Summer 2025 Newsletter

Keynote Speakers Announced for Annual Conference

We are honored to confirm keynote speakers Jessica Gibson and Summer Owens at CAEL’s 2025 annual conference. Gibson, senior director of adult learner initiatives at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, is a pivotal figure in the national effort to boost educational attainment among adults, especially those who have begun but not completed a degree or credential. Summer Owens is an award-winning author, international speaker, and trainer. You can read details about their keynote events and, if you haven’t already, register for the conference at cael.org. Stay tuned for additional keynote announcements!

New Credly-endorsed professional development course now available

CAEL’s newest professional development offering, Adult Learners are not Unicorns! Create a Disciplined and Successful Adult Learner Recruitment Strategy, is now enrolling cohorts beginning July 21 and Sept. 22. Designed for enrollment and marketing professionals, the course improves understanding of the complex and ever-changing landscape of digital advertising to adult learners and workers. The course is designed by the experts and colleagues from CollegeAPP, the leading adult learner recruitment strategy service in the U.S. Those who complete the course successfully receive a Credly digital badge. Private, ad hoc cohorts are also available for groups of 25 or more. CAEL members receive discounts to all professional development courses. For more information and to register, visit CAEL’s professional development and training page.

CAEL designated a Best in Class Member Organization - AGAIN!

For the fourth year in a row, CAEL has been designated a Best in Class Membership Organization based on member engagement. The most recent member survey results indicate that 70% of respondents are strongly engaged; this metric far exceeds the 40% or greater requirement. Thank you, members, for being a part of our amazing community!

CAEL and ACCE renew partnership for second year of collaboration

CAEL supports chambers of commerce with education benefit program assessment and support, career pathway mapping, high school-employment pathways, work-based learning, regional credit for prior learning, and veteran support, among other services. In 2024, CAEL and the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) launched a partnership focused on sharing best practices, research, technical expertise, and other networking opportunities around these and other priorities critical to both organizations. The collaboration included joint webinars, publications, and event participation. Members of both organizations reported strong benefits from these experiences. As a result of this response, plus the many opportunities to further expand joint impact, CAEL and ACCE have announced a renewal of their industry partnership for a second year.

Regional partnerships producing national impact for SNAP E&T

For the past several years, CAEL has built a robust portfolio to strengthen postsecondary institutions’ capacity to support students that use SNAP Education and Training (SNAP E&T) benefits. CAEL’s work to support economic mobility in this way occurs via two primary initiatives:

• In 2022, CAEL launched the SNAP Employment and Training Technical Assistance (SNAP E&T TA) project. The technical assistance is funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. CAEL has hosted several regional meetings this year that have helped build connections, develop strategies, and strengthen collaboration to improve SNAP E&T implementation and wraparound service access in support of adult learners and expanded economic mobility.
• In 2024, CAEL launched a collaboration overseen by Maximus and funded by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services to expand Third Party Partnerships and grow SNAP E&T use in the State of Montana.

These initiatives are fostering continual engagement that is helping to scale individual and systemic capacity. In April, CAEL held a full-day convening, Strengthening Workforce and Community College Partnerships, in Austin, Texas. Convening partners included the Association of Community College Trustees and the National Association of Workforce Boards, with active participation from Texas Workforce Commission and Health and Human Services Commission. The event drew 100 stakeholders from across Texas, including community college administrators, workforce board leaders, and representatives from philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. Texas plans to roll out SNAP E&T Third Party Partnerships (TPPs) across all 28 workforce board regions over the next three years, and CAEL is providing support as needed throughout the state during this rollout.

As part of that ongoing effort, in June, CAEL and Seattle Jobs Initiative project leaders met with the Corpus Christi workforce board (Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend) and the two community colleges in the region (Del Mar College and Coastal Bend College) to help advance the colleges’ efforts to become TPPs. The Texas Workforce Commission and Goodwill South Texas were also represented. 

In May, CAEL organized a convening for colleges, workforce development organizations, tribal organizations and state agency representatives to expand opportunity and economic mobility in Montana through SNAP E&T. The event, funded by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, and overseen by Maximus, was hosted at Great Falls College and supported by key project partner Seattle Jobs Initiative. CAEL looks forward to continued collaboration with these partners as it enters a second year of engagement to expand SNAP E&T in the state.

Most recently, CAEL released a report profiling two four-year institutions exploring implementing SNAP E&T: Lakeland University and Butler University. Both institutions are SNAP E&T TA project participants. As four-year institutions increasingly embrace workforce-oriented programs and diversify enrollment, more are considering incorporating SNAP E&T among their student support resources.

CAEL joins McDonald's in celebrating 10 Years of ‘Archways to Opportunity’

McDonald’s recently released Archways to Opportunity 10th Anniversary Report offers a wealth of examples illustrating the difference education benefits can make in the lives of adult learners. Archways to Opportunity offers a range of resources including tuition assistance, free high school completion, English language learning, and career advising services for eligible employees. Archways to Careers is a key component of Archways to Opportunity’s advising element. Launched in 2020 through a partnership with CAEL, the career-navigation app helps employees get the most out of their education benefits by recognizing the transferable skills they're developing and visualizing potential career advancement.

Second annual Membership Appreciation Month held

Between the weekly keynote events, daily networking opportunities, special discounts, and surprise promotions, there was something for everyone during Membership Appreciation Month. More than 700 new and longtime CAEL members joined us for the event, which was held in June. As a reminder, members can access recordings of the webinars at the CAEL Member Hub. Discussion and presentations included:

• Samplers of CAEL's professional development courses.
• Peer discussions on the current and future state of higher education, workforce development, and lifelong learning.
• The New England Commission of Higher Education’s new Quality Assurance Framework for non-credit programs.
• CAEL's strategic priorities and goals.
• An introduction to military CPL.
• New member benefits, toolkits, and awards.
• A keynote of leaders across various sectors focused on the power of collaboration to advance adult learning and career success.

EPCE website adds slew of members-only resources

A new, members resource page on the EPCE website offers a number of toolkits and other assets for EPCE’s industry partners. CAEL administers EPCE, the premier source of online energy education, which is built to address the critical employment needs of the evolving industry. Its members represent energy leaders across the country, from Washington state to Florida, who collaborate with accredited education providers to develop utility-specific solutions to education and training needs. The EPCE site has also published several recent adult learner success stories.

Matt Waltz to present at AACRAO learning mobility summit 

CAEL believes that ensuring college-level learning from all sources is recognized and survives transfer processes is a critical success factor in serving adult learners and workers. On Sunday, July 20, Matt Waltz, CAEL’s senior vice president of partnerships and development, will join a panel of experts for the opening plenary session of Technology & Transfer 2025: A Learning Mobility Summit. On July 21, Matt will also lead a breakout session, Streamlining Credit for Prior Learning: Research Insights & Real-World Tools. The annual event draws more than 500 higher education practitioners, offering professional development around trends in technology, transfer, and how they intersect. 

Credit Mobility Community of Practice focuses on CPL in transfer

By bringing together members who share common interests about consequential challenges and opportunities, CAEL’s communities of practice help scale individual and collective impact. The communities amplify potential best practices, tools, and models that members can adopt to apply community insight to unique circumstances. In June, the Credit Mobility Community of Practice convened for a quarterly meeting, hearing from Alyssa Vine, director of credit for prior learning with the CUNY system, who presented about work to mobilize CPL credits across the various CUNY institutions. Takeaways included:

• The policy was approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees in 2020, allowing students to earn credit through six exam programs, non-collegiate learning experiences, and departmental challenge exams or portfolios.
• CPL credits transfer seamlessly among CUNY colleges, are subject to faculty determination, and can fulfill general education and major course requirements, but not residency requirements.
• There is growing interest in using CPL for graduate-level opportunities and non-credit-to-credit transitions, while acknowledging varying implementation factors across colleges.
• Implementation tactics that have helped include CAEL professional development, collaboration with the Innovative Teaching Academy, the establishment of CPL leads at each college to facilitate communication and coordination, and the creation of Microsoft Teams groups and monthly office hours.
• Configuration guidance established with registrars enables centralized data collection and annual data reports for each college, which include a questionnaire to understand gaps and opportunities for improvement in data collection and quality.
• CPL credit is configured as regular course credit without indicating its source to allow for a seamless transfer process within the CUNY system.
• CUNY has developed the transfer explorer "T-Rex" tool, which allows students to search for transfer equivalencies across CUNY colleges.
• Opportunities for improvement: Some colleges have invested in CPL more than others, and there is no current financial support or incentives for initiatives systemwide.

Military Community of Practice grows with regional chapters

In March, an Illinois regional chapter formed among the expanding Military Community of Practice, now the largest such group at CAEL. Mia Garcia-Hills, director of student veterans affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago, leads the chapter along with Sheri Gross, director of veterans services at College of DuPage. In May, inspired by their Illinois colleagues, Dr. Monteigne Long, veteran and military services director at The Texas A&M University System, and Diana Nores, director, testing, at University of Houston Clear Lake, cofounded the MilCoP’s second chapter, covering the state of Texas. Like the Illinois chapter and the broader community of practice, the Texas chapter is dedicated to serving veterans, active-duty service members, reservists, National Guard members, ROTC cadets, and their families and caregivers by facilitating access to higher education and workforce development opportunities.

CAEL releases two new benefits to members

The CAEL membership team is dedicated to providing members with benefits that address their most pressing needs. Built for and with members, these resources are tailored to meet their unique challenges and opportunities. Member conversations in early 2025 made it clear that members wanted more support on how to make institutional websites adult learner-friendly. In collaboration with colleagues from the marketing and initiatives teams and drawing upon feedback from members, CAEL introduced a new job aid and worksheet, Best Practices to Make Your Institution’s Website Adult-Learner Friendly. The resources equip members with actionable strategies to transform their institution's online presence into a powerful magnet for adult learners. Members can review it on the Member Hub via the link above.

Christine Carpenter featured on keynote panel at CCCS 2025 Chancellor’s Summit on Adult Education

In early June, Christine Carpenter was a keynote panelist at the Colorado Community College System’s (CCCS) 2025 Chancellor’s Summit on Adult Education. The keynote event, The Adult Learner Ecosystem: Collaborating to Maximize Impact, underscored the need for extended pathways that bridge gaps between education and employment. Also during the summit, Doug Heckman hosted a breakout session about CAEL’s rapidly growing Military Community of Practice.

Sign up for next professional development cohorts

Registration is open for the next cohorts of CAEL’s professional development opportunities. Courses begin July 21 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

Adult Learners are not Unicorns! Create a Disciplined and Successful Adult Learner Recruitment Strategy (brand new and Credly-endorsed!)

Member and group discounts apply to all courses.

In addition to the above instructor-led training, CAEL offers eight microcourses that are open to all members. Follow CAEL’s professional development and training page or sign up to receive future announcements.