Study Shows Promise of ‘Prior Learning’ in Fostering Academic Success

Adult students who received credit for outside-the-classroom learning achieved more academic success than did other students, according to a new study by the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning. The findings were based on data from 48 postsecondary institutions that use Prior Learning Assessment, or PLA, a process of evaluating knowledge and skills students may have acquired in their jobs, in the military, or in volunteer activities and hobbies.

In the study, 56 percent of students who had received PLA credit earned a degree within seven years, compared with 21 percent of students who did not receive such credit. Furthermore, among students who did not earn a degree within seven years, more than half of those with PLA credit had accumulated at least 80 percent of the credits they needed, while just 22 percent of non-PLA students had made similar progress.