Bellevue University, CAEL Partner to Help Working Adults Earn Degrees
Cost-saving venture will award credit for outside-class learning
(Chicago, IL — January 14, 2013) — Bellevue University and The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) have announced that they are now partnering to directly award college credit based on CAEL’s LearningCounts assessments of knowledge learned outside the classroom. The new process will streamline the credit acceptance and reduce transcription costs for students looking to receive academic recognition for non-collegiate learning.
“We are fortunate to have these schools as charter institutions for this new endeavor,” says Pamela Tate, CEO and president of CAEL. “CAEL is committed to assisting adult students to achieve their educational goals in the most productive and affordable manner, and we believe this streamlining process reflects that mission.”
By working with colleges to transcript credits directly, CAEL’s service allows students to save the expense of processing transcripts through a third-party organization. It also guarantees that students submitting portfolios through CAEL will have their outside-class learning accepted as course credit by Bellevue University and others that join the effort.
Chari Leader-Kelley, vice president of Learning Counts at CAEL, explains, “The new process of transcripting recommendations directly is key to helping adult students find the most reasonable path towards degree completion.”
The six-week CAEL 100 course will become part of the new venture with colleges and universities, and will be transcripted directly by the institutions. For those students who attend an institution which still requires a third party to post the credit recommendations, LearningCounts has joined forces with the National College Credit Recommendation Service.
“As CAEL works towards expanding this service to incorporate other colleges and universities across the country, we are confident that we will lay the groundwork for more qualified adult students to achieve success in the careers they desire, and to do so to the benefit of our country’s economy,” says Leader-Kelly. “We also believe that working with adult-focused schools on this direct transcription service gives us more freedom to explore alternative ways of measuring learning focused on student learning outcomes and competencies. We’ve always known that many students attain college-level learning in diverse ways, but we want to ensure that their learning outcomes are clearly demonstrated and achieved.”
The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Chicago, Illinois that assists adults with their educational endeavors, finding practical ways to transfer prior professional experiences and skills learned outside the classroom to college course credit and the completion of a postsecondary degree. CAEL works with the public sector, private sector industries and higher education institutions to ensure that adult students receive the most efficient training and education to occupy a meaningful professional place in a 21st century economy.
Since 1974, CAEL has assisted colleges and universities in providing prior learning assessment (PLA). CAEL is the recognized national expert on a PLA method known as portfolio assessment, and their Ten Standards for Assessing Learning are used by colleges and universities, as well as accrediting organizations, across the country. LearningCounts.org is managed by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), and operates with support from Lumina Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the State Street Foundation, the Houston Endowment, USA Fund, and Brown Foundation. The Walmart Foundation is also providing support and funding scholarships for eligible users of LearningCounts.org.
