As part of its work across many educational
sectors, ACE’s Center for Education Attainment and Innovation (CEAI) has
been collaborating with state institutions and systems across the
country to expand flexible pathways for students through credit for
prior learning (CPL) options. By increasing coordination between
institutions and regional workforce needs, ACE’s partnerships and credit
recommendations help students receive credit for workforce and military
training—providing another option for colleges and universities that
award credit for skills and knowledge gained outside the college
classroom.
ACE offers a variety of technical assistance
options to facilitate and support efforts in CPL-practice implementation
and degree pathways that apply credit for prior learning. Here are a
few examples of those collaborations:
Virginia: Working with ACE,
the Virginia Community College System plans to expand pathway options
this summer through an initiative focusing on ACE credit recommendations
for corporate and workforce training, aligning those credits with
general education requirements and courses in career and technical
education (CTE) fields. This initiative builds on an earlier
collaboration, Credits2Careers, which provides student veterans with guidance and tools for education and career planning.
Tennessee: The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) has launched a Veteran Prior Learning Assessment
initiative, which supports institutions in implementing the transfer
and award of credit for military training. In addition to workshops and
webinars, CEAI has provided THEC with seasoned ACE faculty reviewers to visit campuses and discuss the ACE review and recommendation process.
Texas: The Dallas Community
College District and Houston County Community College System have
collaborated through a pathways initiative, with a CEAI-facilitated
faculty development institute and a virtual platform. The project aims
to develop and disseminate models of several replicable pathways to
Texas colleges, combining industry-recognized non-credit certifications
with CTE programs of study, such as automotive technology and
information technology.
Colorado: Through a virtual
platform supported by CEAI, Colorado faculty from two- and four-year
institutions engaged in aligning military training and occupations to
Colorado’s Guaranteed Transfer Pathways for General Education Curriculum.
This was part of a comprehensive plan facilitated by The Colorado
Department of Higher Education to expand CPL policies and practices.
California: The California State University, in collaboration with CEAI, provided two system-wide CPL workshops
to respond to a need for greater awareness, increased training, and
more consistent practices across the 23 campuses. Out of the workshops
came recommendations for system- and campus-level actions to remove
barriers to expanding flexible pathways and identify next steps for
collaborative implementation.
To support recognition of flexible pathways
through innovative learning, CEAI also is working on a number of fronts
to make it easier for working professionals to access validated evidence
of their competencies gained through training. Through a collaborative
pilot with Credly, a digital credentialing platform, several ACE CREDIT®
organizations—Walt Disney, KFC, Jiffy Lube, and Americorps National
Civilian Community Corps—are providing their employees and program
participants with badges that validate learning. In addition, another
new initiative with Credly will facilitate the creation of a
machine-readable official transcript of on-the-job skills. As with the
digital badges, these transcripts, which will verify knowledge, skills,
and abilities, can be easily shared with colleges and employers.
For more information, please email cup@acenet.edu.