Pre-Conference Workshops

Pre-Conference Workshop

Advancing Enrollment and Attainment through Credit for Prior Learning

Half-Day Workshop

Sunday, October 13

1 pm to 4 pm

Target Audience
  • Continuing Education Leaders (Provosts, Deans/Assistant Deans, Academic Directors/Program Directors, Continuing Education Administrators, or anyone aspiring to the above roles/reporting to these roles)
  • Continuing Education Faculty Members and Researchers
  • Continuing Education Teaching and Learning professionals (Faculty members, Program chairs/directors, Program coordinators/Program managers, Curriculum developers/Instructional designers)
  • Prior Learning Professionals (Prior Learning Managers/Coordinators, PLA practitioners, PLA researchers)

  • Continuing Education Support Roles (Career or Academic Advisors, Student success professionals, Academic coordinators, Enrollment services professionals)

This pre-conference workshop is designed to explore assessment of experiential learning that is translated into college credit via Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). The session will explore various policy and practice at three universities (including the University of Louisville, University of Memphis, and Shasta College in California) designed to acknowledge college level and credit worthy prior learning from outside the confines of the college walls. CPL has the power to entice and engage adult learners to return to finish a program they started last year or long ago. The session explores programs designed for working adults and is offered online and/or in class. CPL is used to give credit for life learning in a specialty area that has not previously been awarded credit. This session will explore effective and efficient practices to translate experiential learning into college credit through a relevant, rigorous, and research-based approach. Session participants will engage in a dialogue facilitated by the presenters of various models and approaches that are producing effectiveness in CPL. This session will present an opportunity to discuss strengths and weaknesses of specific approaches to program development. The presenters will display techniques to institute adult learner friendly practices, faculty buy-in, program cohesion, and effective curricular design and implementation.

By examining policies and practices at three diverse institutions, participants will gain insight into how CPL can acknowledge college-level and credit-worthy prior learning experiences from outside the traditional academic environment

Participants will leave the workshop with a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively implement CPL programs at their institutions. They will have the tools and knowledge to:

  • Develop or refine CPL policies
  • Assess and translate experiential learning into college credit
  • Engage and support adult learners
  • Foster faculty and institutional support for CPL initiatives

Presenters

Matt Bergman, Ph.D.

The University of Louisville

Matt Bergman, PhD, is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Postsecondary Education in Kentucky and the author of Unfinished Business: Compelling Stories of Adult Student Persistence.

Dr. Bergman’s research and practice is focused on student persistence, prior learning assessment, leadership, and degree completion programs. His work has been highlighted in international media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR, and TIME Magazine. His program was the recipient of the ACHE Distinguished Program Award, AAACE Curriculum Innovation Award, and the AAACE Malcolm Knowles Award for Adult Education Program of the Year.

Dr. Bergman was awarded a number of prestigious honors during his 17 years as a Professor at the University of Louisville, including the ACHE South Outstanding Faculty Award, the Metroversity Outstanding Faculty for Adult Learners, and was a Top 4 Faculty Favorite at UofL. He is an Ambassador for the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) that serves as a teacher, administrator, and ambassador of degree attainment both locally and nationally.

Tracy Robinson
Executive Director, Center for Regional Economic Enrichment
The University of Memphis

Tracy Robinson has over 20 years of experience at the University of Memphis primarily serving adult learners and currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Regional Economic Enrichment (CREE). The center focuses on enhancing the educational, environmental, and economic well-being of people and places of West Tennessee and the Delta through the following initiatives: an adult learner degree completion program, credit for prior learning, workforce training, and several grant programs including Growing Relational and Occupational Wealth in West Tennessee Households, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, and the Tennessee Delta Alliance.

Tracy currently serves as a Council for Adult and Experiential Learning Ambassador, previously served as a Complete College America Fellow, and was recognized as the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Advisor. Programs under her leadership have received numerous awards including the Association for Continuing Higher Education Older Adult Model Program Award, Outstanding Advising Program by the National Academic Advising Association, and Outstanding Education Award by Spark Awards.

In fall 2021, Tracy was appointed as the project lead for the Growing Relational and Occupational Wealth in West Tennessee Households (GROWWTH) grant project. GROWWTH received a $500,000 three-month planning grant in early 2022 and later a $25 million three-year implementation grant to provide pathways out of public assistance to economic sustainability for West Tennessee’s low-income families. Tracy also received two Veteran Reconnect Grants from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to enhance prior learning pathways for military connected students and served on the THEC Veteran Prior Learning taskforce. She currently serves as a Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Ambassador and Complete College America Fellow. Prior to her current role, Tracy served as an academic advisor for adult learners and was awarded the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Advisor award in 2010.