addressing the implications of federal higher ed and workforce changes. 

We hope to see you there!

RAND partnership to help scale CPL at the state and system level through technical assistance and funding support 

CAEL is partnering with RAND to offer technical assistance to states or statewide systems of higher education for enhancing credit for prior learning (CPL) public policies. During the two-year initiative, which is made possible by funding from ECMC Foundation and Strada Education Foundation, each participating team will receive a stipend and continual assistance from CAEL subject matter experts. CAEL specialists will create customized approaches for implementing or expanding public policies that address challenges and capture opportunities related to CPL, while RAND will develop a state policy framework to help guide the technical assistance and data collection efforts to capture insights from states’ experiences, ultimately refining a framework and rubric for scaling CPL policies statewide.  More details can be found in the request for applications, which can be reviewed and submitted through Nov. 21, 2025, at the project page on CAEL’s website. 

AFA report: CAEL’s approach to apprenticeship-degree pathways ‘unlocks full potential of work-based learning’

A new Apprenticeships For America Study highlights a CAEL partnership with Renton Technical College and the Machinists Institute. Last year, CAEL worked with the parties to create a registered apprenticeship-degree pathway. It allows apprentices to concurrently complete their registered machinist apprenticeship and an associate of applied science in multi-occupational trades with no additional commitment of money or time. The AFA report describes this approach as the most innovative of the four models it analyzes and one that “unlocks the full potential of work-based learning by formally recognizing and credentialing competencies developed through real-world experience.”

Earl Buford speaks at Stanford ‘Building a Learning Society’ launch event, delivers keynote speech at Graduate Philadelphia 20th anniversary gala

On September 16, CAEL President Earl Buford was a speaker on a webinar marking the culmination report of the Stanford Center on Longevity’s Futures Project on Education and Learning for Longer Lives: Building a Learning Society: Design Principles for Human-Capital Investment, 2025–2035. The discussion also included several other experts in workforce development, education, and training. More than 30 Futures Fellows, including CAEL’s Dr. Gloria Mwase, contributed to the publication, which calls for reimagining today’s “schooled society,” a status quo made possible by a remarkable achievement of the past century, as a “learning society.” Much like the space race prompted a massive investment in higher education, technological changes and AI proliferation in the present day should prompt its own investment in human talent, argues the report. In his remarks, Buford stressed the importance of employer support in furthering the learning society concept. The full report and webinar recording are available at learningsociety.io.

On Oct. 16th, Buford delivered a keynote speech marking the 20th anniversary of Graduate Philadelphia, whose nonprofit mission is to increase the number of adults completing college in the Greater Philadelphia region. Buford’s remarks included personal reflections as well as professional insight about the impact of adult learning, connecting them to CAEL's mission to uplift adult learners as the lifeblood of the economy. As one attendee, commenting about what it was like to be in a “room filled with people who believed in you” said, “Each speaker and honoree spoke of adult learners like myself as resilient and resourceful; encouraging me to keep going, to believe in myself, to knock on every door of opportunity, and to break through paper ceilings.” Congratulations to Graduate Philadelphia on 20 years of believing in adult learners!

CAEL, Build Better Careers initiative featured on national short-form documentary 

Empowered Hosted by Meg Ryan is an educational documentary-style program that airs on Public Television in all 50 states and is broadcast as news breaks on additional networks. CAEL recently participated in the program, which is being distributed beginning this month across 170+ stations nationwide for one year. Footage from the program, which focuses on CAEL’s Truist-funded Build Better Careers initiative, can be viewed at CAEL’s YouTube page. 

Matt Waltz presents at inaugural summit on Modern Learner Summit

Matt Waltz, CAEL’s senior vice president of partnerships and development, presented at Trellis Strategies and Trellis Foundation’s inaugural Modern Learner Summit. The two-day event was aimed at engaging higher education leaders, nonprofit partners, and policy stakeholders on how students navigate college and how institutions can adapt to help them do so. Waltz’s presentation covered CAEL's SNAP Employment & Training (E&T) initiative, made possible by a USDA-FNS national partnership grant. Through this initiative, CAEL and its partners have engaged more than 100 colleges around incorporating SNAP E&T as part of flexible, workforce-aligned education and training strategies.

CAEL thought leaders featured as National League of Cities ‘CitiesSpeak Guests’

Rachel Hirsch and Darrah Mugrauer recently contributed articles to the National League of Cities. Mugruaer cited CAEL’s ALLIES Framework for Adult Learner Success in a piece that looks at how cities can support adult learners through investing in child care, while Hirsch’s article explores several broad strategies cities can employ to support upskilling and reskilling. 

Celebrating HBCU week

To help celebrate HBCU Week, CAEL highlighted the impact and collaboration of the HBCU Adult Learner Initiative (HBCU ALI), created by Lumina Foundation. Special events included several guest blogs and two webinars: Supporting Adult Learners Through Credit for Prior Learning: What Does It Take To Implement This Strategy at My College and Expanding the Promise: Engaging Adult Learners in HBCUs.

LER Lessons Learned

In 2024, CAEL joined a cohort of innovators in the use of Learning and Employment Records (LERs) funded by SkillsFWD. LERs are platforms that document diverse types of education and employment achievements. They have the potential to allow individuals to seamlessly demonstrate competencies in a universally accepted format, allowing portability among employers, educators and trainers. In an article appearing in The EvoLLLution, Dr. Beth Doyle offers some lessons learned during CAEL’s work, which involved diverse partners in the Pittsburgh region.

CAEL-guided CPL framework supporting nontraditional degree pathways 

A CAEL partnership with Texas A&M University Kingsville is supporting the development of a credit for prior learning framework and internal policy. The work complements TAMUK’s strong legacy in CPL, helping identify opportunities and establish how various support departments, including admissions, registrar, and advising, fit into the CPL process. Read more on how CPL supports workforce development goals while connecting short-term credentials to long-term success.

New research project to examine maturity levels of CPL programs

CAEL and Sophia Learning are collaborating on a research project that will define different stages of CPL program "maturity" and the implications for CPL use and student success at each stage. CAEL will work with a group of 30 postsecondary institutions to address the primary research questions:  

• What are the different stages of CPL program maturity?
• What are the implications for CPL use at each stage of maturity?
• What are the implications for student success at each stage of maturity?  

The results will be published in a report next summer. 

More CPL in the news

CAEL’s Dr. Beth Doyle contributed to several recent CPL articles, beginning with her collaboration with fellow members of AACRAO’s LEARN commission on an Inside Higher Ed op ed. In their article, they cite CAEL research to show that improved credit mobility can encourage adult learner enrollment, a point that grows increasingly salient as short-term credentials and other nontraditional postsecondary pathways proliferate.

Last month, Doyle provided her professional and personal perspectives in an article that that appeared in The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute, Indiana, which also highlights CAEL’s work with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education on statewide policy guidance and how CAEL institutional member Indiana State University is scaling CPL. Shortly after the article, the paper followed up with an editorial calling for all colleges to adopt CPL. 

Credit Predictor Standard, Pro receive upgrades

CAEL recently enhanced Credit Predictor Standard by adding the ability to export key metrics. The new export functions address common challenges associated with coordinating external resources and student information systems. The reports, which institutions can download on demand, summarize various data related to students and CPL matches. 

Meanwhile, recent upgrades to Credit Predictor Pro include enhanced options for advisors to add experiential and informal learning directly to a student's profile, facilitating approved, automated CPL matches. The ability for each advisor to save individual configuration preferences was also added. 

All CAEL institutional members can receive Credit Predictor Standard at no charge. (Other members can access the platform for $500 annually). Institutions can customize Credit Predictor Standard with details that include logos, course duration, and tuition. Informed by these parameters, Credit Predictor Standard guides students through a set of questions related to potential sources of experiential learning. Based on their responses, it immediately provides an estimate of how much time and money CPL can save them.  Information on purchasing Credit Predictor Pro is available by contacting Scott Campbell at scampbell@cael.org. 

Credit Predictor Pro a ‘Gold Mine’ in higher ed lead gen 

CPL has been ingrained at Thomas Edison State University since its founding. Today, it awards about 300,000 CPL credits annually. To offer a more seamless and simplified CPL onboarding experience amid so many options, TESU turned to Credit Predictor Pro, adding CAEL’s web-based solution to its suite of CPL resources in February 2024. The platform has delivered a cost per lead of under $10 and a “gold mine of information for any recruiter.” Read more. 

Sign up for next professional development cohorts

Registration is open for the next cohorts of CAEL’s professional development opportunities. Courses begin Feb. 23 for the following online programs:

From the Ground Up: Building the Foundations of a CPL Program

Career and Education Advising

Assessing Prior Learning

The Workforce Ecosystem: Building Partnerships for Community Growth

The Data-Driven Approach to Recruiting Adult Learners 

Member and group discounts apply to all courses.